Paramount Global – T Dog Media

August 15, 2024

T Dog’s Think Tank: The White Sox uses the CBS Chicago blueprint for its Fan Alienation Plan

Chicago’s South Side MLB team resembles CBS Chicago’s ratings disasters in every way possible In the early 2000s, then-Chicago Tribune media critic Steve Johnson noted the management at CBS-owned WBBM-TV implemented what he called a “Viewer Alienation Plan”, a series of bad decisions repelling viewers from the station throughout the 1990s, including tabloid newscasts, awful anchor pairings, and a deer-in-headlight […]

0 4 min read

July 19, 2024

Global IT outage impacts media outlets

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 […]

0 1 min read

July 8, 2024

Paramount, Skydance deal finally consummated

After near collapse, the duo finally crosses the finish line With several false starts and a near collapse, the Paramount-Skydance deal is finally done. Announced Sunday evening, Paramount Global and Skydance finally agreed to merge in a two-step process: First, Skydance will purchase National Amusements – a company long held by the Redstone family for $2.4 billion and pay another […]

0 2 min read

June 29, 2024

The Media Notepad: Stanley Cup Game 7 scores for ABC

Also: Kenya Moore out at Housewives; Fox and Sinclair team up for new syndicated true crime show; Paramount looking to sell assets Even though the recent NBA Finals naturally drew a larger audience on average, the excitement of the Stanley Cup Final was unparalleled as the series lasted seven games with historic implications. The Edmonton Oilers – who won four […]

0 6 min read

June 20, 2024

Unions demand Chicago Public Media head Matt Moog resign amid “no confidence” vote

The freefall continues for WBEZ while turmoil reigns supreme The tensions between union members of WBEZ and Sun-Times and management continue to escalate as they recently cast a vote of “no confidence” in supposedly soon-to-exit CEO Matt Moog, with 96 percent of those taking part not happy with his performance. In a letter sent to the Chicago Public Media’s Board […]

0 2 min read

June 13, 2024

Paramount, Skydance deal falls through

Future uncertain for the studio A merger between Paramount Global and Skydance has collapsed as controlling company National Amusements has ended talks. National Amusements, Inc. (NAI) is the controlling shareholder of Paramount Global, owned by Shari Redstone, daughter of the late Sumner Redstone, who ran NAI and controlled the former Viacom. She reportedly had a deal with Skydance, run by […]

0 1 min read

May 8, 2024

Cable TV back? Disney, Warner Bros. announce bundling plan

Includes Hulu and but no word on if new sports streaming service is included In a move for their streaming services to become more economical for subscribers, The Walt Disney Co. and Warner Bros. Discovery announced Wednesday a plan to bundle their streaming services. Both plan to launch the bundle this summer with ad-supported and commercial-free tiers being offered. Notably […]

0 2 min read

April 29, 2024

Bob Bakish out as CEO of Paramount Global

His position to be reconditioned as an “Office of the CEO” as company’s bid with Skydance hangs in the balance Coming as no surprise given the speculation surrounding his future was a hot topic all weekend, Paramount CEO Bob Bakish has stepped down. In his place, Paramount announced a new management structure called the “Office Of The CEO,” run by […]

0 2 min read

April 8, 2024

The Media Notepad: Fallout continues from Chicago Public Media layoffs

Paramount, Skydance advance merger talks; Iger survives Disney proxy board vote The fallout continues from the decision to lay off fourteen employees at WBEZ and Sun-Times owner Chicago Public Media last Wednesday, with a Chicago alderperson from the city’s 49th Ward on the far North Side being the latest to weigh in. “Seeing the increases, seeing the benefits, and then […]

0 5 min read

December 11, 2023

The Media Notepad: Merit hooks up with TBN for distribution

Also: PBC heads to Amazon Prime; Paramount Global may be on sales block; Cord-cutting having an impact on Baltimore’s finances More information was released last week about Dr. Phil McGraw’s new network Merit Street is relying on an old standby to distribute the network. Trinity Broadcasting Network, who usually broadcasts non-secular fare, will air several hours of Dr. Phil’s new […]

0 5 min read

November 19, 2023

The Media Notepad: Media companies suspend advertising on X after Musk approves anti-Semitic comments

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 […]

1 6 min read

October 28, 2023

The Media Notepad: Introducing the Sven Squad

Also: ABC’s stations team up with Nat Geo on another water special; Spectrum says they will drop more under performing channels; Houston’s Space City Home Network launches You heard of The Mod Squad, right? Now meet The Sven Squad. Just in time for Halloween, MeTV’s Svengoolie is adding cast members for the first time. Joining the horror movie host […]

1 5 min read

October 18, 2023

Showtime closes sports division, ends boxing on network

Follows HBO’s exit five years ago With the decline of linear TV – and traditional Pay TV in general, it’s no surprise Paramount Global’s Showtime Sports division is shuttering its doors after 37 years in operation. The unit was mostly home to boxing events run by Premier Boxing Champions and Bellator MMA fighting plus sports documentaries, would close by the […]

0 2 min read

August 30, 2023

The Media Notepad: ABC 7’s Jim Rose the latest TV news personality to call it a career

Also: WBD inching closer to exiting RSN business; WGN to air ACC Football through The CW [Editor’s Note: The second item in this post has been updated.] We have another local TV personality announcing his retirement – this time it’s Jim Rose, the longtime ABC 7 (WLS-TV) sports anchor, who announced Monday he was stepping down from the station after […]

0 5 min read

August 2, 2023

The dual Hollywood strikes: Where things stand now

Both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA are om strike outside of Paramount Studios in Hollywood. With no settlement in sight, the entire 2023-24 TV season for scripted shows could be wiped out When SAG-AFTRA joined the WGA on the picket lines on July 12, the entire industry shut down and the thinking was, this would spur some kind of progress in […]

0 4 min read

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