Ratings Box: Ellen gives boost to Oscars

Posted on March 6, 2014 by T Dog | Permalink 0
Funny... I've never seen this picture before.

Funny… I’ve never seen this picture before.

* The Academy awards telecast on ABC Sunday night with Ellen DeGeneres as host scored the biggest ratings in fourteen years: the gala drew 43.74 million viewers and a 13.1/33 among adults 18-49, easily ranking as the highest-rated entertainment program of the year, up 0.7 percent from the 13/33 final numbers last year, and was up 8 percent in total viewers (40.38 viewers in 2013.) Clearly, the return of DeGeneres as Oscar host made a difference, as the daytime talk show host made a difference, as she was able to deliver more female viewers than last year’s host, Seth MacFarlane.

Locally, the Oscar telecast over WLS-TV drew a 35.6/53 in households, drawing more than a million viewers. The telecast was up from last year’s 33.1/50.

The 2014 Oscar telecast was more positively received than last year’s, despite being dull and slow in spots. But there were some missteps, notably Ellen giving the stars in the audience pizza – not to mention the “selfie” Ellen took with a few stars (see above), which became the most re-tweeted photo ever. Oscar’s effect lingered into Monday morning – and beyond, with numerous parodies of the group photo and endless covers of Let It Go, the Oscar-winning song from the Oscar-winning animated movie Frozen (including one from Dan Ponce.)

* More data was released regarding the just-concluded February sweeps period, and showed the good news extending beyond Olympics-fueled WMAQ-TV – WGN-TV had a lot to crow about as well. Its 9 p.m. newscast not only bested rival WFLD, but took second place in households behind the Olympics with a 5.3 rating, beating entertainment fare on CBS and ABC. WGN was up a whopping 231 percent from its prime-time lead-in (1.6) and was up 6 percent in rating from last year (5.0) But remember, both CBS and ABC sat out their original programming at 9 p.m. in February due to the Olympics, and many cable network shows did likewise.

WGN’s newscasts also topped its competition in the 6-9 a.m. morning slot in households and adult 18-49 and 25-54 demo, while its 11 a.m. newscast beat WLS’ Windy City Live, which fell to third place in households, even behind WBBM-TV’s midday newscast. Windy’s ratings so far have failed to match those it was earning at 9 a.m.

* Despite what was reported elsewhere, the Saturday night matchup between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks at snowy Soldier Field was a big hit for NBC and the NHL. In Nielsen overnight ratings, the outdoor game drew a 2.1 overnight household rating, the highest-rated regular season game ever in primetime, excluding All-Star games (of course, there weren’t too many of these- the last time a NHL regular season contest aired in prime – excluding All-Star games – was on NBC in 1975.)

Chicago lead the way with a 14.9 household rating for WMAQ, becoming the most-watched program of the day in the Windy City and the highest-rated regular-season Blackhawks game in Chicago history. In fact, the Chicago number contributed to 25 percent of the national rating. Pittsburgh’s WPXI came in with a 13.3 household rating, also easily winning the time period.

Nationally, the game drew 2.8 million viewers.

Broadcast Networks, Chicago Media, Local TV (Chicago), Television , , , , , , , , , , , ,

WMAQ hires former “Survivor” contestant as an investigative reporter

Posted on March 4, 2014 by T Dog | Permalink 0

14849293_SAIf Tammy Leitner thought politics on a reality show was something, she hasn’t seen anything yet in regards to Chicago’s.

As first reported by Robert Feder last week, Ms. Leitner has joined the investigative team of NBC-owned WMAQ-TV (known as NBC 5 Investigates) which currently employs Carol Marin, Rob Stafford, Marion Brooks, and others. Leitner started at NBC 5 Monday.

Leitner’s credentials are very impressive: she spent eleven years at Meredith’s KPHO-TV in Phoenix, where apart of the investigative unit at the CBS affiliate, won a Peabody and an Edward R. Murrow Award. Most recently, she worked at CBS-owned WCBS-TV in New York. Leitner is a UCLA graduate, and received a Masters in Journalism from Boston University.

But we all know it takes more than education and a bunch of awards to survive in the Chicago media jungle, where politics and journalism often collide – and the results sometimes aren’t pretty.

And that’s where Leitner’s Survivor experience comes in.

Tammy Leitner in her "Survivor" days.

Tammy Leitner in her “Survivor” days.

Leitner appeared in CBS’ Survivor: Marquesas, which was shot in the fall of 2001 and aired in the spring of 2002. The fourth edition of the reality show featured memorable – and controversial contestants Sean Rector and “Boston Rob” Marciano, who would go on and appear on Survivor three more times. Leitner was briefly on the same tribe (Rotu) with the two troublemakers and was the tenth person voted out of the show and became the sixth member of the jury on May 2, 2002 – but not before she won two individual immunity challenges.

Vecepia Towery won the million dollar prize over Neleh Dennis – but not before Letiner lashed into both contestants at tribal council, criticizing them for their “holier-than-thou” attitudes (Tammy had to change the way she played the game as a result), accused both of being hypocrites,  and dismissed them as liars (fans of the show agreed; many felt Vecepia didn’t deserve the million.)

Survivor host Jeff Probst went on record saying Marquesas was his least favorite season, ahead of only All-Stars. Despite the creatively lackluster season, Marquesas averaged 20.8 million viewers in its Thursday night slot, opposite the popular Friends. Recent editions of Survivor, now on Wednesdays, have averaged half that number.

Just goes to show you having a little reality TV experience on your resume doesn’t necessarily hurt. In fact, it helps a lot – especially in a city known for being one huge, dysfunctional reality show. If Tammy Leitner can put up with Jeff Probst and Boston Rob, she can do the same with Rahm Emanuel, corrupt politicians and scam artists (not to mention some members of the investigative team.)

But now the floodgates have opened. Look for Fox’s WFLD to take advantage and hire a couple of Survivor contestants to add to their news team. Of course, they’ll screw up and hire Russell and Brandon Hantz and that Phillip guy who runs around in pink underwear as their “FBI expert”.

Broadcast Networks, Chicago Media, Local TV (Chicago), Local TV (Outside Chicago), Television , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

T Dog’s Grab Bag: “Arsenio” to return for second season

Posted on February 28, 2014 by T Dog | Permalink 0

Grab Baggin’-

* It’s like good prevailing over evil: CBS Television Distribution announced the renewal of The Arsenio Hall Show for a second season Wednesday evening, with former Tonight Show host Jay Leno delivering the news to Arsenio in person (see above.) This comes as Arsenio has the youngest median age of any late night talk show amid a recent ratings increase. Arsenio is the most-watched entertainment show in the Chicago market at 10 p.m. (thru 10:30) over WGN-TV, whose owner Tribune Broadcasting co-produces the show. WGN is retaining Arsenio at 10 next season, with WPIX in New York and KTLA in Los Angeles doing likewise 11 p.m. slots.

