Dabl dumps lifestyle shows, adds Black sitcoms

The move is reminiscent of Netflix deal as shakeup hit digital subchannel space  Circle chooses FAST channel over linear as it shutters  Usually, when we talk about format changes, we talk about radio (i.e., WDAI-FM dumping rock for disco or WLUP becoming a Christian music station and so forth), but in television, it rarely happens – unless you’re in the […]

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 […]

CBS Television Distribution swings deal for off-network African-American sitcoms to Netflix

Numerous off-network sitcoms are receiving a second life thanking to the proliferation of streaming service, reconnecting viewers with past laughs. But not all sitcoms have shared in the streaming fortune. Some off-sitcoms – mainly targeted to Black audiences, have been left out despite the fact those shows being were quite popular in the 1990s and 2000s. But all of that […]

Sorry…not sorry: Round 2

(Editor’s Note: This piece contains… oh, you know the drill. Reader discretion.) You thought I was done? Another has-been celeb gets into the ring with T Dog Media After eight years, T Dog Media is finally making a name for itself. In the most asinine way possible, of course. And believe it or not, that’s a good thing. Last week if you […]

BET revives "The Game"

(Note: This is a refurbished and retooled version of a post yours truly wrote on July 1, 2009 – updated to include more recent information, including today’s announcement of “The Game” returning to television. Yes, I’m now recycling posts!) BET announced today at its upfront presentation to advertisers in New York that canceled CW comedy The Game will make a […]

BET to revive "The Game"?

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 […]

"Ugly Betty" to be yanked

It looks like Ugly Betty may be down for the count. ABC has decided to replace the low-rated one-hour dramedy with two half-hour comedies: The new In The Motherhood and the returning Samantha Who? in its’ Thursday night (7 p.m. CT) time slot. The move is effective March 26, but the plan is to put Ugly Betty on hiatus and […]

And the number one show in African-American households is…

No surprise here, it’s Tyler Perry’s House of Payne. But there is a surprise when compared to other programs in the viewer’s landscape: When you take the rating from its’ syndication airings and its cable runs on TBS, Payne tops everything else among African-Americans in all of television among adults 18-34, 18-49, and 25-54, including network prime-time, beating Grey’s Anatomy […]

T Dog’s Think Tank: The incredibly bumbling, stumbling CW

In the Chicago area, a lot of people wonder how the mayor, the governor, and the Cook County Board President keep their jobs. In television circles, people pretty much feel the same way about CW network chief Dawn Ostroff. Ostroff recently held an executive Q&A with reporters during the network’s portion of the TCA Press Tour. And in the true […]

"Girlfriends" to end long run

As CW prepares its post-strike future, many of its popular shows (and I’m stretching “popular” quite a bit here) are returning with new episodes this spring, including Smallville, Supernatural, One Tree Hill, and Reaper, while others including Gossip Girl and Everybody Hates Chris will return with new episodes in the fall. But two shows won’t return at all: The ultra […]

They are who we thought they were!

Aliens in America is exactly who we thought they were – a ratings loser. Meanwhile, Dancing With the Stars seems to be the only show deservingly labeled a winner (in the ratings dept. only), while it’s yucksville for the rest of prime-time with the exception of the Padres-Rockies tiebreaker game, a true classic. Other observations: – Heroes is down in […]

Update to WCIU’s fall schedule

Scroll down or click here to read post, with updated information on two shows (Becker, Girlfriends) that are no longer on the schedule (actually, it’s information that I wrote on this blog before – this is WCIU’s explanation of it…)

"Insider "moved back to 5 p.m.

This move must have bombed in the ratings: WCIU is moving The Insider back to 5 p.m. from 6 and to 11 p.m. from 10:35 p.m. next Monday (Aug. 27) instead of waiting for Sept. 10 when newly syndicated repeats of The George Lopez Show takes over at 6 p.m. Girlfriends, which is being withdrawn from broadcast syndication nationwide on […]