one of these additional stations was baltimore's then-nbc affiliate, wmar-tv, which would displace that city's longtime abc affiliate, group w-owned wjz-tv. abc was initially skeptical of including wmar in the deal; wjz-tv had been one of abc's strongest affiliates, and had been the dominant station in baltimore for a quarter-century. in contrast, wmar had been a ratings also-ran for over 30 years. however, scripps demanded that wmar be included if the deal was to go through. well aware that there were few viable choices for replacement affiliates in detroit or cleveland, abc gave in.