Here they are, the 2009 Emmy nominations. Click here to see the list. Among the biggest surprises of the day was Family Guy getting nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series, the first to do so since The Flintstones in 1961, when it lost to Jack Benny. The Emmy Awards takes place Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. (CT) on CBS. Thought: This […]
Remember, these are based on are 6+ numbers. Winners: WGN-AM, WTMX-FM (The Mix), WLS-FM, WUSN-FM, WSCR-AM (The Score), WSRB (Soul 106.3), WXRT-FM Not an impressive debut: WNUA-FM (Mega 95.5) Losers: WPPN-FM, Q101 and any music station not in the winner’s circle Analysis: The Cubs may be the lovable losers, but they’re anything but when it comes to local radio in […]
CBS Television Distribution and Tribune have agreed on a settlement to reduce the license fees the bankrupt television group has to pay to the syndicator. CBS agreed to an $1.2 million payment from Tribune – down from $2.4 million it owed, according to bankruptcy filing papers. The deal covers all CBS Television Distribution properties on the 26-station Tribune group, from […]
Here we downsize again: Emmis made another round of staff cuts at its two Chicago rock stations today. From WKQX-FM (Q101), the cuts included Alex Quigley (who did weeknights 7-10), and Kevin Manno who did afternoons with his brother Ryan. Instead, Q101 hired Tim Virgin to do afternoons from 3-7 p.m. with Ryan Manno moving into Quigley’s 7-10 p.m. slot. […]
The best and worst of the last three weeks: Good. – The Michael Jackson Memorial Service. Tasteful and dignified. – America’s Got Talent. Once again, the hit of the summer season with an average of 11 million viewers. And it still hasn’t found its Susan Boyle! – Casey Kasem. Tip of the hat to the man who practically invented counting […]
WWOR in New York also drops 10 p.m. newscast, but moves it to 11 p.m. Time’s up for The Ten. Fox-owned WFLD is dropping its 10 p.m. newscast titled The Ten after two uneventful years and will remove it from its schedule on September 18 (this blog’s birthday.) On September 21, WFLD will air off-network repeats of The Office in […]
The King of Pop’s final act drew a huge crowd to the tube. The Michael Jackson memorial service drew an estimated 31 million viewers between noon and 3 p.m. (CT) on Tuesday, according to Nielsen. The service was televisied on all broadcast networks (except The CW) and carried on cable networks BET, MTV, E!, CNN, and Fox News, among others. […]
In a blockbuster deal, the NBC Thursday night comedy 30 Rock was sold in syndication to cable networks Comedy Central and WGN America and to Fox and Tribune stations on the broadcast side, each for Fall 2011 debuts. NBC Universal decided to sell the sitcom to Fox and Tribune station groups, splitting the difference. Locally, 30 Rock will air on […]
Former WGCI-FM afternoon personality Sam Sylk is headed back to Chicago to fill the same capacity at WPWX-FM (Power 92). Sylk kept WGCI at or near the top of the ratings during his tenure there, but left in 2006 to join WUSL-FM in Philadelphia to become the morning personality. Subpar ratings forced him out, and wound up at Cleveland’s WENZ-FM, […]
The legendary music series Soul Train is back – on DVD. Time-Life has acquired the DVD rights to the Soul Train Library, which it plans to release on home video. The material features artists such as The O’Jays, The Temptations, Al Green, and The Jacksons. Material featuring The Jacksons and specifically Michael Jackson is hot right now, on the heels […]
The long standing battle between the RIAA and SoundExchange, and Internet radio webcasters is finally over after a long two-year battle. The parties reached an agreement today on a royalty rate to 2015 (2014 for small webcasters) and retroactive back to 2006 – which includes a discount of rates for large webcasters and percentage-based payment options for small webcasters set […]
Weigel’s WCIU-DT and its sister station ME-TV (WCIU-DT, 26.2) are getting into the morning news business – sort of. Scheduled to kick off in August, titled “U and Me In the Morning”, the news segments run for as little as 30 seconds and as long as 10 minutes. Former WGCI-FM personality and WMAQ-TV reporter Jeanne Sparrow will be live-in-the studio […]
Could canceled CW comedy The Game make a return? According to TV Guide, CBS Television Studios (formerly CBS Paramount Television) and Black Entertainment Television (BET) are negotiating a lower license fee so CBS can produce the series for cable. If negotiations are successful, The Game would become the first former live-action network sitcom to be revived on basic cable since […]