KHON's sale has focused public attention on local TV ownership and strategy. At that station, the new owners said the company would cut costs through automation and staff reductions. Within weeks, then-general manager Rick Blangiardi and eight of nine department heads resigned. Silva was promoted before the dust had settled.

The resignations and staff cuts are "going to make a difference over time, no doubt" said Blangiardi, now the senior vice president and general manager of KGMB, another Emmis-owned station that is up for sale. "It's like a Bruce Lee death blow where he hits you and you die two hours later. There will be a reaction that will not necessarily manifest in the ratings right away."

But Blangiardi has his own uncertainties to deal with. It's impossible to predict what's in the cards for KGMB until its next owner is identified.

KITV president and general manager Mike Rosenberg said he feels badly for KHON's staff — but recognizes a potential opportunity in the instability.

"You have to really not be much of a leader to not think there is an opportunity to take advantage of what's been going on," Rosenberg said. "I feel horrible for them, but I'd be a jerk not to see what we can take advantage of."

STILL THE ONE TO BEAT

University of Hawai'i journalism professor Gerald Kato, a former TV newsman for KGMB and KITV, vividly remembers competing in the long shadow of KHON.

"They would get double digits (in ratings), and we would be lucky if we got a good single digit," Kato said. "While they're still No. 1, they have not dominated as they had in past years."

In the November 2005 ratings period, KHON news remained dominant in the 6 p.m. slot with a 13 rating and a 29 share, about double that of its nearest competitor, KGMB. A rating point is roughly equivalent to 1 percent of the total Hawai'i population, while a share measures the percentage of televisions actually tuned in to a program.

But KHON just edged out KITV in the 5 p.m. slot, with a 6 rating and a 19 share for KHON and a 5 rating and 17 share for KITV.

KGMB tied KHON with ratings of 9 for the 10 p.m. news slot. KGMB was just one point behind KHON (21 to 22) in share.

KHON owes much of its continued success to the stability of its news team and the continued drawing power of anchor Joe Moore. Despite his on-air comments denouncing Montecito's intent to slash the station's personnel, Moore's decision to remain at the station (he's still under a long-term contract) is seen as critical to KHON retaining its top position.

The one thing KHON has done very well over the years "is being consistent," Kato said. "You always want to trend upward, or at least hold on to your audience. Other stations still seem to be seeking an identity, and when there's frequent changes, it's discomforting to audiences.

"There is a window of time that ... (instability) can be exploited," he said. "That's why the anchor is so important — he has to make it appear that there is some kind of normalcy."

The critical question for KHON is whether its loyal viewers will have to accept Moore with less.

"We would never do anything to ... (devalue) our newscasts," McNamara said. "That's like cutting our own throats. It's never going to happen."

"Joe's following is as big and as loyal as any in the nation," he said. "What we'll be seeing is enhancements. Technology is a good thing, and it will allow us to be more efficient and give a better look to our newscasts."

Results from the February sweeps are unlikely to reflect any dramatic change in KHON's strong position in local news. Station managers say the fallout, if any, will be more noticeable after the critical May sweeps, when KHON's new automated system is scheduled to be up and running.

"We'll be as strong as we've ever been," McNamara said. "Joe and all of the main reporters are still here. There has been no elimination of videographers and no changes in any aspect of production during this period."

McNamara said his news programs benefit from strong lead-ins — from "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy." KHON's prime-time performance is carried by a strong roster of Fox shows, including "24."

And then there's the "American Idol" factor. Fox has used the pop-culture phenomenon to directly challenge the other networks' best offerings. The amateur talent show drew higher ratings than the Grammy Awards and Oscars, and Fox ran special episodes to compete directly against the Winter Olympics.

In Hawai'i, audiences hooked by the galvanizing runs of local performers like Jasmine Trias, Camile Velasco and Jordan Segundo continue to tune in to "American Idol" at percentages that exceed the national ratings.

Uncertainty hangs over the 9 to 10 p.m. slot, when KHON airs syndicated re-runs of "Friends" and "Everybody Loves Raymond." McNamara said he's talking to the news staff, syndicators and Fox about adding local news in that slot. Only KFVE offers news at that hour now.

THE EARLIER EMPIRE

Established in 1952, KGMB is Hawai'i's oldest television station. Its news team led by Bob Sevey dominated the local market throughout the 1970s. Joe Moore, then a sportscaster, built his following at KGMB, as did respected on-air talents like Leslie Wilcox, Bob Jones, Tina Shelton and others.

Recovering from a ratings swoon in the 1990s, the station now finds itself, in the words of Blangiardi, "a solid No. 2."

