Weigel scores major coup In a stunning move, Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting Co. announced it has picked up The CW affiliation from Fox-owned WPWR, beginning this fall. The news was first reported by Robert Feder Thursday morning. No exact date has been set for the change, but it is expected to set off a chain reaction of programming moves within the […]
Back when the year started, T Dog Media look at the stories to watch in 2018. So how did we do? Let’s find out: 1. The proposed merger of Disney and 21st Century Fox and AT&T and Time Warner. All eyes will be on these two as they make a case to federal regulators to combine as we see how […]
Year marked by scandals, futility, and other things 2018 wasn’t exactly a repeat of the last two horrendous years in the media world, but scandals and deceit still ruled the roost. Though not topping 2017’s Disney-Fox deal, 2018 had some mega transactions – though the second-biggest merger of 2017 went bust as Sinclair Broadcasting’s $4 billion deal to buy Tribune […]
Five shows now vying for time slots as new game show joins pack In a marked reversal from the last few selling seasons, syndicators are amping up their pitches to stations as a wealth of new product is about to flood the marketplace two months before NATPE begins. The latest entry came from Twentieth Television, who announced a deal with […]
Also: Jerry Springer gets a new show; another new talk show to debut; 11 series get full-season pickups In yet another chapter of how absurd this business can be, a feud between the owners of Madison Square Garden and Entercom is having implications in Chicago and elsewhere. Madison Square Garden Entertainment has suspended any future relationships with Entercom’s radio stations […]
Kavanaugh-Ford hearings draw 20 million viewers in daytime; cable news networks benefit The big ratings story yesterday didn’t take place in primetime. Live coverage of The Kavanaugh hearings at the Senate Judiciary Committee drew an average of 20.4 million viewers across six networks Thursday between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. according to Nielsen. The cable news networks drew the biggest […]
Only two new shows in syndication this fall (Editor’s Note: This post has been updated. See below.) If you love the true crime genre, you are going to be happy with what’s going to air on local stations this fall. In fact, their are just two new shows: CBS Television’s Face The Truth and Debmar-Mercury’s Caught In Providence, featuring an […]
Development swings into full gear as stations prepare for 2019 With the new fall syndication season beginning in less than a month, distributors are already lining up for fall 2019 – at least in daytime. Last week, two faces took in the lead in development: NBCUniversal has signed American Idol winner and The Voice judge Kelly Clarkson for a talk […]
Springer officially canceled Also: Eddie Olczyk joins Kap and Co.; Disney boosts bid for Fox to $71 billion Welcome back to the family: to replace the canceled ABC sitcom Roseanne, ABC has ordered a ten episode straight-to-series spinoff with the working title The Conner Family, though more likely, The Conners. The series is to star everyone involved in Roseanne with […]
For better or worse – mostly worse, Jerry Springer shaped television and society To say Jerry Springer didn’t have an impact on our culture is like saying cigarette smoking doesn’t cause cancer. But here we are in 2018 as what we saw as outrageous back then is the norm now. Before Jersey Shore, Flavor Of Love, Love And Hip-Hop, […]
Short series ends basketball and hockey seasons early. Also: updates on “Springer”, “CrimeWatch” Even without the Chicago Blackhawks and other big-market original six teams, the NHL Stanley Cup Final was a big hit for NBC. According to Nielsen, Game 5 of the Final with the Washington Capitals clinching their first-ever title over the first-ever Las Vegas Golden Knights drew a […]
Also: Kathy Brock calls it a career; a Sinclair station’s May ratings survives controversy; CW 50 viewers to re-scan their sets It’s an end of an era for WGN Radio. The Tribune Media-owned radio station’s on-air operations moved out of its longtime Tribune Tower digs and into a building at 303 North Wacker Drive as its former home is being […]
No one expected CNN’s Chicagoland to be a love letter to the city – but no one expected it to be a Rahm infomercial either. A critical and ratings flop, Chicagoland is the one of TV’s lowlights in 2014. Recently, the prime-time portion of The Simpsons marathon on FXX attracted more viewers than Chicagoland did. (As of May 2018, the […]
Premiere is highest-rated of the season A few weeks ago, a writer from Mediapost said the return of American Idol on ABC “saved” the television industry. He might want to revise his article. In stunning news, the revival of Roseanne won big time in the ratings for ABC – averaging a 5.2 rating in the adults 18-49 demo for ABC […]
Also: “Harry” canceled; SyFy strikes deal with C2E2; Olympics underperform in Chicago, falling behind even Bears games With the holidays behind us, it was back to normal in the latest Chicago PPM radio ratings as Entercom’s new Classic-Hip-Hop station 104.3 Jams (WBMX) continuing to rack up strong numbers. Despite a slight decline from last month, WBMX finished third among Chicago’s […]