Some in Washington are not happy with XM-Sirius merger, with the FCC all but certain to approve the deal (Republican majority… hello?) Some politicians are angry with the Department of Justice’s decision, while others think it is good deal.Here is a Think Tank I wrote last year regarding the approval of the deal, and my support of it at the […]
From The San Diego Union-Tribune’s TV Critic Karla Peterson, and the San Diego Business Journal. Phil Rosenthal from the Chicago Tribune also weighs in.
Radio One has sold its struggling Urban AC KRBV-FM to Bonneville for $138 million. The station, once known as Urban/Hip-Hop formatted The Beat (100.3, KKBT) has tumbled in the ratings over the years, flipping to a Urban AC format two years ago. With Bonneville taking over, a format change is all but certain, as Bonneville does not program urban formats. […]
That’s according to Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel TV Critic Tom Jicha, who is dead on correct about NBC, who bought WTVJ (a CBS affiliate) in 1987, switched its long-time affiliation from WSVN-TV two years later, then traded in a strong channel position (Channel 4) to CBS for a weak one (Channel 6) in 1995 so they can own WCAU-TV (another former […]
The Justice Department approved the XM-Sirius deal, which clears another hurdle for the two to hook up (only the FCC stands in the way now.)
It’s official: Tribune’s KSWB-TV – the market’s San Diego CW affiliate (and former WB affiliate) will switch to Fox effective this August. It was a rumor branded around TV circles the last few weeks, after new Tribune boss Sam Zell mentioned in a video on the company’s Baltimore Sun website (which has been since taken down) that he struck a […]
The last few topics I dealt with on the Think Tank involved Homer Simpson Jumping the Shark and Jim Belushi. Yikes. Now there’s some issues that really require some thought. But this piece is a lot more serious, given I live here. I may step on a few toes, but I’m kind of pissed, and this must be told. It […]
This moves comes after owner Tribune posted a fourth quarter loss of $78 million. And among the suitors for the Long Island paper include: The publisher of the New York Daily News, Cablevision owner James Dolan (who is destroying the New York Knicks) and News Corp., whose Daily Rupert (a.k.a The Post) publishes rumors as fact.
And this time for good. So, where were ya, fans? Too busy scoring more peanuts, I guess… (or perhaps watching Jericho on BitTorrent or iTunes.)
NBC-owned WMAQ-TV is launching a brand-new local magazine program to air after Saturday Night Live, beginning March 29. Titled 24/7, the new show is hosted by Catie Keogh and Billy Dec, and it features interviews with celebrities and local Chicagoans, providing “a fun, fresh approach to Chicago’s unique blend of urban liveliness and Midwest charm” (think 190 North crossed with […]
Local broadcasts of Detroit Tigers, Pistons, and Red Wings games have been locked up by cable channel FSN Detroit for the next 10 years, keeping the games off of broadcast TV in the Motor City (unless their respective broadcast network partners – i.e. Fox with MLB, NBC with the NHL, etc. carries a game.) It also erases the possibility of […]
In what may be the first of many moves among local television personalities, sports anchor Ryan Baker has jumped to CBS-owned WBBM-TV from NBC-owned WMAQ-TV. Beginning on April 14, he will anchor the sports on Channel 2’s morning newscast and report on other newscasts.
It’s WTVJ in Miami and WVIT in Hartford that’s being chopped off, while the network’s Telemundo affiliate (WSCV-TV) won’t be sold. The sale will leave NBC with just eight O&O’s – the smallest of any network group.
A big news anchor shakeup is in the works at Chicago’s TV news stations. The ball got rolling last week when Mark Supplesa abruptly left WFLD-TV after rejecting a contract offer. In Feder’s column today, he put in all in perspective, with several high-profile names involved in play: – Diann Burns of WBBM-Channel 2 may lose her 10 p.m. anchor […]
NBC Universal’s Sci-Fi channel has greenlighted several new projects, unveiled at their upfront presentation in New York City Tuesday. They include: – A new prequel to Battlestar Galactica called Caprica, which is set fifty years before Galactica takes place. Galactica concludes its run this year. – True Beliver, a two-hour backdoor pilot from executive producer Rosario Dawson (a noted sci-fi […]
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