"We perform well as a CBS affiliate, and KGMB-9 has such great equity in this market," he said. "It's legacy."

Blangiardi said studies conducted by Scarborough Research indicate a steady upward trend in KGMB's standing over the last three years.

"It's nice momentum, but I don't want to overstate that," he said. "We obviously have formidable competition."

The looming issue remains the question of when the station will be sold. Parent company Emmis already has sold 13 of its 16 television stations nationwide in an effort to concentrate solely on radio. Blangiardi has referred a few local inquiries to the Blackstone Group, which will broker any transaction, but he said that so far, "nothing is happening."

Blangiardi marked his 29th year working for KGMB this month; he served as general manager of both KGMB and KHON before briefly moving over to KHON exclusively. He said he understands the difficulty in unseating KHON from the local news throne, regardless of the situation.

"A lot remains to be seen, because loyalties last a long time," he said. "It's not like we haven't seen similar things before. If people have certain programs or personalities that they like, they'll stay with it. But if you dismantle your infrastructure by cutting personnel, the quality drops off, and viewers will notice."

While KGMB performed well in the last ratings period, Blangiardi said, he doesn't put much stock in any one book and instead looks for meaningful trends over time.

Most Mainland markets have four ratings periods: February, May, July and November. Hawai'i does not have a July rating period, which means the results from May carry for a full six months.

"CBS wasn't as aggressive in February, but they'll go all out in May," Blangiardi predicted.

CBS has some weapons in its prime-time programming arsenal, with shows like "CSI," "Cold Case," "Survivor" and "The Amazing Race" consistently ranking high in the top 20.

Blangiardi said KGMB also is devoting much time and effort to developing a special program to mark Honolulu's 100th anniversary.

ISLAND VIEWING HABITS

While Hawai'i's viewing habits tend to fall in line with the rest of the country, they do have a few predictable quirks. "American Idol" draws even better in Hawai'i than it does on the Mainland. So does the Hawai'i-filmed "Lost," one of the key shows (along with "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy") that helped resurrect moribund ABC.

In fact, local station managers say, major network programs consistently draw better in Hawai'i than in other markets, despite the fact that the state has one of the highest rates of cable penetration in the country.

Part of that may arise from the way Nielsen ratings information is collected here. When TV viewing habits are tracked electronically, or metered, the most accurate reports on cable viewing are collected. In Hawai'i, viewers still keep written logs of their viewing, and this tends to favor the more established and recognizable major networks.

As an ABC affiliate, KITV has bobbed along on the network's choppy waters. "ABC used to be so weak that we had no platform to promote ourselves on," said Rosenberg. "We've grown a lot in the last year."

It is still uncertain how the loss of Monday Night Football will impact the network. The long-running institution was seen as key for marketing to male audiences.

Regardless of the lead-in programming, Rosenberg, like other general managers, said the opportunity is there for the station's newscasts to build on their growing success and challenge KHON and KGMB for greater market share.

Hawai'i "has always been known as a personality market, but the research doesn't necessarily say that," Rosenberg said. "Once you're past Joe (Moore), there are a whole bunch who are within reach of each other in terms of popularity. The problem in our market is confusion over what you're watching (because on-air channel designations are different from cable's). Is it Channel 4 or Channel 6?"

Rosenberg said competition for local news audiences, once a foregone conclusion in KHON's favor, is now "a horse race."

"All we can do is put together the best newscast we can," he said. "I'm not satisfied unless we're No. 1. I want to be No. 2, but that's not the case at the moment. We're No. 3 at 10 p.m. and I'm not happy."

KITV continues to distinguish itself with its original local programming, which is produced in-house. The station is home to the broadcasts of the Merrie Monarch and Keiki Hula festivals, as well as Pamela Young's "Mixed Plate" and Gary Sprinkle's "Pacific Adventures."

THE LONE DUOPOLY

Despite disappointing ratings nationwide, the Winter Olympics may have done better with viewers in Hawai'i, according to John Fink, president and general manager of NBC affiliate KHNL and sister station KFVE, both owned by Raycom Media.

Hawai'i ratings don't always follow national trends. For example, Fink said, NBC shows "Las Vegas," "Medium," and "The West Wing" perform better in Hawai'i by as much as 10 percent.

But Fink said the competition from other networks was tougher this year.

"NBC didn't promote its shows as strongly this year, and the other networks ran some of their strongest programming during those two weeks," he said. "Fox showed two extra episodes of 'American Idol' because it could. Usually, the other networks pull up their tents and just don't compete."

