KTVU Mulls the Now and Future; Somerville Status Still Up in Air; Doesn't Hurt 10 PM; Mibach and Senior Not Regarded as Potential Replacements; Wait and See Attitude

KTVU, some how, some way, continues to LEAD in most time slots in the Bay Area news ratings. The numbers are not as big as they've been in the past, but they still hover over the pack. KTVU is solid in both the morning and at 10 PM, where its storied 10 PM news dominates the ratings. It helps KTVU that at 10, there is no competition and Channel 2 is essentially a monopoly.

Morning and the heavily pubbed, "Mornings on Two" has been leading the local AM news TV platform with a steady diet of traffic reports, weather and soft features. Although viewership is significantly down, KTVU continues to lead the pack by a wide margin. KRON has occasionally has bumped into KTVU's fortress but overall, they are no match and both KPIX and KGO have had zero impact on FOX2's dominance.

Even as KTVU's powerful reach in the morning seems secure, everywhere else, except at 10, shows signs of potential trouble. Significantly, personnel developments make a huge impact on KTVU and its overall placement in the Bay Area TV News wars. It's a possible deal changer and it could impact KTVU in the very now and future news local news arena.

*Frank Somerville's murky status at FOX2 is making 10 PM vulnerable even if the ratings continue to stay afoot. But privately, KTVU and Fox news execs are concerned enough that they have tried new personnel at 10. They put morning anchor, Mike Mibach on to fill in for Somerville and were not impressed by Mibach's relative poor outing. Said an insider, "they (KTVU bosses) thought he was too vanilla and lighteight." Mibach, a station veteran was once thought of as a potential replacement for Somerville, but his lack of buzz at 10 makes that a longshot at best.

Mibach's youthful looks and football player appearence is a strong identity with women viewers but that doesn't help at night. Moreover, as Somerville has "face-of-the-station" status, Mibach doesn't have enough presence to hold that position. I've said for years, Mibach doesn't have the personal cachet needed for anything beyond a AM or noon anchorship. He's more style over substance. It's now a proven entity.

*Somerville's LOA is now over a month with no official time when he's back. I've learned he's gone out of town and would like to return in the early fall but KTVU news bosses and Fox execs might want him to extend his leave. Somerville had a jaw-dropping slurred-speech incident seen on live TV back at the end of May. He insisted to me it was a case of him mistakenly taking sleeping pills. That was met with ample derision from both viewers and his bosses at KTVU. While they still support Somerville, they are privately weary of the reaction from the public.

*Here's the problem (among many) that KTVU has to ponder. Even as they promote other potential anchors at 10, they do NOT have a suitable replacement for Somerville. We know about Mibach. Andre Senior, another possible candidate, is not considered as a Somerville-role individual. He currently fills in at 10 but my sources at 2 tell me Senior is not regarded as fulltime status. "Andre is good, but he doesn't have a strong ID and he's probably better suited for a part-time position." I agree. Senior does an above-average job but he definitely doesn't stand out.

*Heather Holmes is still lurking in the background. There's no doubt she is popular with men but her news presence is virtually non-existent and she's not that popular with behind-the-camera staff. Moreover, she's a woman and (for now) Julie Haener isn't going anywhere. I have no issues with KTVU going with two women news anchors but that's not on the radar. And both Haener and Holmes don't have the kind of strong viewer identity that is needed at 10, again, advantage Somerville.

*Timing is everything in life and that includes local TV News. All this backstage drama comes at a beneficial time for KTVU. The summer is a traditional viewing doormat. Even in the good old days, June, July and August are Death Valley time slot; even after a pndemic, people aren't watching and their minds are on vacation. There's no Sweeps (except a BS one in mid July)--KTVU is lucky but fall is beckoning.