Now, those creative folks are at it again!

WABC/Channel 7 was first to expand its late weekend newscasts at the beginning of 2012. Now as the calendar changed to 2013, it’s WNBC’s turn to add 30 minutes. Channel 4 has only increased the Sunday night broadcast, thanks to the Saturday Night Live commitment.

•       Related: TVSpy/WNBC Expands Sunday Evening Newscast

David Ushery and Erika Tarantal remain the anchors.

Despite two parts of the city’s 11 p.m. newscasts making some inroads into expansion, WCBS is not ready to join its competition and give a longer day to Don Dahler.

A Channel 2 spokesperson tells FishbowlNY that the station has “no plans at this time.”

Dahler, who co-anchors the morning news block with Cindy Hsu, returns to hold down the fort alone at 11 p.m. One other note about WCBS avoiding expansion: With the busy CBS Sports schedule (NFL, NCAA Tournament, golf), it’s hard to find a weekend that WCBS actually starts on time.

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You probably woke up this morning to stations locked in ”wall-to-wall” mode, but that was not the case last night. Unlike last year’s Hurricane Irene (when I was holed up in a hotel), Sandy did not lead to an all-nighter by the area stations.

Here is how they took to the air this time.

Kaity Tong was a calming presence, anchoring a two-hour edition of the News at Ten on WPIX.  As was the case with Irene, WPIX’s coverage did not include Jodi Applegate.

Tong, as a solo anchor, was given an assist by reporter Dan Mannarino, who handled some phone interviews and other information for viewers. WPIX double-teamed the audience with veteran experience from Mr. G and Craig Allen.  WPIX was the only game in town until 11 p.m., as WNYW/Channel 5 was televising the final game of the World Series.

While the storm moved closer to New York, the other channels opted for prime-time network scheduling. At 11 p.m., WCBS/Channel 2 anchors Maurice DuBois and Kristine Johnson, first appearing at halftime of the New York Jets game, led the station’s one-hour special Sandy newscast. Thereafter, WCBS kept a crawl on the screen until the morning team resumed coverage at 4 a.m.

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Approximately 47,000 participants will make their way through the city, crossing bridges, cheering along the way, until reaching the finish line, 26.2 miles later, in Central Park.

WNBC sportscaster Bruce Beck hosts the telecast with morning anchor Darlene Rodriguez.   Al Trautwig calls the race along with analysts Toni Reavis and Juli Benson.  Also reporting from the sidelines will be WNBC weekend sports anchor Scott Stanford, along with reporter Erika Tarantal, and Cat Greenleaf, who hosts Talk Stoop on New York Nonstop.  

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As Hurricane Irene churns 1,000 miles away from the New York City, today’s noon newscasts on WCBS/Channel 2 and WABC/Channel 7 predictably emphasized the potential serious storm.

Both stations gave team coverage to preparations for Irene, which is expected to make landfall in the tri-state area Sunday.

On WABC, with anchors Lori Stokes, Ken Rosato, and meteorologist Amy Freeze (filling in for Bill Evans) tracked the now category three hurricane with the latest data.

The team coverage included reporters gathered throughout New York and New Jersey.

WCBS also dedicated a large chuck of their regular noon broadcast to Irene. Rob Morrison and Mary Calvi led the newscast with weather anchor John Elliott.

But, if you want to know how serious Irene may be for New York, just look no further than WNBC/Channel 4.

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New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.