Fox affiliate WITI-TV in Milwaukee decided not to air the abomination that is Osbournes: Reloaded, a variety special aired tonight on Fox, after American Idol. Instead, the program is airing at 1 a.m. WITI originally planned not to air the special, but decided to delay it until 1 a.m. Wednesday at the last minute. The station was a Fox O&O […]
Chicago, that great newspaper town… now with both in Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Chicago Sun-Times has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, as the troubled newspaper is sinking under a massive amount of debt, which includes a lot to the IRS. The Sun-Times joins The Tribune in Chapter 11, who filed for bankruptcy several months ago. The paper has never recovered […]
The Guiding Light may soon be extinguished. CBS and Procter & Gamble Productions are expected to decide soon on the fate of television and radio’s longest-running program (combined) currently clocked in at 70 years. Light, which began on radio in 1937 and moved to television in 1952, has fared poorly in the ratings over the last two decades. It is […]
Ed Sherman (remember him?) has a business of sports blog at Crain’s ChicagoBusiness.com and the former Chicago Tribune sports media reporter has dirt on a possible move by NBC-owned WMAQ-TV to outsource their sports department to Comcast SportsNet.This comes as stations are looking for ways to save money in an already declining economy. Many have eliminated their sports departments altogether. […]
A ton of news on the animation beat this week: – Cartoon Network held its upfront in New York on Wednesday, and revealed a bunch of new programming. Renewals include Star Wars: Clone Wars, Ben 10, and Total Drama Island. New additions include some live-action programming (including original movies) and yet another Scooby-Doo television series, titled Scooby-Doo Mystery Inc. plus […]
She’s back… and she didn’t even have to be banished to Rockford, Peoria, or Cheyenne, Wyo. to find work… Call it a career reboot… Amy Jacobson was hired Friday by Citadel Broadcasting’s WLS-AM to join Roe Conn’s top-rated afternoon show as a sidekick, beginning in May. As you recall (or probably sick of hearing about), Jacobson was fired by her […]
Tom Joyner, whose syndicated radio show was dropped by WVAZ-FM (V103) Monday, doesn’t seem to be bitter about the move, according to an interview he gave to the Chicago Tribune’s Phil Rosenthal on Friday. Joyner said he has been fired before, but the cancellation of his radio show by WVAZ was “different from the others.” Tuskegee, Ala. – born Joyner […]
WYCC-TV (which is on Channel 20) will become Chicago’s first television station to stop broadcasting in analog on April 16, two months ahead of the June 12 transition date. The public television station (run by the City Colleges of Chicago and is based at Kennedy-King College on 63rd and Halsted) will join dozens of other stations across the country to […]
Mornings are going to be a riot on WGCI… As speculated on Monday, beginning April 1 (and no, this isn’t an April Fool’s Joke), currently afternoon personality Tony Sculfield will take over the morning drive spot from Steve Harvey, who is moving from WGCI to sister station WVAZ (V103) to replace the canceled Tom Joyner Morning Show. Sculfield (who was […]
Fox-owned WFLD-TV here in Chicago (and sis station KTTV in Los Angeles) have picked up the half-hour syndicated version of Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader from Twentieth Television for this fall. The game show, produced by Survivor creater Mark Burnett and hosted by Jeff Foxworthy, has aired on prime-time on Fox to respectable ratings. The program has cleared […]
Chicago February PPM results (keep in mind this survey is based on the 6+ demo): Winners: WBBM-AM, WDRV-AM, WLIT-FM (The Lite), WKSC-FM (Kiss), WVIV-FM Surprise – they’re moving up! WPWX-FM (Power 92) Losers: WSCR-AM (The Score), WFMT-FM Not much to talk about in this February PPM survey, with all-news WBBM-AM holding on to the top spot, despite a drop of […]
Grab bag time! – Tom Joyner, whose TJMS was disposed of from Clear Channel’s WVAZ-FM (V103) yesterday, has more on the show’s departure from Chicago’s airwaves in an interesting blog read. – George Lopez has signed a deal with TBS to launch a Monday-Thursday late night talk show for the cable network this fall. The program plans to target 18-34 […]
Does TV Week still think Gossip Girl is a hot show? Well, here’s an even hotter show. ABC Family’s Secret Diary Of An American Teenager blew Gossip Girl out of the water last night in total viewers (4.5 vs. 2.2 million), in adults 18-34 (by 50%), adults 18-49 (by 43%) and viewers 12-34 (by 123%). It was the second half […]
In a move that is a huge blow to his nationally syndicated show, The Tom Joyner Morning Show (aka The TJMS) lost its biggest – and most important – affiliate. Clear Channel-owned WVAZ-FM (V103) has canceled Joyner’s show, effective immediately, and is replacing it with The Steve Harvey Morning Show, which airs on sister station WGCI-FM. No word yet on […]
Call it a reward for helping take down a morning show powerhouse. Clear Channel-owned WKSC-FM has renewed morning man Drex’s contract for five more years. The move assures his fans that he will be waking them up every morning through 2013 on the Top 40 outlet. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Drex’s morning show was instrumental in taking […]