Sinclair Rebrands Washington Cable News Net

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published

Sinclair is changing the name of its NewsChannel 8 regional cable news network to WJLA 24/7 News.

Sinclair bought the news channel when it bought the Allbritton stations, including WJLA Washington, back in 2014, a deal that went a little smoother than Sinclair's current effort to add the Tribune stations and their cable outlets to the company fold.

NewsChannel 8 has long shared the TV station's news resources, including reporter and anchor teams, so now the branding will match up with that reality, as well as spotlighting the TV station's news resources at a time when Sinclair has been pointing out that commitment to Washington.

"[T]he new name is a logical brand evolution for the nearly 30-year-old Washington-area cable news institution," the station said in announcing the change.

That change is effective Tuesday, July 24, four years to the day from when the FCC approved Sinclair's purchase of the station and cable news outlet.

John Eggerton
John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.