The quality of Arsenio’s guests have improved as of late, with Deion Sanders, Tracey Edmonds, Cloris Leachman, LL Cool J, Scott Bakula and Jada Pinkett Smith appearing this week alone – and it was announced Thursday night that the one and only Prince would be on Arsenio this coming Wednesday. And the show made news recently after an NBC news report on late-night talk shows omitted his and Chelsea Hander’s programs, with Brian Williams apologizing.

The renewal of Arsenio – and the earlier one of Queen Latifah – is in vast contrast to what happened to Bethenny Frankel’s syndicated talk show last week, who got the rug pulled right out from under her. Yes, there is a God!

* In other 10 p.m. news… as expected, WMAQ-TV won the late news race in February, thanks to its parent network’s Olympic lead-ins. But when you take out a few of those newscasts, its ABC-owned WLS-TV emerging as the victor by a wide margin. in households, according to Robert Feder. Among adults 25-54, the race between the two is much closer. With viewing patterns now back to normal, look for WLS to return to its dominant local news position.

While the Olympics helped a lot of NBC affiliates, it didn’t exactly have an halo effect in all markets: in San Antonio for example, perennial third-place station WOAI (formerly known as KMOL) finished there while ABC affiliate KSAT dominated yet again at 10 p.m. – despite finishing fourth in prime time.

Despite Olympic competition, WGN-TV’s 9 p.m. newscast scored a 5.1 HH rating, surpassing CBS’ WBBM-TV 5.0 at 10 p.m. and of course, easily beating Fox’s WFLD 9 p.m. newscast (2.6).

* Striking it while its hot… or cold: guess whose coming to town Sunday to participate in the  Polar Plunge? None other than brand new Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon, who agreed to participate in the plunge – as a favor to Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel. As first reported by Chicago Sun-Times TV critic Lori Rackl, Mayor Emanuel said he would go on Fallon’s Tonight Show – only if he participated in the annual dip into Lake Michigan to benefit the Special Olympics. The move is great for Fallon, whose late night talker is off to a strong start in the ratings and is a smart PR move for Chicago, who could use some positive headlines for a change.

This started of course, when the Sun-Times’ Rackl interviewed with Fallon on February 19, when he mentioned he was “scared” of Mayor Emanuel.

Also participating in the plunge Sunday are Charlie Barnett, David Eigenberg, Tony Ferraris, and Derek Haas from Chicago Fire (the TV show, not the soccer team) and from spinoff Chicago P.D., participating stars are Jon Seda, Patrick Fleuger, and LaRoyce Hawkins.

The Weather forecast Sunday morning calls for snow showers and the temp to hover around 18 F. Try to stay warm, Jimmy!

* Fox released its 2014 Major League Baseball schedule this week, but don’t look for many Cubs and White Sox games on the schedule. In fact, don’t look for any White Sox games at all. The new eight-year contract with Fox moves the bulk of the games to Fox Sports 1, leaving Fox with just 12 weeks of regular-season baseball – the smallest on broadcast since CBS’ 16-game package from 1990-93. Eight of games are in prime access/prime time.

With both Chicago teams underachieving last season, Fox/FS1 have left the Cubs and White Sox off their schedules almost entirely, with the Cubs appearing once on FS1 (against St. Louis on May 3) and only twice regionally on Fox: a June 21 meeting at home against the Pittsburgh Pirates and a game against the Washington Nationals a week later. Meanwhile, the White Sox aren’t scheduled to appear on Fox/FS1 at all, joining the Philadelphia Phillies, Houston Astros, Seattle Mariners, Colorado Rockies, and Toronto Blue Jays as MLB teams who are shut out completely.

Chicago Media, Journalism, Local TV (Chicago), Local TV (Outside Chicago), Sports, Syndication, Television

T Dog’s Think Tank: “Heroes” returns. Oh God, why?

Posted on February 25, 2014 by T Dog | Permalink 0
I guess you can't keep a bad show down - or off the air long.

I guess you can’t keep a bad show down – or off the air long.

Just when you think the idiots who run broadcast network television couldn’t get any stupider, here comes this piece of news: NBC aired a promo Saturday night – yes, Saturday night during the Winter Olympics for the debut next year of a hot new series… Heroes.

What the what?

And here’s the kicker: the person helming this revival of Heroes: Reborn (as its officially called) is none other than the person who created – and later destroyed it, Tim Kring.

So let me get this straight – NBC is reviving a show whose first season was great, and tanked the rest of the way? And the person who screwed this up is back in charge? Are you f’-ing kidding me?

Only in network television.

Yes, NBC has green lighted thirteen episodes of a “reboot” of the 2006-10 sci-fi drama. No other details were available about the show, or if the original cast would reunite.

Reaction to the news on social media has ranged from “Is this a joke?” to the hashtag #NBCReboots, with people joking NBC should revive Pink Lady & Jeff next (personally, I thought Deal Or No Deal would return before Heroes.)

And in the “that was fast department”, they’ve already booked a panel for Comic-Con in July, so only the few die-hard Heroes fans left on Earth can get to see their dear leader Kring.

As you recall, Heroes was the biggest freshman hit of the 2006-07 season, with critical acclaim to boot. The phrase (Save The Cheerleader, Save The World) became a national catch phrase. But the big battle the show was promising midway through the first season was a letdown, as they fought the evil forces – in a shopping mall parking lot (with the highlight being Peter clubbing Sylar with a parking meter.)

Soon afterward, Heroes became a hot mess, exacerbated by the 2007-08 Writer’s Strike amid sloppy writing, with Entertainment Weekly describing the show as “myriad worldwide locals that all look like the backlot of M*A*S*H” and “mediocre special effects”. Thorough no fault of their own, executive producers Jeph Loeb (now head of Marvel Television) and Jesse Alexander were fired early in the third season, apparently the fall guys after a poor start. Former TV Week columnist Josef Adalian, aka TV MoJoe (now at Vulture) ranked Heroes’ decline as the top TV story of 2008, with some very good points.

If you read the T Dog Media Blog between 2007 and 2010, yours truly bashed Heroes and Kring on a regular basis. When Kring criticized his fanbase in 2008, yours truly hit back in a T Dog Media Turkey Awards article:

“The biggest turkey of 2008 is this current season of Heroes and features the worst storytelling I’ve seen anywhere in recent memory (and I’ve seenBarbershop 2.) Too many characters, unbelievably dumb plots (Hiro thinks he’s ten?), abandoning storylines without closure, and horrible, horrible, writing and acting. The result? Ratings are down by 40 percent this year compared to last.

