TV stations, networks affected A widespread outage affecting Microsoft Windows-based programs had major implications worldwide Friday morning, impacting flights, banks, government offices, hospitals, and more. The outage started around 2 a.m. CT and lasted throughout the morning though systems are slowly returning online. The outage also affected media outlets worldwide, with control hubs and traffic departments being hard hit and […]
Same old Sunday Night Football story for Bears I’m not going to bore you whining about why the Chicago Bears keep getting national prime-time TV appearances; I’ve covered the topic aplenty over the years, most recently here and here. But the decision to keep Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace around for another year is one of those “Chicago Way” type […]
36 original series; changes to subscription structure from CBS All Access [Editor’s Note: This story was updated on March 5. – T. H] ViacomCBS officially jumped into the streaming wars this week with their three-hour upfront-like Paramount + presentation Wednesday afternoon, unveiling a slog of programming with a whopping 36 original series and tons of specials all set to launch […]
Split in 2005, both companies re-merge in order to compete with other entertainment giants In news that was expected for several months, it is now official: CBS Corporation and Viacom, Inc. are re-merging after nearly fifteen years apart. The company will be known as ViacomCBS. The reunification returns several well-known properties to one roof: CBS, with its top-rated broadcast network, […]
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 […]
Also: CBS/Viacom merger dead; Hairspray Live! earns decent reviews and ratings; Alan Thicke dies Remember the message Jonathon Brandmeier put up on his website back two months ago when he said ” [We’ll] continue on the air until it’s officially over – or until they literally pull the plug?” Well, they just did. Cumulus and Westwood One abruptly pulled the plug on Brandmeier’s […]
Also: Conviction canceled, becomes first casualty; NFL ratings continue to decline; WLIT to flip to Christmas music Thursday; PlaysttionVue drops Viacom channels Fresh after a bruising election season, Chicago radio listeners are going to subjected to a half-hour with Mayor Rahm Emanuel – whether they like it or not. On Monday, over 40 radio stations in the Chicago area are airing a half-hour interview […]
Tribune Media announced Tuesday the historic building housing the company and the Chicago Tribune has been sold to Los Angeles-based developer CIM Inc, for $280 million. The developer is planning to add retail space to the building through a complete renovation. The sale likely forces out the Tribune, which it and parent company Tronc has a lease until 2018. Last year, Tribune split is […]
– Mr. Records has called it a career: John Landecker, whose middle name is really “Records”, is exiting Cumulus-owned WLS-FM today. The move coincides with the arrival of new program director Brian Thomas from New York City’s Cumulus station, WNSH-FM (Nash 94.7, a Country station). Landecker said the departure of former PD Jan Jeffries had nothing to do with his decision to […]
Geeks, man your positions – it’s Comic-Con time. The 46th annual comics, gaming, and media convention stepped off Thursday in San Diego. Thanks to several movie studios bowing out, television is front and center panelwise with over 100 shows – related to sci-fi, fantasy, or not – being represented. Animated product also is taking center stage, with Minions and new […]
The Emmys may have been Monday night (Breaking Bad and Modern Family – again – were the big winners), but the biggest winner this past weekend was a team of little leaguers from the South Side of Chicago. The Jackie Robinson West little league squad games on Saturday and Sunday were a huge ratings draw, with the weekend games on […]
According to Variety, Craig Ferguson is in “advanced talks” to host a new talk show produced by Tribune Media. But instead of the show being targeted for daytime, early fringe, or late night time slots, which usually is the case for most programs in this genre, Ferguson’s show would be targeted to prime access, generally 6-8 p.m., depending on what […]
Attention viewers: baby mama drama time may soon be over. As reported by TVNewscheck on Friday, Tribune Broadcasting may not renew its contracts for its three conflict talk shows from NBCUniversal Television Distribution, hosted by Jerry Springer, Maury Povich, and Steve Wilkos. Neither Tribune or NBCUniversal had comment. Tribune is developing programming for time slots in 2015 and according to […]
Welcome to the second edition of Quick Hits and Bits! – Oh God, here we go again… another radio legend has turned down Bruce DuMont’s invite to the Radio Hall Of Fame ceremony – this time its Steve Dahl, who he and Garry Meier who are being inducted November 9. Like Howard Stern last year, Dahl reportedly was not happy […]
It’s a four-for-one-special in this edition of T Dog’s Think Tank – thoughts on four subjects in one post. What a deal! – Is Fox’s incompetence at its local Chicago stations spreading to the network? Last week, the network scheduled X Factor to Wednesday, but game three of the NLCS between San Francisco and St. Louis (which started earlier in […]