Jimmy de Castro named new President and GM of WGN Radio

Posted on May 23, 2013 by T Dog | Permalink 0

In a move that is being praised by many media observers, former Evergreen Media exec Jimmy de Castro has been named president and general manager of Tribune Broadcasting’s WGN-AM (720), effective June 3. He will report to Tribune President of local programming Larry Wert – the same Wert who reported to DeCastro at WLUP-AM/FM in the 1990′s.

de Castro succeeds Tom Langmeyer in the role, who was fired last October. Currently, WGN Sales Manager Jeff Hill is in the role on an interim basis.

de Castro joined WLUP-FM in 1981, and was there at a time when “The Loop” was a young adult powerhouse. de Castro co-founded Evergreen Media and later bought the station from Heftel. Evergreen merged with Chancellor Media in 1997, then merged with AMFM in 1999, where de Castro became CEO. When Clear Channel bought AMFM in 2000, de Castro left the company after four months, ceding the role to Randy Michaels.

de Castro founded Chicago-based The Content Factory in 2007, which signed former ESPN personality Dan Patrick to do a syndicated sports-talk radio show, which is currently heard in more than sixty markets (and syndicated by Clear Channel-owned Premiere Networks), Fox Sports Radio, and is simulcast on the NBC Sports Network and DirecTV’s Audience Network.

The hire of de Castro reunites him with some of his Loop personnel from back in the day, now at WGN: morning personality Johnathan Brandmeier, and afternoon host Garry Meier, who partnered with Steve Dahl at the Loop.

For the past decade or so, WGN has seen in ratings and revenue drop as listeners fled for the exits and was unable to attract younger listeners. Once untouchable at the top, WGN now regularly ranks behind WBBM-AM, WVAZ, and WTMX overall (and yes, WGN’s scenario does parallel the current plight of American Idol.) Even worse, WGN often doesn’t rank in the top 25 in the all-important 25-54 demos.

Hardest time came between 2008-10 when Kevin Metheny was GM of the station, and hired Mike McConnell and Jim Laski (and yes, this scenario does once again parallel American Idol when they brought aboard Mariah Carey and Nicki Manaj as judges.)

Already, there is talk (mainly from message board posters) that other Loop alumni, such as Dahl, Danny Bonaduce, and Kevin Matthews could come on board since DeCastro is at WGN. These scenarios as um… very unlikely. But consider this hire as a positive step forward for a station that hasn’t made many over the last several years – especially during the Zell/Michaels/Metheny era.

And as for talk of a “for sale” sign hanging in front of the station? I’m certain realtors in the Chicago area could use plenty of those…because with the hire of Jimmy de Castro, WGN won’t be needing one.

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T Dog’s Grab Bag: Mag Mile media coverage under scrutiny

Posted on May 21, 2013 by T Dog | Permalink 0

mag-mileAlso: CBS 2 dumps Susan Carlson; Right This Minute finally clears Chicago; Idol’s finale ratings tank as expected; special on Chicago violence doesn’t resonate in ratings

While the TV and media world were focusing on the new lineups unveiled by the networks during the upfronts last week in New York, there were other headlines made as well:

- The local media was once again the front and center of a controversy regarding Mag Mile mob attacks in the city’s River North neighborhood, north of downtown. Last week, a 68 year-old Flossmoor woman fabricated a story that she was robbed on North Michigan Avenue by several African-American men in broad daylight. Later, the story began to unravel as investigators couldn’t find any witnesses or any surveillance video of the attack. In Saturday’s edition of the Chicago Tribune, a few criticized the media attention the mob attacks have attracted, with the stories often exaggerated. A wine steward at a Michigan Avenue bar noted the stories online are often skewed (thanks to sites such as the Drudge Report) and a flower shop employee pointed out some of her out-of-town customers were asking about the alleged attack. Even mayor Rahm Emanuel had to remind the press to be judicious when using the term “flash mobs” when describing the attacks.

Interesting to note some in the local news media was quite slow to pick up on the inaccuracies of the story when it finally unraveled late Wednesday night.

While the Mag Mile coverage is warranted, the overboard nature of it shows you how tabloidish the Chicago news media and other outlets can be at times. Even worse is the stereotyping of African-Americans, which is quite frequent in news coverage (local and national) and comes as no surprise, given the lack of diversity in journalism and TV in general. Keep in mind many of us still remember when one local Chicago station aired a maliciously edited video of a 4-year-old African-American kid, making it look like he wanted to grow up to be a criminal.

After this hoax, you’d think news directors and press editors would now know better. I wouldn’t hold out any hope on that.

- And here’s another item on Chicago’s “image problem”… as you well know, Chicago has generated “national attention” (ugh, so sick of these stupid journalistic cliches) for gun violence, but that “attention” didn’t translate to ratings for a 48 Hours episode dedicated to the subject. Airing on one of the least-viewed nights of the week, the CBS News special on Saturday night drew just 3.92 million viewers and a 0.8 rating/3 share among adults 18-49. On the bright side, ratings did increase slightly in the second half-hour. These type of hard news specials typically doesn’t resonate in the ratings – especially among younger viewers, no matter what night of the week it airs and regardless of how much “national attention” it gets. But it would’ve been nice if CBS aired this on a night more viewers were home.

- Eleven-year veteran Susan Carlson is out as CBS 2 morning news co-anchor. Carlson was given her walking papers on Friday, and her bio was scrubbed from the CBS Chicago website. As of this writing, no replacement has been announced. A problem spot for decades, ratings for the station’s dawn patrol news program ranked at the bottom, even behind WFLD’s morning show.

