And they said it wouldn’t last… Martha Stewart’s syndicated daytime show has been renewed in 60 percent of the country, according to NBC Universal. The tally includes all the NBC-owned stations (WMAQ in Chicago) and station groups belonging to Hearst-Argyle, Belo, Fox, Fisher, Allbritton, and Clear Channel.
Writers Held Hostage: Day 5 – NBC is planning to lay off its Tonight Show and Late Night staff next week, but may rely on guests hosts on those shows beginning Nov. 19. Meanwhile, The Late Show with David Letterman will be in repeats next week. – Ellen DeGeneres is under fire for crossing the picket line to work on […]
After fourteen months on the air (and maybe a moral victory for Mancow), Alternative outlet WKQX (or Q101) has deep-sixed the The Morning Fix. The station is dumping comedy elements from its morning show and is keeping a skeleton staff on hand to do traffic, weather, and sports and re-foucsing its efforts on music in the daypart. The move comes […]
Writer’s Held Hostage: Day 4 – The Office will air its final completed episode on November 15. – Another casualty of the strike: The Television Critics Association tour may be scrapped, to the delight of the networks. – Bionic Woman, Reaper, and Men in Trees are on the verge of shutting down, perhaps for good, as all three are struggling […]
Hearst-Argyle (and probably a lot of station groups) aren’t happy with NBC’s primetime performance. David Barrett, the CEO of the station group, says he’s “disappointed” in the performance of the network, and its been a earnings drag on the company’s ten NBC affiliates. But don’t look too much into this. It’s not likely Hearst-Argyle will break with NBC anytime soon. […]
Let’s see what’s going on in local markets around the country: -According to Nielsen, KETC-TV in St. Louis was the nation’s highest-rated public TV station in October, even outperforming WTTW in Chicago. The station’s total-day ratings were up 8 percent from a year ago and up 39 percent in primetime. It’s same to assume that this station outdraws Sinclair’s weak-kneed […]
(All right, I said a few months ago that I would never read or link to this guy’s blog again… But the commentary about the latest Prince faux pas he wrote is straight on… Hey, even yours truly can make a misjudgement once in a while… Sorry, J.D.C. BTW, Mariotti still sucks…) We have our first (and probably only) Worst […]
Here’s another award The Jerry Springer Show can proudly put on its trophy case: People in a Chicago Tribune poll voted the rabid show the worst show on TV with 19.8 percent of the vote. Gee, what a surprise! A few years ago if you recall, Jerry Springer was voted The worst show in history by TV Guide – and […]
Look for more late-afternoon Bears games – like it or not. No, the Chicago Bears did not relocate to L.A. (the way they played this season, they could’ve joined the writers, who are also out on strike.) But the NFL and CBS moved the Denver Broncos-Chicago Bears game to 3:15 p.m. (CT) from its original noon time slot. This comes […]
Writers Held Hostage: Day 2 The latest: – The walkout has shut down numerous shows in Hollywood until notice, notably sitcoms shot in front of studio audiences. Back to You, Two and a Half Men, ‘Til Death and The Big Bang Theory have gone dark (however, CW sitcoms Girlfriends and The Game are reportedly still in production.) – The Writer’s […]
Syndicated radio personality Delilah is out at WLIT-FM after seven years at the station. Her last show was on Monday. Her replacement is John Symons, late of WILV-FM and its predecessor, WNND-FM. He is bringing his Love Notes show to the station beginning on Thursday. Love Notes originated on WNND in 1997. Symons will host Love Notes live Monday through […]
With the Bears and Bulls going down the drain and a writer’s strike that seems to be getting worse by the minute, it’s going to be a long, cold winter in Chicago. Only thing I can say is… Go Hawks! I can’t believe I just said that. But it may be the only thing worth watching on TV (thanks to […]
Hawks also looking for over-the-air broadcast partner The Chicago Blackhawks and Comcast SportsNet held a press conference yesterday to announce the home-game schedule that will air on the regional sports net. Click here to view the official press release and the schedule. The first of these games airs this Sunday, with the Hawks hosting the Detroit Red Wings at 6 […]
Anyone who had WCKG become Fresh 105.9 in the format pool – you win! The new Adult Contemporary format launched at 5 p.m. today. The station’s target audience is women 25-54 (or somewhere in between), the same as crosstown competitor WLIT, who switched to Christmas music on Friday. According to yes.com, here are the first five songs played on the […]
Writers Held Hostage: Day 1 Here’s the latest: – The first fallout from the strike – the late-night talk shows have gone dark. There will be no more fresh episodes of Jay Leno, David Letterman, The Daily Show, or Stephen Colbert until further notice. Ellen DeGeneres did not tape her show today, showing support for the strikers. – Noted people […]
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