The Media Notepad: “Family Feud” renewed through 2026

Also: Sling adds ABC 7 to its lineup – at a cost; MLB possibly looking at reclaiming local rights as RSNs creater; Chicago media comings and goings  Joining a trend of veteran series handing out multi-year renewals, the latest came this week when Debmar-Mercury announced it has re-upped Family Feud through 2026, taking the show to its 27th consecutive season […]

“Judge Jerry”, “The Good Dish”, “Nick Cannon” canceled

  Hat trick of pink slips within 24 hours dooms shows  In a bizarre occurrence, not one but three first-run syndicated strips were canceled within a span of hours Wednesday – a first in recent memory as their services were no longer needed: three-season veteran Judge Jerry from NBCUniversal Syndication Studios; Debmar-Mercury’s Nick Cannon; and Sony’s The Good Dish, a […]

Jennifer Hudson lands new talk show at Fox-owned stations

  Fox 32 to air new show in fall Chicago-born Grammy, Emmy, and Oscar-award winning actress Jennifer Hudson’s new talk show from Warner Bros. is officially a firm go for September with a wide-ranging deal with the Fox-owned stations, including Fox 32 (WFLD) here. The program is also landing on Fox-owned WNYW New York and KTTV Los Angeles in nation’s […]

The Media Notepad: WGN Radio surges in ratings

Also: NBC 5/Telemundo to award nonprofits; Sherri Shepard to succeed Wendy Williams; Introducing Ion Mystery  Is WGN-AM staging a return to the top?  The first PPM numbers released for 2022 shows the Nexstar-owned station placing fourth overall, up 49 percent from the last survey – marking their highest ranking since October 2008 at the dawn of the PPM era. Leading […]

“South Park” snares blockbuster ViacomCBS deal

Veteran animated series renewed for at least sixty more episodes over six years AND fourteen movies With South Park airing on another streaming service, there had to be some kind of way to get the show’s content on ViacomCBS’ Paramount Plus. After all, the show has been home to Comedy Central since 1997, also owned by ViacomCBS. Well, how about […]

“Windy City Live”, “Chicago’s Best” to end runs

Cancellations a blow to local TV production The pandemic has thrown a wrench into local TV revenues and the latest reflection of the tough times came within the last few days as two well-known local TV shows are ceasing production. ABC-owned WLS-TV/ABC7 announced the end of local talk show Windy City Live as a weekday strip after ten seasons Wednesday, […]

Syndication update: MGM pulls plug on court shows’ original production

Court genre thins out, but still viable After being one of the most reliable genres in first-run syndication during the last decade, the courtroom show pack is thinning the herd a little bit.  According to Broadcasting & Cable, MGM (through production company Orion, the former film studio acquired by MGM) has halted production on three court shows – Couples Court […]

CBS Television Distribution rebrands as CBS Media Ventures

New name reflects additional responsibilities in addition to selling to TV stations After fourteen years as CBS Television Distribution, ViacomCBS’ syndication arm announced Monday it was rebranding as CBS Media Ventures. The decision to rebrand comes as the company feels it’s more than just a syndicator serving traditional TV outlets but also to streamers and creating digital content and running […]

The state of syndication in 2021 (three months early)

  Pandemic, shifting audiences makes it challenging for stations and syndicators Generally, I write these state of syndication articles in January before the NATPE gathering in Miami. But as we know, there has been nothing normal about the current times we live in, the television business included (and of course, NATPE isn’t likely happening as a traditional gathering in 2021.)  […]

Emmy winner “Schitt’s Creek” ready for wider exposure

Canadian sitcom makes history by sweeping Emmy Awards– Half-hour sitcoms are (or were) the bedrock of the television industry here in the United States, but in Canada…it’s a completely different story. The only sitcom from the Great White North to even come close to being a global hit was in the mid-1980s when Check It Out!, a sitcom taped in […]

Coronavirus fears forces “Wendy Williams”, others to pull live studio audiences

Syndicated, network daytime shows latest to pull audiences due to coronavirus After Sony’s decision to close tapings of Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune to the public as of Monday night due to coronavirus concerns, more shows have followed suit as expected. Tuesday night, Debmar-Mercury and Wendy Williams announced they would not host audiences for their show for now: pic.twitter.com/pM3yZEitZU — […]