- After a little over a year on the air, MGM’s Right This Minute is finally clearing larger markets, including Chicago. Weigel Broadcasting’s WCIU began airing two back-to-back  episodes of the show recently, airing the videoclip show Sunday mornings at 1 a.m. (MGM plans to launch a weekend version on September 22.)  Weigel also has rights to air the series this fall in a weekday time slot yet to be determined. MGM has also cleared the series on WNBC in New York and KABC in Los Angeles.

- As expected, American Idol scored the lowest rating ever for a season finale, with a 3.6 live rating in the 18-49 demo last Thursday night, down nearly 40 percent from last year. Fox did draw 13 million viewers and won the night.

Other finales gave Idol some competition, with The Big Bang Theory topping Idol with a 4.4. Other finale in close range with Idol were Scandal (3.2), Grey’s Anatomy (3.0), and The Office (series finale, 3.0)

For the latest media news from Chicago, around the country, and Canada, follow T Dog Media on Twitter @tdogmedia.

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New “Star Wars” animated series in works

Posted on May 21, 2013 by T Dog | Permalink 0

star_warsMiss The Clone Wars? Well, don’t fret: “the force” is creating a new animated series to ease the pain.

Lucasfilm announced Monday it was launching a new animated series called Star Wars: Rebels, which will have a one-hour launch special on the Disney Channel in the fall 2014 and then move to Disney XD as a regular half-hour series.

Rebels is a follow up to Clone Wars, which was canceled earlier this year after five seasons. The announcement came shortly after The Walt Disney Co. purchased Lucasfilm, which produced Clone Wars for Turner Broadcasting-owned Cartoon Network, who aired the series finale in March.

Screenwriter/producer Simon Kinberg, who was behind the theatricals X-Men: First Class and Mr. & Ms. Smith, has been named executive producer of the project and write the series’ first episode. Joining him in the exec producer role is Clone Wars‘ supervising director Dave Fioni, and Greg Weisman.

Kinberg is also penning one of the new Star Wars movies, which is scheduled to be released annually after 2015.

Rebels is set in the universe between Revenge Of The Sith (III, released in 2005), and A New Hope (IV, released in 1977.) The series is about the Rebel Alliance’s plan to avoid the growing clout of the Empire, which is solidifying its grip on the galaxy. Full details of Rebels are being kept under guarded wraps.

Fans of Clone Wars are hoping the new Rebels wrap up or at least continue some storylines left unresolved since the series was canceled before the writers knew of the show’s fate. Though plot points are being kept secret, its likely Rebels will start with a clean slate.

The only place you can catch Clone Wars currently is in broadcast syndication via Trifecta Entertainment, where The U Too (WCIU-DT 26.2) airs it every Saturday from 3-4pm.

For more info on Rebels (well, a little more info), watch the trailer below.

 

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CW adds three new shows for 2013-14

Posted on May 18, 2013 by T Dog | Permalink 0

cwOnce again, The CW is shaking up its schedule with changes being made on all nights, adding three new series to the lineup and taking a more sci-fi-ish approach as opposed to the rich, lavish teen soaps that attract the 18-34 white female demo.

The three new shows are Vampire Diaries spin-off The Originals; Reign, about a young Mary Queen Of Scots; and the third incarnation (but the first American adoption) of The Tomorrow People, which aired on British broadcaster ITV from 1973-79, and again from 1992-94, re-imagined for a more kid-friendly audience (which enabled Nickelodeon to carry this version in the U.S.)

The CW has also ordered three midseason entries: reality series Famous in 12, which is produced in association with TMZ; and dramas The 100 and Star-Crossed. Nikita is also returning midseason for a six-episode curtain call.

Exiting the lineup is 90210, Emily Owens, and Cult, though all three of those programs were canceled a while back. Gossip Girl retired in December 2012.

Monday nights have two sophomore series paired: Hart Of Dixie and Beauty And The Beast. Tuesdays kicks off with The Originals followed by ironhorse Supernatural. Wednesdays has Arrow paired up with Tomorrow People. Thursdays has returning Vampire Diaries followed by Reign. And on Friday, The Carrie Diaries starts the evening and it ends with America’s Next Top Model, which hasn’t been on the air in nearly a year.

For a schedule and a complete description of CW’s new fall shows, click here.

Thoughts: Much like a Twinkie, the good stuff is in the middle – that’s what The CW’s schedule is like this fall – yours truly loves the sci-fi/genre TV direction the network is heading. The Vampire Diaries‘ spinoff should attract an audience, as should Reign.

On a different note, CW should be lauded for their continued partnership with Clear Channel’s iHeartRadio for several music and concert specials. They don’t resonate in the ratings much, but those specials are attractive to advertisers wanting to reach a younger audience.

But the scheduling is a different story. Why not slot Originals after Vampire Diaries, since its a direct spinoff? Makes more sense.

The less said about CW’s Monday and Friday’s lineup, the better.

With affiliate contracts up in three years – including one with its biggest group Tribune Broadcasting, The CW needs to improve their ratings, and not just in the female 18-34 demo. Continuing to air duds like Beauty And The Beast and keeping Top Model won’t help them achieve that goal.

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Bulls, Blackhawks score in the ratings Wednesday night

Posted on May 17, 2013 by T Dog | Permalink 0

Bulls HawksThe next time someone tells you a playoff game doesn’t resonate in Chicago – even when the hometown team is down 3-to-1 in a series – don’t believe them.

