“Bob Hearts Abishola” heads to off-network syndication for fall

Deals made as CBS sitcom wraps up five-season run In a move that was expected given it was approaching the five-season mark, Warner Bros.’ sitcom Bob Hearts Abisola was sold in broadcast off-network syndication to several station groups this fall with 92 episodes available to air, announced last week.  Warner did not announce what percentage of the country is cleared, […]

NBC decides to keep last prime-time hour – for now

  Good news for Hollywood and other producers; not so much for affiliates With NBC looking to add more multi-cam sitcoms and procedural dramas, the network has decided to shelve the idea of giving affiliates back the last hour of prime-time – for now. As first reported by Deadline, the decision was made after a careful canvass was made of […]

The Media Notepad: Bears don’t deliver for Amazon Prime

Also: prime-time’s future debated; Pluto takes streaming lead  You wonder if Amazon has a return policy for defective football games: Much like the teams on the field, the October 13 edition of Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football was completely forgettable. The newly renamed Washington Commanders played the Chicago Bears on a 40-degree night and viewers figured the game between two […]

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 […]

Time to take “The Test”

Kirk Fox is trading in the peace, tranquility, and the small-town values of Pawnee, Ind. for baby mama drama in the big city. The Parks & Recreation star and stand-up comic has taken a rather unusual job – being a mediator in a new fall 2013 show called The Test, a conflict-resolution talk show where DNA evidence and lie-detector resolves […]

Let the late-night fights begin

Jimmy Kimmel Live gets upgraded to 10:35 p.m. Central to take on Leno and Letterman; Nightline to move an hour later It’s on. Jimmy Kimmel – once known for co-hosting a show featuring women jumping up and down on trampolines – has landed the plum post-late local news slot on ABC effective January 8, replacing Nightline, which has held the […]

“Katie” clears 60% of U.S. for Fall ’12 launch

Disney-ABC Domestic Television Distribution’s new fall 2012 talk show strip featuring Katie Couric has now been cleared in 60 percent of the country. Titled Katie, the series has now cleared though several broadcast groups including Allbritton, Belo, Cox, Hearst, Gannett, and Scripps, in addition to the entire ABC-owned-and-operated station group (including WLS-TV here in Chicago.) To no one’s surprise, most […]

MeTV’s national clearance hits 45 percent

Charlotte’s WCCB added MeTV last month. Now nearly half of the country will hear the word “Berwyn”. Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting Co. and MGM announced today its MeTV digital subchannel network has now cleared 45 percent of U.S. households after three and a half months on the air.  Station groups who have cleared MeTV on their digital subchannels include Bahakel Communications, […]

Wisconsin budget fracas draws viewers to Milwaukee’s newscasts

In just a matter of days, Cheesehead nation has transformed from a state celebrating a Green Bay Packers Super Bowl victory to looking like the new “Beirut On The Lake”. With the Wisconsin legislature producing a new 21st century version of Council Wars, the fracas over unions is drawing viewers to Milwaukee’s local newscasts, according to a article in the […]

TCA, Part 4: Cable wraps up

The cable portion of the TCA Winter Press Tour wrapped up over the weekend, with the rest of the cable networks making their presentations. Remember, even though the cable portion of the tour wrapped up Saturday, cable networks owned by the major broadcast networks are still scheduled to make presentations this week. Rainbow (We, AMC, IFC) -AMC – the home […]

The race to replace Oprah: "Anderson", "Ellen" benefit

Modern Family syndication sales reaches up to 50 percent of the U.S. Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution seems to benefitting the most thus far when it comes to replacing The Oprah Winfrey Show when it leaves this September, with Anderson Cooper and Ellen DeGeneres’ talk shows snapping up time slots soon-to-be formerly held by the queen of talk. Anderson has […]

WISN expands 10 p.m. newscast

In a first for a Midwest Big Three (ABC, CBS, NBC) affiliate, Hearst’s WISN-TV in Milwaukee is expanding its 10 p.m. newscast from 35 minutes to an hour beginning January 24. The move sends NBC Universal’s Access: Hollywood (the current 10:35 p.m. occupant) to 12:30 a.m., after Jimmy Kimmel Live. Nightline retains the 11:05 p.m. slot, but now gets to […]

Jeremy Kyle makes his way to U.S.

Get ready for yet another British invasion – this time from Britain’s top daytime talk show host. As rumored  for months, Debmar-Mercury has signed a deal with Jeremy Kyle to host an American version of his hour daytime talk-show strip for fall 2011. Kyle’s show has been cleared in 70 percent of the country, and declared a firm go. The […]