Here is an exclusive from mikemcguff.com (yes, I used to work there). KIAH 39 has let me know it is launching a weekday morning show May 9th. Called Eye Opener, the show will be a mix of news, information and entertainment according to the station.
“The Houston television market is crowded with traditional network morning shows and doesn’t have anything like Eye-Opener," said Roger Bare, KIAH-TV’s vice president and general manager. “It is designed to be irreverent, provocative and unpredictable—we want viewers tuning in to get a quick dose of the news they need, and to come back because they saw something new that they didn’t expect.”
Fans of former KIAH 39 News anchor Mia Gradney will be happy to know she is going to be on Eye Opener which runs 6-8am. Gradney, a native Houstonian, will anchor segments every half-hour with the basics on local news, weather and traffic.
“I’m excited to be a big part of Eye Opener and I think viewers will find it informative and entertaining and filled with news they can use throughout their day,” Gradney said.
The rest of the show will feature topics ranging from health and wellness to parenting issues to the latest tech gadgets.
Eye Opener's main anchors will be Kirby O’Connell, Sean Dowling and Adam Lee Campbell. In addition, the release says there will be contributors like Dr. Steve Salvatore, a board certified Emergency Medicine physician who covers a mix of wellness topics including fitness and nutrition, Teresea Pelham and Sarah Cody with the “Mommy Minute,” focused on parenting issues, and “Wrench,” the alleged hunky handyman who offers helpful hints on keeping your house in shape.
The show's executive producer is four-time Emmy winner Raymond J. Brune who previously served as executive producer of ABC's Good Morning America Sunday and World News Now. He also served as VP of News at E! Entertainment.
When you see someone like that in charge, it makes me believe the show will be syndicated or piped to other Tribune stations (Houston is the debut market). The Eye Opener website says this is a Houston-centric program, because as you can tell from the show's segments, it is produced in Chicago with Gradney providing the local updates throughout the two hours (for example the video on the click through features a bus in the background of the shot with a Chicago Transit Authority website url plastered on it).
From the few clips I have seen online, Eye Opener is not like NewsFix (now featured on KIAH 39), but it does have an irreverent tone that NewsFix is going after.
Watch if for yourself weekdays starting May 9th, 6-8am on CW39 KIAH.
eyeopener.tv
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