According to Ed Sherman on his Sherman Report blog, Game 5 of the Chicago Bulls-Miami Heat NBA playoff series drew a surprisingly strong 8.9 household rating locally for TNT, despite the Bulls being down three games to one against the Heat and getting blown out in Game 4 and an early starting time in prime access (6 p.m. local time.) The game was close and the Bulls lead in the second and third quarters.

The Bulls lost, and were eliminated from the playoffs.

The team has been without Derrick Rose (remember him?) this season, and ratings for regular-season Bulls games suffered as a result as casual fans tuned out. But some of them returned to see the Bulls in the playoffs, as the team beat the odds and became a cinderella team of sorts.

The huge number Wednesday night – even when most expected the team’s playoff run to end – goes to show you how loyal Chicago sports fans are to their teams.

The Bulls even topped Game 1 of the Detroit Red Wings – Chicago Blackhawks playoff semifinal, which did a just-as-strong 8.1 household rating on NBC Sports Network. However,  the Blackhawks have outdrawn the Bulls at times during the regular season and their ratings are poised to increase if their Stanley Cup run continues.

While numbers for the other programming wasn’t available, rest assured both the Bulls and the Blackhawks outdrew the final performance show of American Idol, given the rating freefall its in this season and the singing competition series hasn’t resonated with Chicago viewers throughout its run, especially after hometown favorite Jennifer Hudson’s controversial elimination in 2004.

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CBS announces new 2013-14 schedule – with a few surprises

Posted on May 17, 2013 by T Dog | Permalink 0

CBSTiffany network looking to maintain dominance

CBS released its 2013-14 primetime schedule Wednesday morning ahead of its presentation later in the afternoon – and believe it or not, there were a few surprises in the lineup.

For one, CBS is creating a two-hour comedy block on Thursday nights, based on the success of The Big Bang Theory. CBS has slotted its first single-cam comedy since 2009 (in fact, they have two of them) and its fall schedule features a star returning to television for the first time in 30 years.

CBS has only slotted eight new series for the 2013-14 campaign: five for the fall and three for Millers, and drama Hostages.

The three midseason entries are Intelligence, Reckless, and Friends With Better Lives. Also being held for midseason is Mike & Molly, which will have a full season of 22 episodes.

Monday nights has two new comedies, leading out of How I Met Your Mother is new single-cam We Are Men, about four guys who live in an apartment complex who share their misadventures in love. Leading out of 2 Broke Girls is Moms from Chuck Lorre. In this sitcom, a newly sober single mother raises (to try to raise) her kids in Napa Valley while putting up her nagging mom, played by Allison Janney). A new serialized drama closes out the evening with Hostages, where a surgeon is taken hostage by a rogue FBI agent (what else you think the series was about?)

Person Of Interest moves to Tuesday nights after NCIS: Los Angeles, while Wednesdays remains unchanged.

As long rumored (for years), CBS finally has expanded its comedy block to two hours. Following The Big Bang Theory is new comedy The Millers, which has Arrested Development star Will Arnett as a divorced news reporter who was looking forward to getting back in the singles’ life – until his bickering parents spoil those plans.

Next up is Crazy Ones, a single-cam from David E. Kelley. In his first regular TV role since Mork & Mindy, Robin Williams plays an ad executive who ran his agency with his daughter by his side, played by Sarah Michelle Gellar. Ones is followed by veteran Two And A Half Men and Elementary.

Hawaii Five-O relocates to Friday nights, in between Undercover Boss and Blue Bloods. Both Saturday and Sunday nights remain unchanged.

To see the full 2013-14 CBS schedule and a complete description of all the new shows, click here. 

Thoughts: CBS won the adults 18-49 crown for the first time (in an non-Olympic year) since the 1970s – a stunning achievement given what I thought was a lackluster schedule (thank you, Super Bowl.) While CBS’ ratings will probably drop, you have to credit The Church Of Tisch for trying different things and mixing it up. For one, there isn’t a series that doesn’t even come close to the very loathsome Elementary.

To the best of yours truly’s knowledge, the last time CBS aired a single-cam comedy was Worst Week during the 2008-09 season, lasting only sixteen episodes. This time, CBS has two of them – one is We Are Men, which probably won’t be around long. The other is Crazy Ones, but a sitcom with two big names returning to the small screen doesn’t guarantee the audience would flee through the entrances. Still, CBS has a two-hour Thursday night comedy block for the first time ever in the three-hour primetime schedule era (dating back to 1971.) To make room, Person moves to Tuesdays, where it could take a ratings hit.

Meanwhile, CBS is going the limited-series route with Hostages, airing for only fifyteen episodes, where afterward, it’ll be replaced by Intelligence (not related to the 2005-07 CBC drama, which starred Max Headroom’s Matt Frewer and DaVinci’s Inquest’s Ian Tracey.) This is actually a good, unconventional move for them.

Back to Mondays… Moms is difficult to handicap here, don’t know what to expect until I see the trailer. Reviewers said Millers was full of fart and masturbation jokes – you sure Seth MacFarlane also isn’t behind this show?

Hawaii Five-O moves to Fridays for its fourth season, which may not be a good fit with older-skewing Blue Bloods. But this time slot may not be bad.