And then there’s Heroes creator Tim Kring, while at a recent screenwriting expo, called his fans “saps” and “dipshits” for watching the series live as it airs and not figuring out how to watch the program in a more superior way, i.e. DVR and DVDs (He has since apologized.) Hey “dipshit”, I have one word to call you and your stupid show- retarded. You’ve lost this viewer. How about a pumpkin pie to the face, you sniveling jackass?”

In a recent post, yours truly joked about Kring working at Wal-Mart – obviously the place where idiots in the media business should be banished to.

After getting demolished by Dancing With The Stars and How I Met Your Mother head-to-head in the ratings during the 2009-10 season, it was over for Heroes, without any storylines wrapped up. And by that time, no cared. Kring went on to create other disasters, such as Fox’s failed drama Touch.

Which poses this question – how do these people keep getting work? Tim Kring getting another shot with Heroes reminds me of when Randy Michaels resurfaced as CEO of Merlin Media three years ago after he and Sam Zell nearly destroyed the Tribune Co. and dumped a successful alternative format on 101.1 in Chicago to launch FM News. By golly, how did that turn out?

Continuing to hire morons like Kring and Michaels just goes to show you how traditional media just doesn’t get it. Take a look at the success of The Walking Dead and House Of Cards and Orange Is The New Black and Game Of Thrones…need I say anything more? While some cable networks, Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon are churning out innovative programming, the best the broadcast networks can do is serve up stale crap like Heroes and NAB talking points, whose president and CEO is a former out-of-touch political idiot who could care less what WE the audience want. Talk about the “power of broadcasting” all you want when Super Bowl numbers come out, but a single day of large viewership is just a drop in the bucket – you also have to program the 364 other days.

Look, viewers know where to go for fresh and innovative programming. The Heroes: Reborn announcement just further drives the point home – it ain’t NBC or any other broadcast network.

So while Netflix or Amazon announces its next big budget innovative drama or comedy, NBC’s next reboot is a “new” show called The New Sanford & Son as network television executives are run by a lot of big dummies – because they keep hiring dipshits like Tim Kring.

And there’s no better place to hold the premiere viewing party for his precious Heroes: Reborn than at the place where there’s less innovation than even at the broadcast networks… Wal-Mart.

Broadcast Networks, Cable, Television , , , , , , , , , ,

T Dog’s Grab Bag: Sports-talk war escalates with Finfer defection

Posted on February 23, 2014 by T Dog | Permalink 0
Regular or unleaded? Josh Henderson (no relation, unfortunately) wants to know.

Regular or unleaded? Josh Henderson (no relation, unfortunately) wants to know.

* The first shot has been fired in the Chicago’s new sports-talk wars: Robert Feder reports that Tribune’s new Game has stolen Ben Finfer away from CBS’ The Score (WSCR), where he’ll serve as producer – but also as show host, being paired with David Kaplan at Noon and then joins Alex Quigley and Howard Griffith from 1-3 p.m. Finfer was actually still employed by the Score when news broke of his hiring by Tribune broke Wednesday afternoon. Finfer had been with the Score nearly for 4 years, but also spent eight years with WMVP-AM.

Also on Thursday, White Sox baseball analyst Steve Stone is returning to The Score after one year at WLS-AM (does anyone even remember him being at WLS?)

Other additions to “The Game” recently include John “Pugs” Moran (he’ll be on Saturdays, 5-8 p.m.), former Cubs pitcher Todd Hollindsworth, and AerysSports.com blogger Julie Dicaro, who now takes over the social media aspects for all of WGN’s radio properties.

* The Nielsen Radio numbers for January are out, and one of the biggest winners were WKQX-FM, who switched from the 87.7 frequency to the much stronger 101.1 spot Monday. During the month WKQX’s alternative format were simulcast on both stations, WKQX scored a 65 percent increase in the overall ratings and finished a strong fourth in among adults 18-34. All-news WBBM-AM finished first overall, followed by WVAZ (V103), WTMX (The Mix), WGCI, and WKSC-FM (Kiss FM).

* After four seasons (and only one in full national syndication), its over and out for America Now!, the Raycom-produced newsmagazine show hosted by Orland Park native Bill Racnic and former Entertainment Tonight anchor Leeza Gibbons. Using a model pioneered by Group W in the 1970′s and 1980′s for PM Magazine and Evening Magazine, Now used material from affiliates (namely from Raycom stations’ newscasts) as well as original content. While the program was cleared in key early fringe time slots in several mid-sized markets, Now suffered from poor time periods in larger markets – including overnight slots in New York (WNYW, 3:30 a.m.) and Chicago (WCIU, 2:30 a.m.).

The show was distributed by Trifecta Entertainment.

* Good news for fans of Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Netflix has picked up the final thirteen episodes of the animated series, which is scheduled to be released March 7. Lucasfilm, the producer of Clone Wars, decided to end the series after its five season run on Cartoon Network ended last March (CN declined to pick up an option for a sixth and final season of the show after Lucasfilm was sold to The Walt Disney Co.) Star Wars: Rebels, a new animated series, is currently in development for Disney XD and should debut this fall.

In addition, reruns of the previous five seasons of Clone Wars are also available on Netflix. Clone Wars had a brief off-network broadcast syndication weekend run during the 2012-13 season.

* Fill ‘er up – and drink up! Warner Bros. and TNT are pulling out the stops to promote the season premiere of Dallas on Feb. 24. One product being pushed is J.R. Ewing Bourbon, manufactured by Southfork Distilling Company (yes, its a real company) and is hitting the shelves of liquor stores in 14 states. So if you find yourself bored with the show’s plot, a little J.R. Ewing Bourbon in your system would make it – or anything else – interesting.

And if you can’t find the Bourbon at your local Binny’s Beverage Depot or Foremost Liquors, you may find it an Ewing Energy gas station – on Monday, for one day only, a gas station is rebranding themselves as Ewing Energies, according to the Wall Street Journal. The promotional stunt is being accompanied by radio spots in ten markets, billboards, and specialty tanker trucks. The exact location and cities and the price of gasoline aren’t exactly being revealed, so you’re going to have to be on the lookout. This of course, is reminiscent of several 7-Elevens turning into “Kwik E-marts” back in 2007 to promote The Simpsons Movie, including one in the Chicago’s Clearing neighborhood.

But if your driving in the Chicago area, forget looking in the one obvious place – Ewing Avenue on the Southeast Side. Running from 92nd Street in South Chicago to 121st and Avenue O in the East Side neighborhood, there isn’t a single gas station the entire 3.6-mile stretch.

