The Daily Buzz

The Daily Buzz

The Daily Buzz logo (2012–2015)
Starring Jared Cotter
Jessica Reyes
Country of origin United States
Production
Running time 120 minutes (2 hours)
Release
Original network First-run syndication,
Original release September 16, 2002 – April 17, 2015

The Daily Buzz (abbreviated "theDBZ") was a nationally-syndicated breakfast television news and infotainment program. Owned and produced by Mojo Brands Media,[1][2] the show originated every weekday morning from studios at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida. In general contrast to its network counterparts, The Daily Buzz catered to a younger-skewing audience demographic, employing an informal atmosphere and a drive-time radio-style approach to lifestyle and entertainment topics.[3]

Premiering on 10 stations (all owned by the show's founding owner, ACME Communications) on September 16, 2002, The Daily Buzz was carried on stations in 149 U.S. television markets at the time of its cancellation on April 17, 2015. The show originally aired for three hours, originally live from 6:00–9:00 a.m. (ET), with the show shortened to a two-hour time slot (5:00–7:00 a.m. ET) for its last years on air; start and running times varied by market (some stations aired only portions of the program). For most of its time on air, The CW Plus and its predecessor, The WB 100+ Station Group, carried the show in most smaller markets. The Daily Buzz was also featured on the schedules of the Youtoo TV and Soul of the South networks,[4] streamed live-to-air on the program's website (TheDBZ.com), and uploaded daily to Hulu.[5]

Production history

2010–2012 logo.

For the first two years of its existence, The Daily Buzz broadcast out of then-ACME-owned WBDT in Dayton, Ohio. The show moved to the Orlando area in August 2004, initially broadcasting from WKCF's Lake Mary studios. The move came as part of a deal in which Emmis Communications, which owned WKCF, acquired a 50% interest in the show as of January 1, 2004.[6] In early 2007, WKCF moved to WESH's studios in Winter Park after WESH owners Hearst-Argyle Television acquired WKCF to create a duopoly in the Orlando market; soon afterward, Emmis sold its stake in The Daily Buzz back to ACME.

In mid-April 2007, the show's previous studios were acquired by Trinity Broadcasting Network and Good Life Broadcasting for new studios for their respective stations, WTGL-TV (now WHLV-TV) and WLCB-TV (the present-day WTGL).[7] At this time, the show changed Orlando affiliates, from WKCF to WRDQ, and also moved to a temporary home inside the Disney-MGM Studios. The Daily Buzz spent six weeks at the Disney facilities until new, permanent studios were completed on the campus of Full Sail University in Winter Park in June 2007.[8] The Daily Buzz's first show at Full Sail aired on Tuesday, June 19, 2007, and they continued to broadcast there until the show's cancellation.

In 2010, Fisher Communications joined ACME Communications on a licensing and consulting agreement for The Daily Buzz. The agreement allowed Fisher to take over production of the show on ACME's behalf (they would move production to HD in 2010), and gave Fisher the option of purchasing the show from ACME. The agreement also allowed Fisher to create Buzz Brands, a service that offered multimedia content, both local in nature and from The Daily Buzz, to local affiliates for multiple media platforms (including TV, online, and even radio).[9][10] The first Buzz Brand platform to launch was "GalTime," a female-oriented platform that began with an October 2010 soft launch before expanding nationwide in early 2011;[11][12] "HeadDrama," which is geared toward advice on mental health concerns, became the second Buzz Brand platform in May 2011.[13] All of the "Buzz Brand" platforms would eventually be phased out, though content from Emotional Mojo, a Mojo Brands-produced program featuring advice on personal development, would be featured on Buzz segments until its cancellation.

On August 6, 2012, the program introduced a new anchor team that featured actor Charles Divins; veteran TV anchor Lisa Spooner; CMT’s Top 20 Countdown host Lance Smith; and radio personality Jessica Reyes. Original co-host Andrea Jackson remained with the program until October 2013, while Andy Campbell, Mitch English and Kia Malone left the series.[14]

By the first quarter of 2013, Daily Buzz owner ACME Communications and operator Fisher Communications had been in the process of a gradual exit from the television business (ACME sold its last remaining TV stations in 2012, while Fisher was in the process of being merged into Sinclair Broadcast Group). On April 1, 2013, ACME sold The Daily Buzz (the company's last television asset) to Mojo Brands Media.[1][2] As part of the transaction, Sinclair began to broadcast the program on some of its stations beginning in the 2013-14 season; the group had previously not carried the show despite being one of the largest WB/UPN/CW/MyNetworkTV affiliate groups, preferring to carry E/I or paid programming on their netlet stations instead.

Cancellation

The Daily Buzz unexpectedly ceased production after its April 17, 2015 episode. In an interview that day with the Orlando Sentinel, Mojo Brands Media COO Troy McGuire noted the cancellation was due to a disagreement with an investor in Mojo, who as a result withdrew their financial support in the company. McGuire did not elaborate further in the interview, citing legal reasons.[3] Details would surface, however, in court documents related to Mojo's Chapter 7 bankruptcy and liquidation filing on May 5, 2015: One creditor of the company, Richard Botnick, had filed suit against Mojo earlier in 2015, alleging the company fell behind on their bills and had defaulted on a loan they made with Botnick. After Botnick's company obtained a garnishment against their bank accounts, Mojo made the decision to immediately cancel Buzz.[15]

The cancellations of both The Daily Buzz and its sister program, Emotional Mojo, resulted in the loss of 37 positions involved in the production of both shows, many of whom, it was revealed in Mojo Brands' bankruptcy filing, were still owed money for wages and other expenses.[15] Since Buzz's demise had a sudden, immediate effect, there was no opportunity for an on-air goodbye from the show's staff, who hope to reconvene at a later date and deliver an online farewell and thank-you to the show's audience.

