WSB-TV adds 3 p.m. newscast, bumps ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’ to 1:05 a.m.
WSB-TV has brought back its 3 p.m. newscast this week, bumping “The Kelly Clarkson Show” to 1:05 a.m.
Earlier this year, Clarkson said she was ending her show after seven seasons to focus on her family. New episodes are set to air through the end of August.
Clarkson has two children, ages 11 and 9, with former husband Brandon Blackstock, who died last year at age 48. She will be joining the next season of “The Voice” this fall as a coach along with Adam Lambert, Queen Latifah and Riley Green.
WSB-TV, in a statement, said it was “sorry when Kelly Clarkson made the decision to step away from her daily show due to personal reasons. The station decided to move her show to late night due to limited new episodes, fill-in hosts, and repeats on the schedule in June, July, and August.”
The station has not officially decided what program will take the 3 p.m. slot come fall.
For now, Linda Stouffer and Wendy Corona will handle anchoring duties during the 3 p.m. newscast, the beginning of four consecutive hours of local news.
The market for syndicated shows has deteriorated in recent years as viewership and ad revenue have fallen. This has led to fewer talk shows, including the pending cancellation of “The Sherri Shepherd Show,” which airs in Atlanta on Fox 5 through the end of the summer.
Only a handful of syndicated talk shows will remain come fall, including “The Drew Barrymore Show,” (10 a.m. on WSB-TV), “The Tam’ron Hall Show” (3 p.m. on CBS Atlanta) and “The Jennifer Hudson Show” (3 p.m. on 11Alive).
Local broadcast stations in recent years have been filling the daytime hours with more and more news programming because it’s relatively low-cost and stations can pocket all the ad dollars, which is lucrative during a busy election season like the current one.
About the Author
Rodney Ho writes about entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution including TV, radio, film, comedy and all things in between. A native New Yorker, he has covered education at The Virginian-Pilot, small business for The Wall Street Journal and a host of beats at the AJC over 20-plus years. He loves tennis, pop culture & seeing live events.