Advertising, Chicago Media, Radio, SciFi, Television , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Why “Bethenny” failed

Posted on February 20, 2014 by T Dog | Permalink 0
Audiences said No to "Bethenny".

Audiences said No to “Bethenny”.

Lack of experience, awkwardness, and arrogance kept viewers away from former Real Housewives star’s daytime talker

In a project that never should have seen the light of day, Warner Bros. (or Telepictures, or Lorimar, or whomever) decided last week to put former Real Housewives star Bethenny Frankel’s talk show out of its misery after just five months on the air. Her show was primarily cleared on the Fox-owned stations.

A Telepictures spokesperson came out with the typical bullshit press release: “We are incredibly proud of the creativity, passion and professionalism Bethenny and her staff brought to daytime each and every day and look forward to finishing out the season with more great original episodes. While we are disappointed not to be able to bring the series back for a second season, we remain convinced that Bethenny has a unique voice and that she will continue to be successful in the future.”

Yeah, whatever…blah, blah, blah.

In a rare show of comeuppance against a powerful station group, many non-Fox owned stations who carried Bethenny balked at renewing the series for a second season, though Fox wanted to (explaining why would have to wait another day since Fox-owned stations are the shittest programmers in the marketplace, next to Tribune and Sinclair.) According to Deadline Hollywood, the program lost clearances to Meredith Vieira’s new talk show, set to launch this fall. One of those were in San Francisco, where NBC-owned KNTV – the largest Bethenny affiliate outside the Fox O&Os, picked up Meredith.

So far this season, Bethenny averaged a 0.9 household rating ranking fourteenth out of seventeen talk shows. In the key female 25-54 demo – where Bethenny had been trending upward lately – is tied for eleventh.

But in Chicago, it was clear Windy City viewers were not interested in anything the heffer had to say. Airing over Fox-owned WFLD in October 2013 (the latest ratings data yours truly has available), Bethenny earned only a 0.3/1 household rating/share at 4 p.m., down 50 percent from what Dr. Oz earned in the time slot in October 2012. Bethenny ranked seventh in the time period, with the 11 a.m. rerun faring no better (0.5/2). In fact, the 4 p.m. airing of Bethenny was the lowest-rated program on WFLD’s schedule from noon through 12:30 a.m.

Oh Bethenny.

Oh Bethenny.

Bethenny seemed to be on track to a strong future after her show was successfully tested on several Fox-owned stations in 2012. But when the series went to a full national launch last September, it was a train-wreck disaster. Reports of behind-the-scenes turmoil surfaced with some staff, guests, and even audience members complaining of her icy demeanor – which may have led to most A and even B-list guests shunning the show.

The series’ appearance on the air was just as bad, with rampant sex talk, awkward interviews, and rather bizarre segments, even by Jerry Springer-like standards. One of these featured former Apprentice star Omarosa Manigualt, who won a bet against Frankel and wanted her to channel Allison Payne and write her a check on the air. The confrontational segment was so obviously staged, you can see Vince McMahon smiling in the background. Add Frankel’s constant whining about her personal life – notably her recent divorce – and its easy to see why viewers fled for the exits – and why many never came through the doors to begin with.

Given all of this, and her inability to handle herself on-camera, Bethenny Frankel was more qualified to be a talk show guest on Springer or Maury than to host one of her own. Her talk show didn’t mimic the style of Oprah Winfrey or Phil Donahue so much it wound up mimicking the style of Morton Downey Jr., Richard Bey, and Geraldo Rivera instead.

And as a result, its off to The T Dog Media TV Hall Of Shame. And look! Bethenny’s already started celebrating…

bethenny-shot

Syndication, Television , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Jimmy Fallon’s “Tonight Show” debut gets off to a rockin’ start

Posted on February 18, 2014 by T Dog | Permalink 0

TSWJF

Lost in all the hoopla over the launch of The Game and 101WKQX Monday (ha ha) was the premiere of The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon on NBC, with the 39-year old comedian and Late Night host succeeding Jay Leno. And the results were amazing.

Fueled by an Olympic-lead-in (actually after the local news), Fallon earned a whopping 11.3 1 million viewers and a 3.8 adults 18-49 rating in an midnight/11 p.m. Central time slot. What’s more impressive is the 3.8 beat every ABC, Fox, and CBS program in primetime last week.

Fallon’s Tonight Show debut bested Conan O’Brien’s Tonight Show June 1, 2009 debut by 19 percent and was flat in the adults 18-49 demo. However, Fallon’s Tonight Show numbers were down from Jay Leno’s finale on Feb. 6, which drew 14.64 million viewers, the highest Tonight Show rating in 20 years. Leno also had a 3.8 adult 18-49 demo.

In the Chicago area, Fallon blew out the competition with a 10.4 household rating and a 6.0 among adults 25-54 at 11 p.m., according to Lewis Lazare at Chicago Business Journal. Chicago finished fourth among most-watched metered markets (Denver’s KUSA was first.)

Fallon debut as Tonight Show host also brings the series back to New York City for the first time since 1972. Fallon’s first guests were Will Smith and their was an awesome 30 Rock rooftop performance from U2.

Reviews for Fallon were quite positive – given the likability of the host (as opposed to his predecessor), Fallon should settle in as host of The Tonight Show quite easily.

Meanwhile, Fallon’s old late-night slot is being taken over by Seth Myers effective Monday.

Broadcast Networks, Television , , , , , , , , , ,

“Game On” for 87.7 FM, Tribune Broadcasting

Posted on February 18, 2014 by T Dog | Permalink 0

The Game

 

After several weeks and a lot of research, Tribune Broadcasting’s WGWG-LP decided to name their new station on 87.7 FM, “The Game”.

The new lineup consists of morning duo Tia Mowry and Hill Harper who’ll try not to get on each other’s nerves before 7:00 a.m. (of course, they would likely skip town after only six months.) For middays, its Wendy Raquel Robinson, with her brand of humor (don’t confuse her with Wendy Williams.) In afternoon drive, its WWE Wrestler Triple H – and he promises to piledrive a guest onto the studio show on every show! Finally in evening shift, its The G-Unit Show featuring rapper The Game, with 50 Cent and Lloyd Banks spinning hip-hop tunes all night long!

Okay, by now you probably figured out this lineup is a bunch of bunk.

Seriously, WGN did launch a new FM station Monday at 1:02 p.m. – but not the one many were expecting. Tribune decided to launch an all-sports station branded as “The Game” on FM 87.7, perhaps the most unoriginal and overused name in media, next to “Genesis”. Already “The Game” is referred to as a BET sitcom, a nickname for a wrestler, and a rapper from Compton (as I was parodying above)- not to mention many other sports-talk stations around the country, such as Atlanta.