Overall, a good schedule from CBS, despite the presence of Elementary. (All right, all right, I’ll stop bashing the show now.) Even though they won’t be as powerful as they were this past season, they still have the Grammys, AFC Championship Game, and the NCAA Basketball Championship – not to mention Big Bang, 60 Minutes, Survivor, and Amazing Race. The Church Of Tisch is still the one to beat.

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ABC unveils 2013-14 primetime schedule

Posted on May 16, 2013 by T Dog | Permalink 0

abc_banner_bgrndMarvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. already getting tons of buzz

ABC released its 2013-14 primetime schedule Tuesday morning ahead of its upfront presentation later in the day, with fourteen new series – nine of those premiering this fall.

The biggest show on ABC’s schedule no doubt is Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D, helmed by Joss Whedon. Already, the series’ Facebook page has more than 200,000 likes.

Another big move is the reduction of Dancing With The Stars to just two hours and one night a week, similar to its format in its first season.

ABC also said it would air some of its serialized dramas in two, twelve-episode installments next season, while filling the time between with “limited-run” series, either scripted or unscripted (similar to what the Bachelor does when Dancing is on winter hiatus.)

Midseason enteries, aside from Bachelor, include The Taste, Resurrection, Suburgatory, Mind Games, Killer Women, Mixology, and The Quest. To view a list of ABC’s canceled shows, click here. The future of Splash and Wife Swap was not determined, but its safe to say those two entries won’t be coming back.

Tuesday nights get a complete facelift – all freshmen series, all night long, starting with S.H.I.E.L.D (to view the trailer, click here.) Following S.H.I.E.L.D. are two new comedies: The Goldbergs (not related to the classic ’30′s radio and ’50′s TV series of the same name) and Trophy Wife. The night wraps up with Lucky 7, about a group of gas station employees who win the lottery.

Wednesday has two new sitcoms: Back In The Game, about a former ex-softball player who reluctantly coaches a little-league team. Getting the post-Modern Family slot is Super Fun Night, which stars Rebel Wilson.

Thursday leads off with a new Once Upon A Time spinoff Wonderland, based on the classic Alice In Wonderland and leads into Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal. On Friday, canceled sitcom Malibu Country is replaced in the same time slot by relocated Neighbors. On Sunday following Revenge is new drama Betrayal, about a son who is accused of murder, pitting two lovers on opposite sides of a murder investigation.

Monday and Saturday nights remains unchanged.

To see the full 2013-14 ABC schedule and a complete description of all the new shows, click here. 

Thoughts: Even though ABC is in fourth place, they are actually in a stronger position than NBC was when they were in the same position. The difference? More buzzworthy programming such as Castle and Scandal, which has become a big hit in part due to a huge social media presence. ABC caught a bad break due to NBC’s success with Sunday Night Football and The Voice.

ABC made the right decision in reducing Dancing, as the show is no longer a pop-culture magnet. Can anybody tell me who was in Dancing’s cast this season? Anybody?

All eyes will definitely be on S.H.I.E.L.D. as this show seeks to lure the young male demo back to network television. But can it live up to the hype? Yours truly would rather have S.H.I.E.L.D. at 8 p.m. Central, rather than start the evening.

The Goldbergs… with the same title as the 1949-56 series, you’d half-expect Eve Arden and Sid Caesar to show up. Instead, this is a period piece set in the 1980′s, and we’ve had just about enough of those. ABC’s other new comedies don’t look exciting or enticing.

Lucky 7 keeps the tradition alive of similar series where the lottery was part of the storyline (Millionaire, Lottery!, My Name Is Earl), but I’m not sure how long this series can sustain itself. During the upfronts, ABC Entertainment Chief Paul Lee said Thursday nights is about “empowering women”. I don’t know how Wonderland fits into this plan with Grey’s Anatomy and Scandal, but it looks like a cool show. However, it will have a tough time opposite Big Bang. Betrayal is kind of a toss-up: this seems like Good Wife lite, and much like other series that have come and gone in this Sunday night (9 p.m.) time slot, this show will likely be no different.

Overall, a decent lineup from ABC. But I’m not sure if it’ll be enough to lift them out of fourth place.

(Updated at 1:03 a.m. on 2013-05-17.)

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Tribune to take over This TV

Posted on May 15, 2013 by T Dog | Permalink 0

ThisTribune Broadcasting announced Monday it was taking over operations of diginet subchannel This TV, acquiring a 50 percent stake in the channel. In addition, Tribune renewed its agreement to continue carry This on its station group, including WPIX in New York and KTLA in Los Angeles. Weigel Broadcasting, which has been a founding partner in the venue with MGM, is out.

Tribune has had deals in place with This since 2009, when it cleared KTLA and WPHL in Philadelphia. This added WPIX in 2010. 

Beginning in the fall, This TV will relocate to WGN-TV digital subchannel 9.3, from WCIU’s 26.5. WCIU was one of the first stations to carry This, launching the channel on November 1, 2008.

The exact date of the move from WCIU to WGN has yet to be determined, and no replacement for This on 26.5 has yet to be determined.

Weigel’s relationship with MGM with classic TV channel MeTV is not affected.

Recently, Weigel has paired with Fox Television Stations to launch Movies!, a new digital channel featuring… what else? Movies. The new channel launches later this month on a digital subchannel of WPWR-TV (50.2), as well as other Fox O&Os.

Meanwhile, This TV becomes the second digital subchannel in Tribune’s arsenal after Antenna TV, MeTV’s main competitor. Recently, Antenna lost the rights of Adam 12, Dragnet and Leave It To Beaver to MeTV. All three are syndicated by MCA TV.

