The closing is closed, the furniture is moved. All that remains is the move-in.
Gannett Co.’s purchase of KTVD-Channel 20 was approved by the Federal Communications Commission in June, and it was announced last week that MyNetworkTV signed an affiliate agreement to provide programming.
The new Channel 20 takes to the air Sept. 5. Gannett’s KUSA-Channel 9 will operate the former UPN outlet.
A series of telenovelas, “Desire” and “Fashion House,” starring Bo Derek and Morgan Fairchild, will run weeknights from 6 to 8 p.m., with syndicated shows filling the rest of the schedule.
The big news is there’s news. Mark Cornetta, Channel 9 president and general manager, says the 9 o’clock newscast will be separate but equal. “All the folks at 9News will contribute to this product (but) the producer of each show determines which stories will be covered.”
There are no plans to expand to an hour the 30-minute news show, anchored by Mark Koebrich and Bazi Kanani. “In 30 minutes we can update people in terms of what’s going on around the city.”
Comic rising
It’s down to the final five on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing” and Denver-based Josh Blue is still standing.
Sort of. Blue’s comedic brand is his cerebral palsy, with which he amuses and challenges audiences. He’s the odds-on favorite to win the “Last” competition, which resumes Tuesday (8 p.m., Channel 9).
It’s tough behind the laughs. “They’ve become my friends,” says Blue, 27. “You know, it’s sad but we all know what the situation is. We understand that some of us have to go.”
He’s confident. “I know I can beat anyone on the show. It’s nothing personal. That’s the way the game is played.”
Blue does his stuff on stage Aug. 11 at the Gothic Theatre, a show to be released on DVD in the fall.
Unraveling an imposter
One-time University of Wyoming athlete James Hogue, awaiting trial in San Miguel County on theft and burglary charges, tells all to Bernard Goldberg on “Real Sports” (8 p.m. Tuesday, HBO).
Hogue, 46, was busted as an imposter after he left Wyoming, competed in track at Palo Alto High School, then enrolled as a freshman runner at Princeton. He had to postpone Princeton while he served a six-month jail sentence in Utah.
Hogue tells Goldberg, “I’m a bad person, but I’m not very good at it.”
Around the dial
Popular Latino morning host Beto Gaytán jumps from KMGG 95.7-FM to KGDQ 101.9-FM this morning. … Marin Alsop, conductor laureate of the Colorado Symphony, featured on “Colorado Spotlight,” conducting a 2004-2005 performance of the symphony (7 p.m. Friday, KVOD 90.1-FM). … Quotable: “News is history shot on the wing.” Gene Fowler
Dick Kreck’s column appears Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. He may be reached at 303-820-1456 or dkreck@denverpost.com.