Fink says network waters are as tenuous now as they've ever been, and a couple of hit shows can turn a network's fortunes.

"NBC was No. 1 far and away for 15 years, and ABC wasn't doing so good," he said. "Then ... (ABC) got a group of bored suburban housewives and a bunch of plane-crash survivors. I'm not being facetious. It's all so close that one or two shows can make the difference."

Changing the fortunes of KHNL's last-place newscasts has proven to be much harder.

In the last ratings period, KHNL news programs managed just a 2 rating and a 7 share at 5 p.m., a 4 rating and an 8 share at 6 p.m., and a 5 rating and a 12 share at 10 p.m.

News director Dan Dennison has just been hired in an effort to make the station more competitive. A former news director for KHON, Dennison has been working in San Luis Obispo, Calif., for the past year. He is scheduled to join KHNL on April 17.

Over at KFVE, a new range of possibilities may be opened up by its new Sunday football programming.

And KFVE's newscast at 9 p.m., designed to serve an early-to-bed, early-to-commute audience, has performed well enough that rival KHON is considering adding its own newscast in that hour. The newscast doubled its household rating, from 2 to 4, from November 2004 to November 2005.

The station's programming is in flux. KFVE has been scoring well with younger viewers with programming from the WB network. However, the WB recently merged with rival UPN to form the CW Network.

KFVE is going in another direction — looking at a slightly older, more female audience through its new affiliation with MyNetwork TV.

MyNetwork offers nightly two-hour blocks of "tele-novella" programming, similar to short-run Japanese and Korean serial dramas. (See box.)

KFVE already scores well with older viewers through its contract to broadcast University of Hawai'i games. Fink said the station's experience working with UH has given it a jump on the sort of "re-purposing" initiatives, such as video on demand, that many networks are now just beginning to explore as sources of revenue.

"The traditional nature of the networks is changing as fast as the world of media," Fink said. "The whole model is changing."

Of course, UH athletic seasons don't always line up ideally with ratings sweeps. The ever-popular UH Wahine volleyball team typically draws its highest ratings during the pre-conference season in September, when the team is likely to face top-ranked opponents like Stanford or UCLA. But the ratings period begins in November, when UH typically dominates lesser competition in its own conference, leading some viewers to switch stations earlier..

"The advertising community is savvy, and they know there are a lot of aberrations and stunting that occur during sweeps," Fink said. "What the books give you is a finger on the pulse, which enables you to make a general statement."

LINGERING UNCERTAINTY

Very little will be determined by the February sweeps results — out any day now — but several pivotal questions could be answered within the next several months.

Has the bleeding stopped at KHON? Or has it just begun? How will audiences react to its new automated newscasts?

Can KGMB make the quantum leap from solid No. 2 to market leader in news?

Can ABC's stable of hit dramas continue to provide a strong marketing platform for KITV?

How will KFVE viewers react to the switch to MyNetwork TV? Can KHNL take advantage of the market upheaval to improve its news ratings?

As Kato pointed out, the key to building long-term, sustainable success in the news industry is often a simple matter of consistency. He noted that both KGMB and KHON built loyal audiences with strong public-affairs reporting and a stable core of experienced anchors and reporters.

Whether any of the local affiliates will be able to offer a secure hold for disoriented viewers could determine the market structure for years to come.

KISS THOSE WB FAVES GOODBYE ON KFVE

Take a hike, Clark Kent.

"Charmed" sisters, enjoy the power of nada.

"Everwood"? Nevermore. Not on KFVE, at least.

Starting in September, KFVE will replace its WB programming with tele-novellas from MyNetwork TV.

The WB recently merged with rival UPN to form the CW network. KFVE will continue to air WB shows through the summer. The switch to MyNetwork TV is scheduled for the day after Labor Day.

Tele-novellas are serial dramas that run for 13 weeks then conclude. While linked, each episode is self-contained, so new viewers can join in at any point.

The format is patterned after popular Hispanic serials. John Fink, president and general manager of KHNL and KFVE, said the format should be familiar to fans of limited-run Japanese or Korean serial dramas.

The one-hour shows will run at 7 and 8 each weeknight, with recaps on Saturday. New series will be introduced after each 13-week run.

Fink said the arrangement with MyNetwork TV works in KFVE's favor. As a WB affiliate, KFVE was obligated to run three to five hours of programming per night. Fink said he's looking into various programming options — including talk shows, court programs and other shows that may appeal to local audiences — to fill the time.

Fink said the new programming will likely attract an older, more female audience than the WB programs.

"Our hope is that people will respond to these shows right away," Fink said.

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.