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Fox announces its 2013-14 primetime lineup

Posted on May 14, 2013 by T Dog | Permalink 0

Fox-Network-logo-008It looks like ol’ Uncle Rupert is opening up the vault…

Fox released its 2013-14 season slate Monday morning ahead of its upfront presentation later in the day, and announced nine new series consisting of five new comedies and four new dramas – not to mention a form of television that hasn’t been mentioned in ages: the mini-series (a.k.a. “limited series”.)

There were reports the new series launches would be the costliest on record, meaning there would be more risk than ever before.

New live-action comedies on the fall schedule include Dads, Brookyn Nine-Nine, and Enlisted, while the new dramas are Sleepy Hollow and Almost Human, with Junior MasterChef is the lone reality entry.

Programming not returning includes Cops, Touch, and The Mob Doctor. Meanwhile, Fox ended production of The Cleveland Show, but… oh, let’s say its on “semi-permanent hiatus” (Fox hates the word “canceled”.) Kevin Bacon’s thriller The Following will be back midseason.

Monday night programming is being split up: in the fall, Fox is pairing Bones with new futuristic crime drama Almost Human from J.J. Abrams (there’s that name again). In midseason, Bones is shipped off to Friday while new drama Sleepy Hollow takes its place, leading into The Following.

Fox keeps its Tuesday night sitcom block intact, but with two new shows leading off the evening: Dads, a sitcom from Seth McFarlane about two successful guys who cringe when their fathers move in with them, followed by Brooklyn, which features a detective who cringes when he gets a new boss. Both new sitcoms lead-in to New Girl and Mindy Project.

Friday nights get overhauled with Junior MasterChef followed by Sleepy Hollow encores, giving away later in the fall to relocated Raising Hope and new sitcom Enlisted, about three brothers on a small Florida military base and the group of misfits who surround them. A laugh riot, I’m sure.

Wednesdays, Saturdays (sports), and Sundays remain unchanged for the most part, while of Thursdays, Glee gives way midseason to new drama Rake (Glee has been renewed through 2015.)

Fox also plans to air two “limited event” series in 2014: Wayward Pines, which stars Matt Dillon as a Secret Service agent investigating a mystery in a small Idaho town; the other is a revival of the 2001-09 action drama 24, which is coming back as a limited-run series. Kiefer Sutherland has agreed to reprise his role as Jack Bauer, while Howard Gordon returns as executive producer.

Other midseason enteries include drama Gang Related; sitcoms Us And Them and Surviving Jack; and animated comedy Murder Police, which would likely be slotted in between The Simpsons and Family Guy on Sunday nights.

To view the full 2013-14 Fox schedule and to read a complete, detailed description of each new show, click here.

Thought: Fox’s 2013-14 campaign wasn’t too well-received online, given Fox lost the 18-49 season crown to CBS – marking the Tiffany network’s first win in the demo since the 1970′s. Throwing oodles of money won’t fix Fox’s ratings problem – hell, didn’t they learn anything from the Terra Nova debacle?

Fox seems committed to fixing X Factor and American Idol, but it looks like the ship has sailed on these two as the glut of musical competition shows take their toll (no need for yours truly to rehash Idol’s problems.)

Bones is moving to Friday nights from Monday midseason? Fox is sticking with its live-action but with changes – Dads and Brooklyn likely won’t fare any better than the programs it replaces. And can someone tell me why that awful Mindy Project is still on the air? No one is watching.

Fox choosing New Girl for the post-Super Bowl slot is a smart idea, certainly a better choice than the utter piece of crap CBS picked this year. Should help with syndication sales of the show, which should begin later this year.

Was Glee renewed for two seasons or two half-seasons? The latter looks like to be the case.

So we have a reality competition series featuring kid chiefs in Junior MaSterChef? Tell me, how did American Juniors and Kid Nation work out? Raising Hope is being pushed to Friday to be paired up with Enlisted – a sitcom that was funnier when this was based in the Marines and called Gomer Pyle, USMC. Well, Golllllly, what a BS schedule this is! Fox execs, you’ve done it again.

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NBC unveils 2013-14 schedule

Posted on May 13, 2013 by T Dog | Permalink 0

NBCAfter a season which went through extremes (first place in November 2012 in adults 18-49 to fifth in February 2013), NBC is completely overhauling its primetime slate in 2013-14, with eight new dramas, five new comedies, and three “alternative” reality series. The new schedule was announced Sunday afternoon, a day before NBC’s upfront presentation.

Only eight series from this past season are back in the fall lineup – including The Voice and Sunday Night Football.

NBC canceled eight shows Thursday and Friday; to see what they are, click here and here. At press time, the peacock network has not decided on the fates of Celebrity Apprentice and Hannibal. The Office is ending its run this Thursday.

Sundays will have SNF in the fall of course, but in midseason comes two new dramas: Believe from J.J. Abrams (Revolution), about a ten-year old who v an predict the future, and Crisis featuring Delmont Mulroney and former X-Files star Gillian Anderson, about a Washington, D.C. high school field trip gone awry. These two shows and new reality competition series American Dream Builders are scheduled to debut after the Olympics.

New drama The Blacklist gets the coveted post-Voice time slot on Mondays, which replaces Wednesday-bound Revolution. Blacklist stars James Spader as an ex-FBI fugitive who tries to help capture a terrorist.

Tuesdays has The Biggest Loser returning to the schedule to lead-off the night followed by another edition of The Voice and Chicago Fire, which relocates from Wednesday. Midseason, The Voice moves up an hour to make room for new comedies About A Boy and The Family Guide.