But it’s the content that matters more: The Game has some seasoned vets alongside with some young talent and soon-to-be-newcomers. General manager Jimmy DeCastro told Robert Feder Monday he was going after a younger, more educated audience, as opposed to his older-skewing rivals WSCR-AM (The Score) and WMVP-AM (ESPN 1000), the latter DeCastro helped launch in 1993 when the station was still owned by Evergreen Media. DeCastro told Feder: “We want this to be young and hip and fun”.

Since The Game is on 87.7, the fun could be over in September 2015 if Tribune can’t buy an FM signal to stick its sports format on, due to the elimination of the frequency as all low-power TV stations (87.7 FM is LPTV Channel 6) must convert to digital.

Now, here’s the REAL weekday lineup:

6-9 a.m. Jonathan Brandmeier (also on WGN.FM)
9-Noon: David Kaplan/David Haugh
Noon-1 p.m.: Inside The Game With David Kaplan
1 p.m.- 3 p.m. Alex Quigley/Howard Griffith
3 p.m.- 7 p.m. Harry Teinowitz/Spike Manton
7 p.m.-10 p.m.: Mark Carman

NBC Sports Radio provides overnight programming from 10 p.m.-5 a.m., and the 5-6 a.m. hour are Bits Of Brandmeier, which are best of segments.

Alex Quigley is a former WKQX (Emmis era) personality, while Big Ten Network’s Howard Griffith is a former NFL player who is a Mendel Catholic (now the site of Gwendolyn Brooks High School) graduate. David Haugh makes his debut as a radio talk host while still writing for the Chicago Tribune; he’s being paired with David Kaplan, who’ll no longer be hosting evenings on WGN-AM – he’ll be replaced by Pete McMurray, from 7-11 p.m. Meanwhile, WMVP alum Teinowitz is reunited with Spike Menton. And more personalities are expected to join the station in the next few months.

Weekend programming has yet to be nailed down, but here’s good news for sports fans – if there’s a conflict between two teams playing at the same time (such as a Cubs and a Blackhawks playoff game), WGN-AM will air one and WGWG will have the other.

The move to all-sports certainly took a few by surprise (including yours truly), figuring it would be WGN.FM’s Internet feed being simulcast on 87.7. Instead, WGN.FM’s internet feed remains separate, with Brandmeier’s show looped all day, at least for now.

Look at it this way: if “The Game” personalities don’t work out, they can hire what’s left of the cast of the BET sitcom of the same name. I have a feeling they’ll need to find work real soon.

WKQX moves back to 101.1

101WKQXTo make way for Tribune to take over the 87.7 frequency, WKQX ended the simulcast between it and 101.1 FM, moving exclusively to the latter, at 1:01 p.m. Monday. The move was low-key, as a promo played to officially usher in the Cumulus era at WKQX. Since the station can’t rebrand itself again as Q101 due to legal issues, they went with the disappointing 101WXQX branding, which is quite a mouthful to say. WKQX should have gone with the much cooler – and easier to say 101X, X101, or simply, “The X”.

The good news for listeners is the entire staff from the Q87.7 era remains intact, and is even making additions: Brian Phillips teams up with existing WKQX personality Lou Lombardo for morning drive. Phillips did two tours of duty with former Merlin Media’s alternative outlet WRXP-FM in New York City.

Chicago Media, Radio

WGN Radio heads to 87.7 FM

Posted on February 15, 2014 by T Dog | Permalink 0

WGN FMIt looks like WGN Radio has finally gotten its wish to land on an FM outlet – even if its temporary.

As first reported by Robert Feder Friday afternoon, Tribune Broadcasting has struck a deal to lease the 87.7 FM frequency from Venture Technologies Group,  effective Monday (Feb. 17) at 1:02 p.m. – one minute after its deal with WKQX to program the station expires. Vice president of creative content Tom Manley, is overseeing the station, whose call letters would reportedly be WGWG-LP and simulcast WGN.FM., an online feed separate from WGN-AM.

So why the unusual start time? Because a minute earlier – at 1:01 p.m., WKQX is ending its 87.7/101.1 FM simulcast to program exclusively on the 101.1 frequency, as Merlin Media’s local marketing agreement to program 87.7 comes to an end as Merlin struck a deal with Cumulus to take over operations of WLUP and WKQX  just three days into the new year. No word yet on an official branding name, but the station’s Twitter handle has already been renamed 101WKQX.

The move returns Jonathan Brandmeier to terrestrial radio after losing his WGN-AM slot to Steve Cochran. WGN FM’s only other offering includes a show from Harry Teinowitz.

The move comes as WGN Radio owner Tribune Broadcasting continues to hunt for an FM station. Due to FCC regulations, Tribune can’t purchase a radio station in Chicago due to cross-ownership rules given their ownership of the Chicago Tribune. Tribune plans to spin it and other papers off into a separate company later this year, freeing Tribune to buy an FM outlet. Since Tribune is leasing the 87.7 frequency from Venture Technologies, they would not run afoul of the cross-ownership rules, as they would be programming the station, not owning it outright. Also, like other stations on the 87.7 frequency, their future is unknown as the FCC has mandates all low-power stations flip to digital next year. The 87.7 dial shares a frequency with LPTV Channel 6.

No set format has been announced yet, despite an online report from another local media website stating WGWG would be “mostly sports”. However, Radio Insight reported Thursday that eight domain names were registered recently – all but one with “The Game” in the title. The domains were registered by Mindy Semetis Kaplan, VP of marketing at pizza chain Lou Malnati’s – and she is the wife of WGN-AM host David Kaplan.

Still, this doesn’t necessarily mean the station would be going “mostly sports”, as the whopping 1100-word online report is claiming.

The moves has no effect on WGN-AM and no personalities from the mothership are expected to appear on WGWG.

Chicago Media, Radio , , , , , , , ,

Comcast, TimeWarner Cable agree to merge

Posted on February 13, 2014 by T Dog | Permalink 0

ctwIn what can be described as a historic deal, Philadelphia-based Comcast Corp. – the country’s largest cable operator – is purchasing New York City-based Time Warner Cable – the second-largest cable operator for $45 billion, or $159 a share in an all-stock deal.

The combined entity will boasts 30 million subscribers when Comcast plans to divest three million households due to antitrust concerns. Comcast will also control a third of the U.S. pay TV market and more than half of the Triple Play: video, voice, and broadband Internet. The deal gives Comcast entry into parts of the New York City and the entire Los Angeles market, which are under Time Warner Cable control. Comcast’s largest U.S. market is Chicago, followed by Comcast’s hometown, Philadelphia. Proponents behind the deal say neither company overlaps in any zip code.

DMA List

Markets where Comcast and Time Warner Cable are predominant (click for a larger view.)

