CBS 2 Chicago GM Derek Dalton out after three years; L.A. GM out too After ViacomCBS concluded its six-month investigation into racial and sexual harassment at its 28 CBS-owned television stations, the network relived two local station executives of their duties. Fired from their positions Thursday were WBBM-TV/CBS 2 general manager Derek Dalton and Los Angeles’ KCBS/KCAL GM Jay Howell […]
Cancellations a blow to local TV production The pandemic has thrown a wrench into local TV revenues and the latest reflection of the tough times came within the last few days as two well-known local TV shows are ceasing production. ABC-owned WLS-TV/ABC7 announced the end of local talk show Windy City Live as a weekday strip after ten seasons Wednesday, […]
Lightning’s Stanley Cup Final win is the finale for NBC NBC closed out its sixteen-year run with the NHL with modest ratings for the Stanley Cup Final series between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Montreal Canadiens, who made their first Final appearance since 1993. According to Sports Media Watch and Nielsen, the entire five-game series drew an average of […]
Hard news show flops with viewers but will stick around – for now NewsNation isn’t the only new news venture seeking to struggle when it comes to attracting viewers looking for non-partisan newscasts. An unflattering profile in The Daily Beast last week showed CNBC’s The News With Shepard Smith struggling with declining ratings – not to mention behind the scenes […]
Ends traditional news programming in prime-time, but adds news in mornings Despite ultra-low ratings, Nexstar’s NewsNation is expanding by adding a morning newscast and adding legal analyst Dan Abrams. Abrams is being added to NewsNation’s prime-time lineup beginning on September 27. Titled Dan Abrams Live, the new one-hour show is basically a discussion of the day’s events. Abrams is a […]
Also: A Shark becomes a judge; Pictionary returns; MyNetworkTV adds Chicago Fire and a new Detroit affiliate Once again, Chicago-based NewsNation is making changes to its lineup. Announced last week, the network formerly known as WGN America is adding another personality show in primetime, featuring a show hosted by former Fox News personality Leland Vittert, who’ll helm On Balance. Beginning […]
Johnny Green Jr. becomes first African-American in position in WCBS’s history ViacomCBS announced Wednesday the promotion of interim news director Johnny Green Jr. to president and general manager of WCBS-TV, the CBS flagship station in New York City, becoming the first Black executive to hold the title at the CBS-owned station. “Since returning to CBS nine weeks ago, I have […]
Expands footprint in Chicago area In news that would’ve been a big deal fifteen years ago, WOW! – or Wide Open West, has sold its cable and broadband services to RCN parent Astound Broadband for $661 million. The deals were one of two separate transactions WOW! made last Wednesday: the other was a sale of its Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio […]
Also: The Score’s Danny Parkins raises money for a neighborhood grocery; ESPN 1000 comes to HD Radio; Lauren Lake signs on with Entertainment Studios for new show As the website was under construction for the last two weeks, here were some stories that made news, and as you can imagine, this first item was the biggest. With Alden Global Capital […]
Welcome to the new look T Dog Media website! So long, ol’ blue. Since the blog launched in 2006, T Dog Media has had only one makeover – and that was in September 2011. I felt it was time to update the site as the blue theme being used became outdated and was no longer being updated by its provider. […]
Reportedly gets a huge severance in return When you announce you are “stepping away” from a franchise temporarily, believe me – it usually isn’t “temporarily”. This is exactly what happened to Chris Harrison, The Bachelor host who now isn’t The Bachelor host as he was fired by ABC and Warner Horizon Television Tuesday after nearly two decades with the franchise. […]
Gives media companies more tools to build scale The broadcast industry is getting a boost now the federal register has published the FCC rules, upheld by the Supreme Court in an unanimous decision in April. Effective as of Monday, the rule changes eliminates the newspaper/cross-ownership rule in place since 1975; the mandate eight television stations must remain after two […]
WGN-TV picks up show in Nexstar deal. Also: Access: Hollywood renewed through 2025 Are you ready to put up with Young Sheldon five nights a week? You’d better be. Already airing on Nick at Nite, the Big Bang Theory prequel has been sold in 90 percent of the country by Warner Bros. to broadcast stations this fall, including Nexstar stations […]
Fewer new shows reflect today’s reality of network television With television viewership shifting to streaming preferences, it seems a “fall schedule” for linear TV networks seems antiquated, especially when viewers are watching shows on their own schedules. Plus, the pandemic has all but canned the in-person upfronts experience. But old habits are hard to break, and despite plunging ratings, the […]
Ratings are down for local news – but not out [Editor’s Note: This post was updated on June 1.] If you’ve noticed, ratings are down across-the-board for just about everything on linear TV these days. And yes, that includes local news. As reported by Robert Feder Friday, three Chicago news stations: ABC-owned WLS-TV, NBC-owned WMAQ-TV and Nexstar independent WGN-TV, all […]