And speaking of Wednesday, Revolution relocates here and leads into Law & Order:SVU. Wednesday. Airing out of SVU is The New Ironside, which has Blair Underwood in the Raymond Burr role.

Thursday features three new family-oriented sitcoms on the schedule, Welcome To The Family, about a Caucasian teenager who gets pregnant by her Hispanic boyfriend; followed by Sean Saves The World, which features Will & Grace’s Sean Hayes as a divorced gay dad who juggling a career, a pushy mom (Linda Lavin), and a teenager daughter; and The Michael J. Fox Show, featuring a return to the network that made him famous in Family Ties. In this sitcom, Fox plays an New York City TV anchor looking to make a comeback after he is diagnosed with Parkinson’s (Fox has the disease in real life.) All three shows bookend Parks and Recreation and Parenthood.

On Friday, Dracula and Crossbones share the final hour of primetime with the latter show debuting in midseason.

While Saturday is all-encore programming, one notable edition is re-packaged recent episodes of Saturday Night Live at 9 p.m.

Other midseason shows include The Million Second Quiz, Chicago PD, Undateable, The Night Shift, Food Fighters,and another season of Community.

To view the fall 2013 and midseason schedules and a complete description of each show, click here.

Thought: NBC is using the same strategy CBS did in 1996 when it brought back familiar faces to its primetime lineup to boost anemic ratings, and it may work to their advantage, as this year’s sked is being received better than the 2012 one. NBC has some advantages with football and the 2014 Winter Olympics, hoping viewers will sample the new shows.

Yours truly applauds NBC for a family-friendlier approach… well, with the contemporary take of the American family. Thursday night might become Must-See TV again with Sean Hayes and Michael J. Fox back on the network. Welcome To The Family seems to be a newer take on a formula mastered by Norman Lear so well…but will it click with 2013 audiences? Yours truly thinks Welcome would work better as a drama, but that may be asking too much…

And I also like the idea of NBC airing Believe and Crisis on Sunday nights instead of crap like Celebrity Apprentice.

On paper, Dracula certainly looks better than the 1990-91 syndicated series of the same name, but we shall see. At least this version didn’t come from the people who brought you Divorce Court.

Is there any reason why NBC decided to revive Ironside? Unlike Hawaii Five-O, the original version of the series was less popular in its network run (it did run eight seasons – 1967-75, but a middling performer at best), and hasn’t aired in syndication since at least the 1980′s (airing on something called Sleuth or Cloo or whatever, doesn’t count.) Worse, this new version of Ironside is set in New York and not in San Francisco, where the original was based (this could change, though.)

A tough break for Grimm as the series moves back to Friday instead of Tuesday, where it moved just a few weeks ago. Speaking of bad moves, moving Revolution to Wednesday night to lead off the evening is a very bad idea, given its content. The series, known for its cartoonish violence, would air at 7 p.m. in the Central and Mountain time zone. While a violent series airing this early in primetime isn’t new (The Rookies, The A-Team, and a few others), NBC should still know better. Won’t matter, since Revolution – with its annoying, one-dimensional characters – will tank in the ratings anyway.

NBC really can’t get any lower – their fortunes will improve 2013-14, thanks to the Olympics. But can they retain viewers for their regular programming? They actually have a good shot of doing so with an improved slate.

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Bubble Bustin’ Friday

Posted on May 10, 2013 by T Dog | Permalink 0

bubble burstOver the last few years, the Friday before upfronts became quite crazy, with the announcement of pilot pickups – and a huge batch of cancellations. 2013 was no different: Friday afternoon and Friday evening with social media abuzz with the latest pickups and cancellations, as those “bubble shows” fate were finally decided.

Well, the bubble burst for a whopping seventeen shows on Friday – the most in recent memory. In two days, a total of 22 primetime shows have been canceled, straddling both the broadcast network and cable universe. Talk about clearing out the deadwood!

The pilot pickups we’ll go through next week during upfronts, where the networks officially unveil their 2013-14 schedules (one of the big pickups was Marvel’s S.H.I.E.L.D. with ABC ordering it to series.)

Here are the shows whose bubble burst as they won’t be back next season:

- Two veteran series were cut from the networks’ schedules as CBS canceled Rules Of Engagement and CSI: NY, the latter after nine seasons. CBS also canceled freshmen series Vegas and Golden Boy.

- After cancelling several series Thursday, NBC kicked more to the curb on Friday: expensive newsmagazine Rock Center with Brian Williams, drama Smash, and comedies Go On and New Normal. At the risk of sounding like we’re back in 1980, NBC has now canceled its entire freshman sitcom slate from this season. In fact, just eight series – in total – survived into next season, including critically-acclaimed veterans Community and Parks And Recreation, both now eligible to be sold in off-network.

- Early Friday evening, ABC decided to join in the fun by announcing the cancellation of several shows with Red Widow, Family Tools, How To Live With Your Parents, Body Of Proof, Malibu Country, and Happy Endings all axed- though the latter show may have a long shot at USA cable network.

Of note is Parents improving the time period demo rating of also-canceled Don’t Trust The B in Apartment 23, but it wasn’t enough to save it.

At the same time, ABC officially picked up several series for renewals, including Nashville, and red-hot Scandal.

- Cable decided to get into the act, too: USA announced it was ending Burn Notice this summer, after seven seasons, while TNT pulled the plug on dramas Monday Mornings and Southland. This is the second time the L.A.-based crime drama has been canceled; NBC pulled the plug on the series (some said prematurely) a few years ago.