Charter – who was also a suitor for Time Warner Cable – is the nation’s fourth largest cable company, behind Cox. Charter serves the St. Louis market.

The deal represents the latest move by Comcast to expand. In 2010, it purchased NBC Universal for $13.75 billion.

The Federal Communication Commission and the Justice Department must approve this deal, and possibly the Federal Trade Commission. There is no doubt politicians on both sides of the aisle will weigh in, too.

As expected, news of the Comcast-TWC merger was ferociously panned on social media and elsewhere. Many think the deal would lead to higher prices and less competition and even worse customer service. Others fear a combined Comcast-TWC would undoubtedly wield a large amount of clout in negotiations. Activist groups diverse as Free Press to the Parents Television Council to the Writers Guild Of America wasted no time in opposing the deal.

The deal also could be bad news for streaming services such as Netflix and Apple TV as they depend on broadband to deliver programming – broadband Comcast-TWC now controls in over half the country.

Meanwhile, Time Warner Cable has three sports cable channels in Southern California – one for the Los Angeles Dodgers (which launches next month) and two with the Los Angeles Lakers, which announced a deal with TWC to launch their Sportsnet three years ago tomorrow. They would join the Comcast SportsNet and NBC Sports family, which includes Comcast SportsNet Chicago.

In Chicago and Northwest Indiana, Comcast is the dominant MSO with a market share above 75 percent, despite the presence of alternatives such as AT & T U-Verse, RCN, and Wide Open West – but not all of them are available in all areas.

There is no doubt this deal will have an industry impact from Philadelphia to Hollywood, from New York to right here in Chicago (the Cubs would definitely have to go through Comcast-TWC if they ever want their own cable network launched – a feat easier said than done.)

Will this guy become the new face of cable in America?

Cable Jerk

 

 

 

 

 

Or this guy?

Larry

 

 

 

 

 

Either way, we’re screwed.

Cable, FCC/Politics/Government, Sports, Tech/New Media, Television , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

T Dog’s Grab Bag: WLS-AM fined by FCC

Posted on February 12, 2014 by T Dog | Permalink 0

5366News briefs from Chicago and beyond:

- Cumulus-owned WLS-AM has been fined $44,000 from the Federal Communications Commission for failing to disclose eleven news items it broadcast were advertisements.  The “news items” aired on WLS between March and May 2009 (during the ownership reign of Citadel, Inc.), for Workers Independent News, who pretended to interview a local politician. Workers failed to disclose it was a paid promotional piece, which led listeners to confuse it with an actual news story. WLS has until February 25 to pay the fine.

- Back by popular demand: Remember a few weeks ago when RadioDiscussions.com shut down? Well, guess what – it’s back. The site resurfaced Tuesday morning after Streamline Digital (who run the RBR website) closed the boards in December 2013 due to the inability to generate advertising revenue. But Streamline had a change of heart: “Since the site went away we’ve learned how passionate radio people were about it and how much they missed it”, said Deborah Palenti, who is executive vice-president-radio of Streamline. “I made it my mission to bring it back and integrate it back into the community of people who love this industry. It also broadens our offering to advertisers because of the different audience profile from our other publications. Plus Boz’ (Charles Bosworth) is not only passionate about radio, he has a deep understanding of the technology and the importance of online communities. He was one of the original moderators when Doug Fleming was running the site. We think he will make it very successful.”

Fleming originally founded the site, when it was known as Radio-Info in 1998. Bosworth (or Boz) is the site’s new General Manager and Chief Moderator.

Radio Discussions’ will soon return to T Dog Media Friends links section, which is located to the right.

- Viewers outside of the area who don’t have Chicago ties probably haven’t noticed, but WGN America, the national “Superstation” version of WGN-TV Chicago, has dropped the 9 p.m. local newscast from its lineup, replacing it (for the time being) with syndicated reruns. The move comes as WGN America is repositioning itself as a national cable channel to compete with TBS, USA, and others for advertiser dollars. WGN America is set to debut several original scripted series this year, as the channel held its first-ever TCA presentation last month.

If any indication, this move is resembling the TBS/WPCH separation in 2007, when Time Warner decided to permanently split the national and local feeds of WTBS in Atlanta (the local feed was rebranded as Peachtree TV, or WPCH-TV.) Longtime staple Atlanta Braves baseball left TBS in 2007 and left Peachtree after the 2012 season. The Chicago Cubs are reportedly looking for a new TV home in 2015 as their contract with WGN-TV and WGN America expire this year.

WGN’s 4 a.m-5 a.m. and noon-1 p.m. newscast remain on WGN America for the time being.

- Quincy, Ill.-based Quincy Newspapers, Inc. has bought several stations from Granite Broadcasting and Malmara Broadcasting: WEEK-TV, the NBC affiliate in downstate Peoria, in addition to WPTA (ABC) in Fort Wayne, In.; KBJR (NBC) and satellite KRII in Duluth, and WBNG (CBS) in Bingamaton, N.Y. With the acquistion, Quincy is to provide operating services for ABC affiliate WHOI and My Network TV affiliate WAOE in Peoria, along with SagamoreHill stations in Fort Wayne and Duluth.

On Monday, Granite announced it was selling its Detroit (WMYD) and Buffalo (WKBW) stations to Scripps. The Cincinnati-based company already owns ABC affiliate WXYZ in the Motor City.

Quick Hits & Bits:

- From Robert Feder: WLS-TV, Chicago Sun-Times enter new marketing agreement, which includes weather updates delivered by the ABC-owned station to the paper’s website.

- Mancow gets a new distributor, who is basically the Byron Allen of the radio syndication business. So far, no sign of the show returning to WCKG-AM, its former outlet before the syndicator change.

- From Lewis Lazare: WMAQ-TV receives more good ratings news from the Sochi Olympic games.

-Syndication beat: Connection III’s Made In Hollywood, Made in Hollywood Teen Edition, renewed for the 2014-15 season.

- There goes the neighborhood: San Francisco’s KRON-TV, a onetime dominant NBC affiliate, is moving into the facilities of ABC-owned KGO-TV, according to 415 Media’s Rich Liberman. Unlike other situations where there are two or more stations in a single facility via a local, shared, or joint marketing agreement, both KRON and KGO are to retain separate operations. Which led yours truly to say this Monday:

Cable, Chicago Media, FCC/Politics/Government, Local TV (Outside Chicago), Radio, Television , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Chicago viewers tune in for Sochi games

Posted on February 10, 2014 by T Dog | Permalink 0

NBC at Sochi

Opening ceremonies ranked fourth; Twin Cities gets ratings gold

For a city who is basically sick of winter by now (and who isn’t), it doesn’t our interest in the Winter Olympics had been dampened – not by a long shot.

