KUTV aims to overtake KSL

HOLLYWOOD — CBS isn't investing millions of dollars to move KUTV downtown to the Wells Fargo building without expecting something in return. And it expects Ch. 2 to be No. 1 in the ratings — even in the all-important 10 p.m. news race.

It's a lofty goal, given KSL-Ch. 5's decadeslong dominance in the time period. But it's one that Ch. 2's management, as well as the management of the Viacom Television Stations Group, thinks is achievable. The question is — how soon?

"Yesterday," joked Frederic G. Reynolds, president and CEO of the Viacom Stations Group, which includes 20 CBS stations, 18 UPN stations and one independent. (Viacom also owns both networks.) "I'm realistic. I know in some markets it's going to take longer. But I'd say two or three years."

David W. Phillips, KUTV's vice president and general manager, also was participating in the Television Critics Association press tour Monday and agreed that it's a realistic goal. "I think there's a real possibility," Phillips said. "The whole move downtown ties in with this."

The goal is to make the new home a trademark for KUTV and its newscasts. "It does tie in with our brand, and what we've been trying to do," said Phillips, who sees the move as part of how "we've differentiated ourselves . . . getting out, being live, being more approachable than our competitors. That's an opportunity to be in the pre-eminent building in the pre-eminent location downtown on Main Street."

And it was an opportunity he didn't have a hard time selling to his bosses, even with a multimillion-dollar price tag attached. Both Reynolds and Dennis Swanson — who is Viacom Stations' executive vice president and COO, as well as a former NBC executive who was part of that network's coverage of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games — quickly signed on.

"It was an easy phone call for me," Phillips said, "because Dennis spent three months in that building when he was with the Olympics." And when Phillips called him with the idea, Swanson said, "You ought to do whatever you can to get in that building."

After broaching the idea with Reynolds, "Fred called me the next day and said, 'OK,' " Phillips said.

"The decision was a go within 24 hours," Reynolds said. "I think it's a real billboard."

"There's nothing but support for the move because they feel that it will help us move closer to being No. 1," Phillips said.