In the mist of all this activity on Bubble Bustin’ Friday, ABC did not elaborate on the status of freshman comedy The Neighbors. After a hellish week dealing with American Idol drama, Fox had no announcements Friday, other than yet another Gordon Ramsey show (Junior MasterChef.)

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Bubble Bustin’ Thursday

Posted on May 9, 2013 by T Dog | Permalink 0

bigbubbleburstWith the network upfronts a few days away, the bubble has burst for those “bubble shows”:

- NBC canceled four series: freshmen series 1600 Penn and Guys With Kids, and two others: Whitney (no surprise) and Up All Night, which was supposed to be retooled, but the idea never materialized. On Wednesday, NBC canceled Deception after one poorly-rated season.

- Fox announced it would not pick up soph drama Touch for another season. After starting out on Monday nights, the series was shoved to Fridays this season.

Also, the first of what is expected to be many changes to American Idol as Randy Jackson announced his departure after this season. Jackson had been on the show as a judge for twelve years. On Wednesday, a report surfaced that all four judges on Idol this season would not be asked back for 2014.

But with the cancellations came some renewals as CBS finally picked up Criminal Minds for a ninth season while The CW renewed both Nikita and The Carrie Diaries, both questionable decisions as each earned less than an one rating in the adults 18-49 demo this season.

Networks are making their decisions this week on these bubble shows as the networks start unveiling their 2013-14 primetime season schedules.

What does Friday hold? Stay tuned.

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“American Idol” surges in ratings among African-Americans

Posted on May 8, 2013 by T Dog | Permalink 0

This season is certainly one to forget for American Idol in the ratings department.

But its a different story altogether when it comes to African-American audiences.

IdolWhile ratings have declined significantly for Idol overall, the opposite is true among black viewers. In fact, most weeks, Idol is either ranked at or near the top in African-American homes.

According to Nielsen ratings obtained from Media Life Magazine for the week ending April 28, the Wednesday edition of American Idol earned a 10.3 rating in black households, up 37 percent from the April 25, 2012 airing, compared to an overall 7.6 household rating.

The Thursday edition of Idol was right behind with an 8.9 rating, up 45 percent from the April 26, 2012 airing, and ahead of the 7 household rating. Both editions of Idol are attracting nearly two million African-American viewers a week.

Idol finished behind ABC’s Thursday night drama Scandal, who finished on top with a 13.9 rating and 2.7 million viewers.

Though less pronounced now than it was during the UPN/WB era when shows featuring black casts dominated the ratings among African-Americans, the recent ratings data shows how segregated the television viewing audience still is as African-Americans long have had different viewing preferences than those of white viewers.

The surge in black viewers comes as American Idol’s ratings have nosedived this season in total viewers, declined significantly in all key demos, and took a beating on Internet sites and social media. Once unthinkable, Idol has been outdrawn at times this season by rival The Voice, Two And A Half Men, original and repeat episodes of The Big Bang Theory, Grey’s Anatomy, NCIS, cable’s Duck Dynasty and The Walking Dead, and locally, was even beaten by Wheel Of Fortune.

Many experts blame the ratings declines on the show’s age, the early elimination of all male contestants (leading to charges the season was fixed in order to get a female contestant to win), and the addition of feuding judges Mariah Carey and Nicki Manaj, who are blaming each other for the ratings decline. On the other hand, the presence of the two divas and two black female contestants in the final four are drawing more African-American viewers to the show.

But even with the increase of black viewers, it was not enough to offset the massive losses Idol has posted this season in overall total viewers and in key demos. Reports were surfacing Monday about showrunner Nigel Lythgoe trying to woo Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Pink, and other big names as judges to the show next season (well, good luck with that.)

Meanwhile, Nick Cannon (Mariah Carey’s hubby) blamed Fox reality chief Mike Darnell for bring Manaj on the show in the first place, while a plot to replace Mimi with a returning Jennifer Lopez backfired when Carey threatened legal action (or in the words of Sally Brown from the Peanuts comic strip, “I’ll sue!”)

What’s worse, most people can’t even identify who the three finalists are. You know the show’s in trouble when more people can recognize recently fired CSN Chicago reporter Susannah Collins.

Its hard to believe, but at one time, Idol drew 30 million viewers per week. With the exception of host Ryan Seacrest, everyone associated with the show -judges, contestants, producers, and Fox personnel (those idiots especially), should share the blame for Idol’s complete embarrassment of a season. The best remedy at this point would be to get Chicago Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz to come in and fire everybody.

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“Cops” moves from Fox to Spike TV

Posted on May 6, 2013 by T Dog | Permalink 0

CopsBeginning in September, first-run installments of Cops is changing addresses from Fox to Spike TV, where it will begin its 26th season. The Viacom-owned cable network plans to run fresh episodes Saturday nights at 7 p.m. (CT), the same time slot Cops occupies now on Fox.

Spike also acquired rights to several past seasons of Cops. Existing off-network deals with other cable networks (G4/Esquire and TruTV) are not affected.

Cops was television’s longest-running television show in broadcast network primetime, lasting 25 seasons and one of the last original shows airing on Saturday nights.

The reality show was paired with another long-running reality series, the now-defunct America’s Most Wanted, where it was paired with Cops for nearly two decades. But in 2011, Wanted shifted to Lifetime and was canceled earlier this year. A year ago, Fox started preempting Cops for live sports, leaving the series with an sporadic schedule. Fox decided a while ago not to renew the show, enabling producer John Langley to shop the show around to other networks, thus culminating in the Spike deal.