The end of both Buzz and Mojo left the shows' affiliates scrambling for replacement programming to fill the abandoned time slots on their schedules, be it other syndicated shows (a route WCWF/Green Bay would take with second airings of The People's Court),[16] barter lifestyle programming (the route WCGV-TV/Milwaukee would take), paid programming, straight rebroadcasts of a sister station's morning newscast until the fall (which WFNA/Gulf Shores-Mobile, Alabama would do), or their own local content. One Buzz affiliate's program director, commenting to the Orlando Sentinel the day of Buzz's cancellation, felt "more than a little steamed" that he learned of the show's demise second-hand. Mojo Brands' McGuire, in that same Sentinel interview, noted that his company, for its part, was in the process of notifying and working with Buzz affiliates post-cancellation, suggesting that the show's demise was "as unexpected for us as for the affiliates."[3]

Notable personalities

The following is a list of notable Daily Buzz hosts:

Stations airing The Daily Buzz

At the time of its cancellation, The Daily Buzz aired in 149 television markets across the United States reaching roughly 80.9 million homes and 70.9% of the US.[4] (The show reached roughly 175 markets at its peak.)[3] Rather than airing on stations affiliated with the Big 3 broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, NBC), which rely on their own newscasts and that of those networks, Buzz was offered and sold to various larger- or-middle-sized markets affiliated with Fox, MyNetworkTV, The CW, or independents such as WRDQ in Orlando, The Daily Buzz's home city.[9]

In markets where, for various reasons, The Daily Buzz could not be offered to individual stations, the show was featured on the schedules of cable network Youtoo TV as well as that of digital subchannel network Soul of the South; both networks aired the show on late-morning tape-delay.[4] The show was also featured live-to-air on The CW Plus, The CW network's service for small-market stations (roughly those ranked 100 or lower), an arrangement that ended in September 2014.

Though many stations that aired The Daily Buzz showed the full 2-hour broadcast live-to-air during the 5 a.m.-7 a.m. (ET) time slot, a few stations carried only one hour of the program, while others tape-delayed all or part of the show for a mid- or late-morning airing (between 7-11 a.m.). The full Daily Buzz broadcast also streamed live-to-air online, weekday mornings between 5:00 a.m.–7:00 a.m. (ET) through the program's website.[17] The show was also uploaded daily post-broadcast to Hulu.[5]

During Mojo Brands Media's 2013 acquisition of The Daily Buzz, the company announced plans to distribute the program to international markets in the Caribbean and Latin America.[2] At the time of Buzz's cancellation, it was unclear if or how the show was offered internationally.

Note: The below list is a partial compilation of noteworthy Daily Buzz affiliates a the time of the show's closure and should not be construed a complete list of stations that aired the program. A January 2015 full list of markets and stations where Buzz was available is posted on the Mojo Brands Media website.[18]

References

  1. 1 2 "ACME Communications Announces Completion of Sale of The Daily Buzz and Cash Distribution to Its Shareholders" (Press release). Santa Ana, California: ACME Communications. April 2, 2013. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 "Mojo Brands Media Announces Acquisition and Extension of The Daily Buzz" (Press release). Santa Ana, California: Mojo Brands Media. April 3, 2013. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Boedeker, Hal (17 April 2015). "Daily Buzz canceled". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 18 April 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 http://mojobrandsmedia.com/the-daily-buzz/clearance-list/
  5. 1 2 http://www.hulu.com/the-daily-buzz
  6. ↑ Hoerig, Dennis (November 17, 2003). "'Daily Buzz' heading to Florida". Dayton Business Journal. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
  7. ↑ http://rogersimmons.com/tv/2006_11_01_archive.html
  8. ↑ Full Sail: Full Sail News: Nationally Syndicated Show Broadcasts from Full Sail's Studios
  9. 1 2 "Fisher Expanding 'Daily Buzz' Franchise", from tvnewscheck.com, 9/21/2010
  10. ↑ Source: ACME Communications press release from 4/21/2010
  11. ↑ "Reinventing Local With A Multiplatform Focus", from tvnewscheck.com, 2/24/2011
  12. ↑ "Fisher Communications Launches GalTime in 134 Markets Nationwide", press release from Fisher Communications via marketwire.com, 3/1/2011
  13. ↑ "Fisher Launches 'Head Drama' Localized Web Channel," from Broadcasting & Cable, 5/5/2011
  14. ↑ "‘The Daily Buzz’ debuts new team Aug. 6," from Orlando Sentinel, July 16, 2012.
  15. 1 2 "The Daily Buzz ownership company files for bankruptcy," from Orlando Sentinel, 5/5/2015
  16. ↑ "The Daily Buzz Cancelled," from CW14Online.com, 4/17/2015
  17. ↑ Direct link to The Daily Buzz live streaming
  18. ↑ The Daily Buzz clearance list, via MojoBrandsMedia.com
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