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 trend we’re seeing as we close 2023. Led by billionaire Elon Musk, CEOs – whether […]
Also: Bally Sports getting ready to close; The CW is on the move in two markets CNBC and other outlets are reporting Friday evening numerous companies have “paused” advertising on Twitter/X after owner Elon Musk boosted an anti-Semitic post on the platform. Lionsgate (Debmar-Mercury) was the first traditional media company to pause and Apple was the first tech company to […]
Also: NBA, Stanley Cup Final earns mixed ratings numbers; Nexstar moves CW affiliations to its owned stations in three markets; “Velma” renewed for season two Usually, trades are reserved for sports teams though this one could be compared to the Chicago White Sox trading a player to the Minnesota Twins. Cumulus Media announced Tuesday the appointment of James Kurdziel from […]
Also: B96 hires Canavah’s replacement; Diamond Sports Group skips payments to Guardians and Twins; Extra renewed for season thirty The other shoe has dropped in Warner Bros.’ decision to exit the court genre as Marilyn Milian has signed with Allen Media Group for a new hour-long court show, Justice For The People With Judge Milan, debuting this fall. “We at […]
Also: Blackhawks latest Chicago team to drag down national telecasts as the team names Chris Vosters as their new play-by-play guy; CBS Media Ventures cancels two syndicated shows The fun is over for four game shows as ABC late last Friday canceled them, part of its “Summer Fun and Games” initiative. Among the four dumped was Match Game hosted by […]
New rights holders TNT, ESPN begin new deals The puck dropped on a new NHL season a few days ago, and it also marked a new era in broadcasting rights in the U.S. ESPN and Turner each began separate seven-year deals with the league last week, with ESPN broadcasting their first game in 17 years last Tuesday night from […]
Also: Bears scores ratings success; Jeopardy and Wheel renewed for three more years; Alec Baldwin Show pulled I guess the hockey tribe has spoken. In a Survivor-style blindslide, the Chicago Blackhawks Tuesday voted longtime coach Joel Quenneville off the ice after ten years. The decision to part ways with the three-time Stanley Cup Champion coach seemed to be explicitly timed: […]
Changing marketing conditions could be factor; AT&T may be only hope If the Cubs are looking to launch their own TV network in 2020, their options are becoming quite limited. According to a report Monday in Sports Business Journal and Awful Announcing, AT&T is considering looking to add the baseball team to their portfolio of sports rights. AT&T operates a […]
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: Rob Stafford returns to WMAQ; Get ready for more PAC ads; CBS Radio gambles and loses on blunder Mark Suppelsa is calling it a career – the longtime Chicago news anchor and investigative reporter announced Thursday he was retiring after nearly three decades in the news business. Suppelsa is currently anchoring newscasts for WGN-TV at 5, 6, 9, and […]