Friday marked the Opening Ceremonies of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Despite being tape-delayed for nine hours (one, with the right **ahem**, maneuvering, could’ve watched it live on the internet earlier in the day), the opening ceremonies (OC) drew a whopping 31.7 million viewers, the most non-live ceremony since the 1994 Lillihammer games, carried by CBS. The telecast was up 43% in total viewers from the OC of the 2006 Torino games.

Among adults 18-49, the opening ceremonies drew a 8.7 rating.

In metered overnight ratings, the Sochi OC drew a 17.0/28 household rating/share, down only 2% from the 2010 Vancouver OC, which were carried live.

The numbers are quite impressive for a Friday; in recent years, Fridays have become an afterthought to most network programmers as reality shows, second-tier sitcoms, and older-skewing programming usually fill the night (though recently, a Blue Bloods episode on CBS drew an impressive 12 million viewers.)

Meanwhile, Chicagoans turned out en masse for the Sochi ceremony, with NBC’s WMAQ scoring a 21.6/34 locally, placing fourth among Nielsen’s 56 metered household markets. Minneapolis-St. Paul finished first (KARE, 26/45), followed by Salt Lake City (KSL, 24.4/43); and snowbird-populated Ft. Myers, Fla. (WBBH, 21.7/34).

Among other Midwest markets, Kansas City tied fifth with Boston (21.5); Milwaukee placed seventh (20.7/35) and Indianapolis placed fourteenth (WTHR, 19.3/32).

While the 21.6/34 locally is impressive, it still falls far short of the 44.8/68 WFLD earned for Super Bowl XLVIII on Feb. 2.

 

Sports, Television , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

NATPE: Day 3

Posted on February 9, 2014 by T Dog | Permalink 0

unnamedIt’s the third and final day of the 2014 NATPE gathering from the Fountainbleu Hotel in Miami, which took place on January 29.

- Fresh off receiving the Brandon Tartikoff Legacy Award, Groupo Televisa president Emilo Azcarranga Jean gave a Global Keynote Wednesday morning (January 29) about his company’s success. In a conversation with Anna Carugati of World Screen, Azcarranga Jean talked about the change the industry went through, and pointed out its the production and distribution of content – and Televisa producers 90,000 hours of it a year – some he admitted was lacking in quality. But Azcarranga Jean points out product quality is important – especially when selling to the U.S., where Univision is a major client.

With a large amount of content, the Mexican TV giant is looking for new platforms to present it, making it available to those who want to view content on any device when they want to see it. Jean also talked Televisa’s International growth, especially in the U.S. and Brazil.

While Televisa programming is available on Unvision, the Televisa network is available to U.S. viewers in cities near the Mexican border – i.e. in San Diego, over XEWT/Channel 12, based in nearby Tijuana, and targets Hispanics on both sides of the border. Televisa also owns Tijuana’s XETV, also based in San Diego and is a CW affiliate run by Bay City Television. XETV was also a one-time ABC and Fox affiliate.

- So…after three days at NATPE, how did it go? According to NATPE CEO Rod Perth, attendance at the gathering increased from last year, with double-digit growth, although no exact figures were yet available. From Worldscreen.com, Perth notes: “We had enormous spin coming out of the word of mouth from last year”, he said at a press conference January 29, the last day of the gathering. The most important number that you should know about is double-digit growth in buyers.”, Perth noted. Digital played a key role in this year’s conference, with new media players Aereo, Roku, You Tube, and Twitter holding sessions. Many deals were made with international buyers were made either to bring concepts or existing programs to their market.

- While NATPE isn’t just about syndication anymore, there was some buzz on a few bubble shows, according to TVNewscheck:

* Even though it has a two-year deal,  CBS Television Distribution’s The Arsenio Hall Show hasn’t shown any growth in its five months on the air – the show is averaging a 0.7 household rating, and a 0.4 ratings among 18-49 – behind all other talk shows and even The Daily Show and The Colbert Show on cable. A second season isn’t guaranteed – just ask Jeff Probst, whose daytime talker had a two-year deal last season and was cut after just one. A problem for Arsenio seems to be the lack of A-list guests (Andrew Dice Clay in 2014, are you kidding me?) Sorry, booking D-list celebrity guests and no-name rappers aren’t going to cut it.

* Turning to daytime, Bethenny Frankel is also on the bubble: despite recent growth in the key 25-54 demo, ratings are still not where they needed to be to get a second season renewal. To this effect, Warner Bros. started to run her show on Bravo at 5 p.m. weekdays for a few weeks, hoping for a boost. It appears Frankel’s popularity is fading (if you call it that) – her Skinnygirl cocktail line is down double-digits in sales from a year ago.

* Another show on its way to flunking out is CBS Television Distribution and Tribune’s hoary The Test, which has averaged a 0.4 rating in the key daytime demo of women 25-54. What’s more interesting is a recent three-week test of another talk show (Serch) did better, with a 0.5 rating. Serch was recently tested on Tribune stations in markets such as New York and Los Angeles – the same stations who carry The Test. If ratings don’t improve, Serch could get the green light to take over Test’s time periods. Serch is also produced by CBS/Tribune (as is Arsenio Hall.)

While sources say decision on these shows could take place in mid-February, look for the jury to be out longer than that- perhaps either during or after the May sweeps.

Syndication, Tech/New Media, Television , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Super Bowl ratings: One for the record books

Posted on February 4, 2014 by T Dog | Permalink 0

Seahawks winTribune Broadcasting came out as biggest winner of all – four of its stations placed in the top ten most-watched markets 

If you thought the audience would dwindle due to the Seattle Seahawks’ blowout of the Denver Broncos in last Sunday’s Super Bowl, think again.

To the surprise of many (and to the astonishment of others), Super Bowl XLVIII on Fox turned out to be the most-watched event in television history, drawing a final tally of 112.2 million viewers, eclipsing the mark set by Super Bowl XLVI in 2012, on NBC (New England Patriots vs. New York Giants.) The game averaged a 46.7 household rating and a 69 share, up slightly from what CBS earned last year.

Among Nielsen’s overnight markets, there was another surprise – the top-rated market wasn’t Seattle or Denver – but Kansas City, whose Fox affiliate (WDAF) earned a 58.1/78. Seattle’s KCPQ followed followed with a 56.7/92, and in third place was Indianapolis – Peyton Manning’s former home market when he played for the Colts – where WXIN earned a 53.9/74. Denver’s KDVR came in with a 51.4/83.

All four stations are owned by Tribune Broadcasting – making this a huge financial boon for the Chicago-based station group as they accounted for four of the ten highest-rated markets. Tribune purchased KDVR and WDAF as part of their Local TV LLC acquisition last year.

