Also: Mayoral debates scheduled; CBS-owned stations to rebrand news properties Audacy’s all-news WBBM-AM/WCFS-FM announced last week the hire of Craig Schwalb as brand manager and news director of the station effective January 23. He succeeds Ron Gleason, who retired last month. Schwalb comes from Hubbard’s dominant all-news station WTOP in Washington, D.C., a station who typically leads the country in […]
Also: NBC 5/Telemundo to award nonprofits; Sherri Shepard to succeed Wendy Williams; Introducing Ion Mystery Is WGN-AM staging a return to the top? The first PPM numbers released for 2022 shows the Nexstar-owned station placing fourth overall, up 49 percent from the last survey – marking their highest ranking since October 2008 at the dawn of the PPM era. Leading […]
Merger brings together two brands in two different countries to form one big global Spanish-language powerhouse Two of the world’s biggest names in Spanish-language broadcasting are forming a union. Announced Tuesday night, Mexico’s Grupo Televisa S.A.B. – simply known as Televisa, and privately-held U.S. broadcaster Univision announced a merger agreement bringing together each company’s media assets and content, forming a […]
Replaces Laff on O&Os; New “Twist” launches on WGBO 66.5 The long journey of the This TV digital subchannel has added another chapter thanks to a deal with the ABC-owned stations, including WLS-TV in Chicago. The move took place April 1. “Allen Media Group’s over-the-air broadcast television network This TV is now well-positioned for greater success with the addition of […]
More multicast networks announced from Scripps, Tegna Days after Scripps shut down several digital subchannels (now called “multicast networks”) related to their acquisition of Ion, the Cincinnati-based company announced Tuesday two new channels: Defy and the amply named Doozy (yes, Doozy.) Both are cleared in 75 percent of the country for a July 1 launch. Defy is targeted to male […]
Former Katz networks to take their place Get ready for a major shift in the digital channel world. Months after Scripps acquired Ion Networks, the company announced it was eliminating three digital subchannel networks: Ion Plus, ShopIon, and Qubo effective at the end of February. Those channels will be replaced by existing Katz channels, including Bounce, Grit, Laff, and Court […]
Also: WLS-FM achieves historic feat; Nick Cannon to get new daytime show; MST3K canceled again Univision (branded locally as Univision Chicago) and the non-profit Chicago Reporter are teaming up to cover more of the area’s Hispanic community. As first reported by Broadcasting and Cable, the duo is forming a multi-platform news service named Latintext, and plans to cover important issues […]
Renewals, renewals, and more renewals; Laff changes stations in Chicago; Spike TV is finally spiked While the fate of several syndicated shows remains unsolved, there were a few of renewals announced at the NATPE gathering in Miami: Twentieth Television renewed Page Six TV for a second season; and Disney-ABC renewed Pickler & Ben for a second season. The latter has […]
If you are an over-the-air customer in Chicago – or anywhere for that matter, get ready for some big changes as six local stations relocate. The FCC released a list Thursday of how many stations across the country sold their spectrum to wireless companies – and several big-market stations are on the list – including Chicago. Six local TV stations […]
RTV: The R stands for “ruined”. – Good news for fans of Richard Roeper and Roe Conn – the duo at WLS-AM signed a three-year contract extension to continue their successful afternoon show through the year 2014. The move come as Cumulus is about to take over Citadel Communications, owners of WLS-AM and FM in a merger. If you want […]
Numerous executive shake-ups in the last few days… in the offices and behind the scenes: Another protege from the Court Jester era is out the door… Tribune Broadcasting President Jerry Kersting exited on Tuesday and his position eliminated while Nils Larsen was elevated up to CEO of Broadcasting. Effective immediately, Larsen will be responsible for Tribune’s 23 television stations, cablers […]