Cops‘ departure from Fox leaves CBS’ 48 Hours as the last non-sports program airing original episodes on Saturday nights. There is no word on what Fox would fill the time slot with on weeks it doesn’t air a sporting event.

This past Saturday, Cops won its 7-8 p.m. time slot – but only with a 0.85 rating/3.5 share in adults 18-49, and 2.95 million viewers. Those were the final first-run episodes of the season.

The announcement comes as the nets are firming up their schedules for the 2013-14 season to present to advertisers at next week’s upfront presentations. Look for a lot of bubble shows’ fates to be decided this week.

Fans of the show without cable or satellite can still watch repeats of Cops in broadcast syndication. However, a re-formatted version of those off-network episodes begins airing this fall under the title COPS Reloaded. According to Wikipedia, 891 episodes of Cops have been produced, meaning you can air the program once a day for more than two years without repeating the same episode twice!

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T Dog’s Think Tank: Blackhawks slipping back to old ways

Posted on May 6, 2013 by T Dog | Permalink 0

susannah-collins 2An update to Friday’s story regarding Susannah Collins:

As speculated, Collins’ firing was indeed ordered by Blackhawks’ owner Rocky Wirtz who, according to Robert Channick of the Chicago Tribune Saturday, sent a letter to CSN Chicago, showing his concern about those SportsNutz videos she was in during 2009 and 2010. The copy of the letter was cc’ed to Jerry Reinsdorf (owner of the Bulls and White Sox) and Tom Ricketts, owner of the Cubs – both whose teams are principals in CSN Chicago, with the Blackhawks and Comcast/NBCUniversal the other.

But it was Chicago Sports Media Watch’s Paul Banks who first pointed out on Friday it was the Blackhawks who were instrumental in getting rid of Collins all along. Interestingly enough, the organization was not even aware of those four-year old videos until this week – after Collins slipped up on the air Tuesday night.

Reaction to Collins’ firing has been negative – mainly toward the Blackhawks organization – one who has turned around its negative reputation over the five years from a team who didn’t care about its fanbase to one of the most fan-friendly teams in sports, propelling Rocky Wirtz – son of the unpopular Bill Wirtz (you know, the guy who used refused to televise home games?) – to rock star status, reaching its zenith with the Stanley Cup in 2010.

But much like it is with Mayor Rahm Emanuel (or the Chicago White Sox, whose 2005 World Series victory is now a trivia question), the honeymoon is over. In fact, it ended quite some time ago for Wirtz, who he and 29 other owners locked out the NHL players last fall, led by NHL putz Gary Bettman.

I guess Wirtz didn’t want the organization to be “embarrassed” by the Sports Nutz videos Collins did. I guess this puts the Blackhawks above whoever is running American Idol these days, where dipshit Nicki Manaj keeps her job, despite arriving late, feuding with fellow judges and contestants, and lowering the ratings to a point where it gets beaten by Wheel Of Fortune. Oh yeah, Rocky. Pat yourself on the back. You’re organ-i-zation is now better than a bunch of idiots running (or some would say fixing) a televised karaoke contest.

Meanwhile, the Blackhawks – not to mention every other sports team – is raising their ticket prices, with Comcast SportsNet, ESPN, TimeWarner Cable SportsNet and other sports cable networks paying outrageous sums of money to these teams and the leagues they play in while our cable bills keep skyrocketing every year – not to mention these teams keep asking for more “public subsidies” (another word for taxpayer money) to build – or “enhance” their facilities.

And as for Collins’ SportsNutz’s videos? While those YouTube clips are questionable, at least they’re tamer than anything hip-hop artists like Lil’ Wayne, Rick Ross, and others have on the video-sharing site – such as Chief Keef running around with guns. Leave it to people like Wirtz – and these other old, out-of-touch dinosaurs to misunderstand what social media is all about – the same type of people who are threatening to move the broadcast networks’ signals to cable because someone developed the technology to transmit them over the Internet.

Yes, it would be easy for those broadcasters to strike a deal with Aereo, but its all about CONTROL – the broadcast nets want to control everything – the very same thing the Chicago Blackhawks and other sports teams are trying to do with their own “cable networks”, which we the viewers are paying through the nose for.

And its also worth noting about how the local media has reacted to all of this. While Rachel Shteir’s slam of Chicago two weeks ago generated a huge outcry from Chicago media types, where were they when Collins was fired? Where’s Carol Marin’s three-minute editorial on this matter? (oh, that’s right – she’s a Comcast employee.) Yeah, a panel on Chicago Tonight wouldn’t have time to bother with this issue.

Yup, this is how businesses are now run in the era of media consolidation. Today’s media conglomerates have no backbone or spine, valuing “relationships with partners” than their own employees – while the public yawns. Where were the protests when Comcast merged with NBCUniversal? Where was President Obama on this? Was he too busy watching ESPN while filling out some stupid bracket?

In any case, Big Media wins again, and in this case, Susannah Collins loses.

Something is wrong when Susannah Collins loses her job because of a bunch of forgotten videos and Nicki Manaj is still allowed to embarrass herself in front of dwindling audiences every week. But one thing is certain: both Rocky Wirtz and Idol showrunner Nigel Lythgoe have a bunch of angry fanbases to deal with – if they care to deal with them at all.

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