More Grab Bag: RIP Alex Karras; CBS cancels “Made in Jersey”

– Alex Karras, the Detroit Lions defensive lineman-turned-actor, died Wednesday at his Southern California home  at the age of 77 due to complications from kidney failure. The Gary, Ind. native played his entire NFL career with the Lions from 1958-70, then went into television and film, including a stint with WLS-TV for a local Monday Night Football pregame show and […]

Sunday ratings: NBC dominates, but cable’s presence is felt

The broadcast networks saw erosion from the previous week Sunday night as cable entries – notably the MLB playoffs on TBS and the premiere of Steel Magnolias on Lifetime – made an impact on the ratings. Meanwhile, Family Guy tied Once Upon A Time as the highest rated scripted show of the evening. Here’s a snapshot of the results (all […]

Sunday ratings: NFL, Ryder Cup rules

Now that’s more like it. The first Sunday night is in the books as footabll ruled prime-time once again as the New York Giants took on the Philadelphia Eagles in the city of Brotherly Love (or hate.) Meanwhile, NBC also got ratings mileage Sunday afternoon thanks in part to the historic collapse of the U.S. team in the Ryder Cup […]

ABC at TCA: Trying to get out of the basement

The Television Critics Association Press Tour rolled on Thursday and Friday with ABC up. We’ll start with Friday and work our way backward to Thursday as the juicier stuff is up front: – ABC executive session: Entertainment Chief Paul Lee addressed the press at TCA on friday, and was unapologetic about ripping off CBS’ Big Brother with The Glass House, […]

ABC unveils 2012-13 schedule

ABC’s 2012-13 campaign has changes on four nights in a schedule released Tuesday morning before its upfront presentation later in the afternoon. (In addition, fellow Disney property ESPN also held an upfront on Tuesday. Information is at the end of the ABC analysis.) ABC plans to debut five new series this fall, with another five scheduled for midseason. Like Fox […]

The Upfronts Selection Show

The week before the upfronts are always crazy: you have networks canceling shows and picking up pilots to series for either this fall or for midseason. Welcome to The Upfronts Selection Show, where choices are made and bubbles are burst. Call this the television business’ version of March Madness. All of this hubbub this place before the big show kicks […]