Host DMA New York – home to WNYW – averaged a 50.5 household rating, the highest-rated Super Bowl in the market in 27 years.

In Chicago, the game averaged a 44.8/68. 

Meanwhile, Bruno Mars and the Red Hot Chili Peppers halftime show (which actually got rave reviews as opposed to past Super Bowl Halftime Shows), drew a whopping 115.3 rating, the highest rating ever for a halftime show.

The Super Bowl also the most streamed event in U.S. history, averaging 528,000 viewers per minute, peaking at 1.1 million at 8:11 Central Time.

Meanwhile, the two Super Bowl lead-outs (New Girl and Brooklyn Nine-Nine) both reached historic highs. New Girl (with Special Guest Star Prince), finished with 26.3 million viewers and a 11.4/27 in adults 18-49 – the highest rating for any sitcom in six years and a huge shot in the arm for the declining sitcom, which was beaten in its Tuesday night recently by ABC rookie sitcom The Goldbergs.

After New Girl was Brooklyn Nine-Nine, which scored a season high 15 million viewers and a 6.9/18 in adults 18-49.

And if you weren’t interested in football, you had plenty of company: Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl X drew a total of 13.5 million viewers Sunday for the twelve-hour marathon, making it the top-rated cable show of the day.

Sports, Television , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Best and Worst Super Bowl Commercials – 2014

Posted on February 4, 2014 by T Dog | Permalink 0

Welcome to the eighth annual T Dog Media Best and Worst Super Bowl Commercials review. The ads were featured in Super Bowl XLVIII between the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks, televised by Fox for the seventh time in its history.

This was a more subdued presentation this time around, with puppies, Army heroes, and classic TV reunions as opposed to naked men sliding out of windows, acts of violence, and farting horses in the past.

Here’s are the five best and five worst ads, picked by yours truly. To see the ad, click on its title.

Ads too good to be skipped with a DVR

Radio_Shack-logo-014148C343-seeklogo.com

1. Radioshack, “The Phone Call.” Remember the days when Radio Shack sold those Tandy Computers and those cordless phones? Well, a bunch of ’80′s icons wanted those things back in a very effective and amusing ad (too bad they didn’t use the retro logo.)

2. T-Mobile-Time Tebow Ads. Former NFL QB Tim Tebow mocks himself in these surprisingly amusing ads. You can view them here and here.

3. Cheerios, “Gracie.” This ad caused controversy because it featured an interracial couple and a biracial daughter (get over it, this is 2014.) It’s a cute ad featuring Gracie finding out she’s going to have a baby brother – and getting a puppy.

4. Budweiser, “Hero’s Welcome.” A real sweet, touching ad featuring a soldier coming home to a hero’s welcome. Now let’s party!

5. Dannon Oikos, “The Spill.” John Stamos nearly has sex while eating yogurt with a woman, and guess who barges in? Danny and Uncle Joey from Full House! (Or that guy who used to host that Funniest Home Videos show and Alanis Morisette’s ex, who alledgly wrote a song about him.)

Honorable Entry:

Met Life, “National Anthem” (featuring the Peanuts gang.) The ad wasn’t included here because it aired before the Super Bowl started. But what a great way to welcome viewers to the game with Schroeder playing the national anthem.

Another Honorable Entry: 

Jamie Casino, Injury Lawyer: “Casino’s Law”. This was actually a local ad airing over Fox affiliate WTGS in Savannah during the Super Bowl, but this has to be the most awesome commercial ever – would easily finish first had this been a national ad.  And it’s touching, too.

Other Honorable Mentions: M&Ms (Delivery), GoDaddy (The Epic Quit), Beats (The Right Music, with Ellen DeGeneres)

Get these ads off my DVR!

1. Heinz, “Hum”. Happiness is Heinz? Sorry, the Happiness Is… business is operated by the schulz estate. How about bringing back the ad with Matt LeBlanc while “Jane’s Getting Serious” playing in the background – even if its putting ketchup on a hot dog?

2. H&M, “Undercovered”. Judging by all those tattoos, does David Beckham play soccer or for the NBA?

3. Any Doritos Ad. A Time Machine, a child riding a dog? Oh Ali Laundry, where have you gone?

4. Squarespace, “A Better Ad Awaits.” No it doesn’t. At least not this one.

5. Carmax, “Slow Clap.” What’s the deal with this ad? Your watching to see whether or not the people standing around would break out in applause. Pointless, just as much as CarMax is.

Most disappointing: Goes to a pair of Bud Light commercials. You expect a night on the town and you ride in a limo – only to find your playing ping-pong with a former Governor of California.

Entries that also stunk: Audi (Doberhuahua); Intuit Quickenbooks (Come On Bring The Toys), TurboTax (Love Hurts)

Halftime Show: Bruno Mars took the stage in the Super Bowl Halftime Show with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Unlike the forgettable performances over the last few years (The Who, Madonna, Paul McCartney, Black Eyed Peas), Mars rocked it on stage in a memorable, Grammy-like performance. And yours truly wasn’t a Bruno Mars fan.

Other Thoughts: Overall, Fox presented a rather impressive production, as opposed to CBS’ lackluster one last year. Joe Buck and Troy Aikman were on their game and the post-game ceremony didn’t drag on, enabling Fox to start Super Bowl lead-out New Girl only 20 minutes late. The Declaration Of Independence reading was just outstanding, and NBC and CBS should follow Fox’s lead on this when they air future Super Bowls.

On the downside was a crass attempt to inject politics on a day to celebrate football, with Bill O’Reilly interviewing President Obama, in a segment live at the White House.

How intense was this interview? There would be less tension if you put Omorosa and Bethenny Frankel in the same room.

No doubt this was ordered from the top by 21st Century Fox head Rupert Murdoch. The interview could have aired anywhere else on the schedule or on Fox News. I hate it when they mix politics with football coverage. Shame on Fox for this ridiculous stunt.

Further reading/viewing:

- For the 26th consecutive year, USA Today monitored Super Bowl ads through its Ad Meter, which is topped generally by animals and kids every year. Quality not exactly a prerequisite to win here.

- For the eighth consecutive year in the row, YouTube is rating the ads with its Super Bowl Ad Blitz, where you can vote for your favorite. Voting ends next Monday.

- Ad Age has a review of every Super Bowl ad, ranked from a half-a-star to four.

- Looking for a local perspective? The Chicago Sun-Times Lori Rackl and Chicago Business Journal’s Lewis Lazare have their thoughts.

- Finally, if you’re looking for past Super Bowl Ad reviews from T Dog Media dating back to 2007, I’m got ‘em all in one place – click here.

Advertising