Sinclair selling off WPIX, WGN to win approval? Meet the Shell Answer Man. During the eight years I worked at the Better Business Bureau, yours truly has seen plenty of scams perpetrated onto by the public the organization had to warn about. But even those can’t compare to what Sinclair and the FCC are pulling. In a filing revealed on […]
Secrets of the company success: reruns, reruns and more reruns – oh, and the occasional original show There is a network that often draw more viewers than The CW and Telemundo in any given week – and yet, it has the lowest profile of any major network. And Ion likes it that way. Ion Media is one of the beneficiaries […]
Potential mega mergers could be on the horizon – and Sinclair-Tribune may be first The worst-case scenario many in the TV industry fearing could come true. Several reports surfaced this week if the FCC relaxes – or eliminates the TV ownership rules, Hunt Valley Md.-based Sinclair Broadcasting could merge with Chicago-based Tribune Media. Talks are preliminary, according to sources. Neither company […]
Also: The End for Sacramento’s KDND; ‘The Insider’ canceled; WIND-AM’s Joe Walsh goes national The latest crime procedural based (and filmed) in Chicago debuted Monday night with Fox’s APB, starring Justin Kirk. The premise: after losing a friend to an armed robbery at a liquor store, millionaire Gideon Reeves (Kirk) decides to take over the high-crime 13th police district using high-tech […]
Things indeed will be different As expected, President Trump announced Monday he has appointed current FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai as FCC Chairman, succeeding Tom Wheeler, who stepped down January 20th. The move is great for big tech and media corporations given Pai’s free-market stance and promises a living hell for consumer advocates and net neutrality supporters. Pai was nominated to the […]
Plus… Mundo Max is done; CW makes schedule schedules for mid-season; Marvel to debut new Inhumans; The end is near for FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler. It what could be the fastest launch ever for a diginet (digital subchannel), Fox Television Stations and MGM are launching Light TV, a new channel devoted to faith-based and family-oriented programming headed by MGM President […]
For those who don’t like media consolidation and love net neutrality – you are not going to like what you are about to read In a Presidential contest people will be talking about for ages, Republican Donald J. Trump stunned everyone by winning the presidency in an upset over Democrat Hillary Clinton last week – sending shockwaves throughout the world. […]
Happy anniversary to T Dog Media! It’s a different media world today than it was when I started this. As we mark the ten-year anniversary of T Dog Media this weekend, I would like to take a look back – not at dopey posts from the early years such as these (really bad idea)…or getting involved in feuds (Wil Wheaton and […]
Huge victory for FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler; losers include cable and ISPs. FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler was handed a major victory by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia over Net Neutrality rules, or Title II. The court in a split decision, upheld the rules 2-1. The FCC passed the rules 3-2 on February 28, 2015 in […]
Local news returns to ABC 7 at 11 a.m.; Dr. Oz returns for three more years; WGN-TV needs a new GM; and more. In a victory for local programming (and yet another defeat for syndicators), ABC-owned WLS-TV (ABC 7) announced Tuesday it was bringing back its 11 a.m. newscast after three years and moving current time slot occupant Windy City […]
A few weeks ago, President Obama announced he was backing a FCC proposal to unlock cable set-top boxes. Whee. The problem is, those set-top boxes you lease to cable operators are about as obsolete as an 8-track tape player. It’s not the direction the industry is moving in, and this idea would be great – if it was 1992. Generally, you need […]
On Monday, the FCC fined CBS affiliate WDBJ in Roanoke, Va. a record $325,000 for an indecency violation – airing a clip showing an image of an adult web site in relation to a 2012 story about a former porn star looking to join the volunteer EMT rescue squad, which aired during a 6 p.m. newscast. Generally, the FCC fines […]
In what has to be the most politically divided vote at the Federal Communications Commission since the Sirius/XM merger of nearly seven years ago, the government agency passed new Net Neutrality rules on Thursday, a victory for open-Internet activists and the defeat of ISPs and telecoms, notably Verizon, AT&T, and Comcast. The three-to-two vote came among party lines: Democrats Mignon […]
With 2014 now behind us, here’s what to expect in 2015: 1. The Cubs’ new media homes. This year, the Cubs enter a new era: a new over-the-air TV home (WLS-TV/ABC 7) and WBBM-AM, after 90 years with WGN-AM. What’s left unresolved is a package of 45 games, whose TV home is yet to be determined. 2. As the WGN […]
Election results means a tougher road ahead for FCC Just like what the Republicans did to the Democrats Tuesday night, both ABC-owned WLS-TV and Tribune Broadcasting’s WGN-TV steamrolled the competition. The mid-term elections saw Illinois elect a Republican governor for the first time since 1998 – venture capitalist Bruce Rauner (the man whose GTCR investment firm financed Randy Michaels’ Merlin […]