New TV era means a new way of doing business Back in the late 1980s when cable TV was growing, a big deal was made about syndicated exclusively, or “syndex” as local broadcasters complained about national “superstations” such as WWOR-TV in New York and WGN-TV in Chicago draining rating points from their programs. And so, on January 1, 1990, […]
And one of those places is Chicago, as CBS Chicago sacrifices 9 a.m. newscast on linear [Editor’s Note: This post was updated on September 27.] Tony Dokoupil and Adriana Diaz were named anchors of CBS’ new third-hour extension of CBS Mornings called CBS Morning Plus, airing live weekday mornings at 9 a.m. beginning September 30. But instead of airing the […]
Upgrades in several key large markets as future of show was questioned last week Affirming their commitment to Drew Barrymore’s talk show, CBS Media Ventures announced Thursday a sixth-year renewal through the end of the 2025-26 season, as the daytime talker was upgraded in several large markets. Since season three, the show split into two separate half-hours, with most stations […]
Chicago’s South Side MLB team resembles CBS Chicago’s ratings disasters in every way possible In the early 2000s, then-Chicago Tribune media critic Steve Johnson noted the management at CBS-owned WBBM-TV implemented what he called a “Viewer Alienation Plan”, a series of bad decisions repelling viewers from the station throughout the 1990s, including tabloid newscasts, awful anchor pairings, and a deer-in-headlight […]
Also: Shift is underway in Chicago PPM ratings; Pelicans leave Bally Sports Look who’s back in the public eye – it’s none other than former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who was hired by CBS Chicago (WBBM-TV) to provide analysis during the Democratic National Convention here in Chicago later this month in a press release posted on social media Wednesday […]
The latest beat addition to the network’s news operation and its station group Paramount Global’s CBS News And Stations unit is forming a new Crime And Public Safety Unit and tapped an NBC News veteran to lead it. Heading the new unit is Anna Schecter Zigler, who spent the last thirteen years at NBC News most recently as a senior […]
Highlights the rarity of two competing networks on the same platform Starting today, Chicago viewers can now find WMAQ-TV’s streaming local news channel on Pluto TV. “We are excited to grow our existing partnership with Pluto TV and expand the reach of our premium local news content to new audiences,” said Amy Geary, senior VP of NBCUniversal Content Distribution. “News […]
Kansas City Chiefs were not the only winners; so were CBS, Univision, and Paramount Global For the first time in nearly two decades, we have a repeat Super Bowl champion as the Kansas City Chiefs won Super Bowl LVIII in a thrilling game against the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime – the second overtime game in Super Bowl history. […]
CBS 2, others turned on signal Monday The future of television has finally arrived in Chicago. After a long wait, CBS-owned WBBM-TV (CBS 2) turned on the new ATSC 3.0 signal Monday at 1 p.m. local time, as NextGen TV, made its debut. “America’s third-largest TV market is riding the NextGen TV wave, with the addition of new capabilities for […]
Fox, CBS stations commit to new projects, respectively While Ken Jeong’s talk show project couldn’t get off the ground, two others did on Monday, scoring much-needed station group anchor deals. Warner Bros. Television Group announced Monday a new hour-long strip called True Crime News, hosted by ABC News’ 20/20 contributor Ana Garcia, who also hosts a podcast called True Crime […]
Also: a WBIG sale; CBS 2 to launch NextGen signal Fox-owned WFLD or Fox 32, announced anchor lineup changes last week for the AM news show Good Day Chicago as they are bringing in a fresh face to the fold with Chicago native Brian Jackson coming in from sister station KCPQ Seattle, co-anchoring the 7-10 a.m. block with Natalie Bomke. […]
Renewals mean Ken Jeong’s daytime project sits on the bench for now In a move coming as no surprise, Fox and Hearst stations have renewed Warner Bros.’ The Jennifer Hudson Show for a third season while CBS Media Ventures’ The Drew Barrymore Show was picked up for a fifth season by the CBS-owned stations. These renewals are for those who […]
it’s Elon Musk, 2023 had No Chance In Hell to be a quiet year. (LA Times) A year dominated by labor strife, awful Chicago sports teams, and – oh yeah, Elon If you watched the WWE, you remember Vince McMahon playing himself as an arrogant CEO and billionaire, ruling over anything and everything – the ultimate heel. It’s a real-life […]
Also: PBC heads to Amazon Prime; Paramount Global may be on sales block; Cord-cutting having an impact on Baltimore’s finances More information was released last week about Dr. Phil McGraw’s new network Merit Street is relying on an old standby to distribute the network. Trinity Broadcasting Network, who usually broadcasts non-secular fare, will air several hours of Dr. Phil’s new […]
One of the first African-American news anchors in Chicago, Porterfield had a 51-year career in journalism Harry Porterfield, one of Chicago’s first Black anchors and reporters, died peacefully from natural causes in his Munster, Ind. home Monday at the age of 95. Porterfield was a trailblazer in Chicago media circles, joining local TV news at a time when there were […]