Stan wasn’t the only one up in arms about Comedy Central taking a hatchet job to a recent episode of “South Park.” For the last few weeks, cable was on a hot streak: SyFy acquired Friday Night Smackdown, stealing it away from My Network TV, while Turner Broadcasting snared both Conan O’Brien and part of the NCAA Tournament. But on […]
CBS and Turner Broadcasting announced a mega-deal that will keep at least some of the NCAA Tournament on the Tiffany network – but much of it is moving to cable. In an eye-popping 14-year, $10.8 billion deal struck on Wednesday, CBS and Turner’s family of networks – TNT, TBS, and TruTV (formerly CourtTV) will carry both the preliminary and second […]
It looks like more and more stations are joining the extremely early morning dawn patrol. If you thought 5 a.m. was early, you haven’t seen nothing yet. In two big markets, local stations have or are in the process of expanding their morning newscasts – to 4:30 a.m. In Los Angeles, four stations already have 4:30 a.m. newscasts (compared to […]
This is based on 6+ numbers; the 18-34 numbers; the 25-54 numbers: Male, Female, and Adults. Winners: WOJO-FM, WGCI-FM, V103 (WVAZ), The Mix (WTMX), The Drive (WDRV) , WBBM-FM, WKSC-FM (Kiss) Honorable Mention: US 99 (WUSN-FM), In the Top 5 overall, but very old skewing: WGN-AM Loser: WNUA-FM, ESPN 1000 (WMVP-AM) Results: All-news WBBM-AM may have been number one overall, […]
The winners and losers of the week: The stamp of approval: The Chicago Blackhawks (before Friday’s night’s loss): The Mighty Blackhawks are mighty once again thanks to record-breaking regular season ratings. The Hawks are in the playoffs against the Nashville Predators, which continue Sunday night. Go Hawks! Conan moving to TBS. Fox getting out-foxed by Conan. While Murdoch and the […]
The drawing in the Conan O’Brien lottery took place Monday, and it was Turner Broadcasting who turned up the lucky winner. So what does TBS actually win? Young demos. A proven name. An increased profile. And a new car – advertiser or two. But it seems a lot of players in this saga appear to winners – TBS, Conan O’Brien, […]
(Note: This is a refurbished and retooled version of a post yours truly wrote on July 1, 2009 – updated to include more recent information, including today’s announcement of “The Game” returning to television. Yes, I’m now recycling posts!) BET announced today at its upfront presentation to advertisers in New York that canceled CW comedy The Game will make a […]
– It appears CoCo has caused a casualty on TBS’ schedule, and its Comcastic! E! and the Style network have acquired all 94 (yes, count ’em – 94) episodes of Sex And the City, beginning in the fall of 2011. Both E! and Style are both owned by Comcast. The former HBO series currently runs on TBS at midnight, but […]
In good news for the syndication business, two of the platform’s highest-rated shows are going to be around for at least a few more years. CBS Television Distribution’s game-show duo of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! has been renewed on the seven ABC-owned and operated stations who carry the programs through 2014. The news broke a week ago on TheWrap.com. […]
In a move which illustrates once again the declining clout of broadcasters – and the growingpower of cable, Vince McMahon and the WWE have announced the departure of Friday Night Smackdown from Fox’s My Network TV and is moving it to NBC Universal-owned cable channel SyFy effective October 1. SyFy smacked down Fox with a $30 million offer to WWE, […]
It’s something Ted Turner would be proud of – if he still owned TBS. In a move that shocks a lot of people in the industry, former NBC late-night talk show Conan O’Brien has signed a deal with TBS to do a late night program. O’Brien broke the news on Twitter earlier today. Details were sketchy, but O’Brien will begin […]
– Put ’em up: It’s an afternoon at the fights! In this corner, its WLS-AM’s Roe Conn and new partner Richard Roeper… and in the other corner, its Conn’s former partner and friend – Garry Meier on WGN-AM. Beginning Monday, Conn & Roeper are on from 2-6 while Garry Meier is on from 3-7 (on days when the Cubs aren’t […]
Me-TV, the home of classic sitcoms (and a few educational and first-run weeklies) has revamped its schedule, effective this Monday. The most notable change is the removal of raunchy sitcoms Married… With Children and That’s ’70’s Show from the schedule and airing Scrubs at 12:30 a.m. – a half-hour before its regularly scheduled 1 a.m. WCIU showing. And speaking of […]
WFLD continues to struggle at 9 p.m. with its local newscasts, despite the fact of a strong prime-time lead-in. The March numbers show the Fox-owned station continuing to lag behind WGN and the other stations in the market in households and key demos. According to Nielsen and numbers supplied by the Sun-Times, WFLD averaged a 3.1 household rating for its […]
Yes, since it’s the Easter holiday, there are only three items in this week’s pack: Easter Eggs 24 ends. For fans, it’s not the news they want to hear, but for Kiefer Sutherland and the crew of this well-written and exciting drama, the timing is right. Thanks for the wonderful ride! Dancing With The Stars vs. American Idol. Did you […]