So far, nobody’s quite willing to confirm anything. But in Boston TV, there are plenty of rumors. First, the reported resignation of chief meteorologist Pete Bouchard from NBC affiliate WHDH.
In standard local news form, Bouchard’s bio has vanished from the station’s website, and his @pbouchardon7 Twitter handle has been changed to @pbouchardwx.
Bouchard would be the second big name to depart for parts unknown since September, when WFXT anchor Maria Stephanos quit, saying nothing about where she was headed.
New England One reports Bouchard and Stephanos may both be bound for Boston’s NBC station. Wait, what?
Derrick Santos reports “sources have told New England One that preparations are being made to move the NBC affiliation away from an Ed Ansin-owned WHDH-TV. Additionally, a source inside WHDH has told New England One that NBC has decided not to renew its agreement with WHDH.”
As the thinking goes, WHDH’s affiliation agreement with NBC is set to expire, and NBC may have decided it has had enough of Ansin, who clashed with NBC over the network’s Jay Leno experiment in prime time. When Ansin threatened to pre-empt Leno and replace it with local news, NBC responded with a threat to pull WHDH’s affiliation.
Through a spokesperson, NBC declined to comment.