WKRC-TV to the rescue again! WKRC-TV executives reversed a July decision and announced Monday they will broadcast the 40th anniversary Western & Southern/WEBN-FM Riverfest fireworks live at 9 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 3.
Two weeks ago, WKRC-TV (Channel 12) general manager Jon Lawhead was emphatic in a July 26 email to me by writing: "We are NOT carrying the fireworks."
All the other major stations in town told me the same thing in late July, which was the basis for my July 26 story, "No TV For WEBN-FM Fireworks Again?"
That changed Monday. "We will air them," Lawhead emailed me Monday afternoon.
The "last blast of summer" fireworks show starts at 9:05 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 3, on the Ohio River downtown.
It's the second consecutive year that Channel 12 and Lawhead, Cincinnati/Dayton group manager for the Sinclair Broadcast Group, have stepped up to air the fireworks. Like last year, Channel 12 will cut the traditional two-hour telecast to just an hour.
There was no telecast in 2015, ending a 31-year Cincinnati television tradition.
