On Sunday, NBC aired the 62nd Annual Emmy Awards live from Los Angeles with host Jimmy Fallon. Here are the hits and misses from the telecast: Shining bright on Emmy night – Jane Lynch’s shout out to the South Side. Glee’s Jane Lynch won Best Actress in a Comedy Series honors for her portrayal of Sue Sylvester in the wildly […]
Well, we have our first blatant ripoff of Chicago’s MeTV and Retro Television Network. Tribune announced today it is launching a new classic TV digital network titled Antenna TV on January 3, 2011. The network plans to air classic series from the Sony library and from syndicator D.L. Taffner, Ltd., which (still!) holds the rights to sitcoms Three’s Company and […]
It’s no longer a rush to get into the 4:30 a.m. news business – it’s a stampede. Consider this – a recent search of TVNewsCheck of “4:30” turned up a whopping 115 items., with most of the stories featuring stations starting 4:30 a.m. newscasts in the past year, or so. This isn’t a rush – it’s a stampede. Get the […]
Planet Express is now making weekend deliveries. In a deal that seemingly came together overnight, Twentieth Television has secured clearances to run Futurama on WCIU in Chicago and several Tribune-owned stations as an one-hour, all-barter block on weekends in the fall of 2011. While WCIU has acquired Futurama in Chicago to air, Tribune stations signing on include WPIX in New […]
When Who Wants To Be A Millionaire returns to begin its ninth syndicated season on September 13, the show will go under a dramatic overhaul so stringent, the only thing you may recognize is host Meredith Vierra. To stem declining ratings, the series is changing the way how it plays the game. And if you thought it was tough to […]
..and other media news of note: – Kevin Manno is exiting his afternoon gig at alt-rock WKQX-FM (Q101) to take a job hosting a yet-to-be named weekday show on MTV according to CRM. The new show debuts on September 20 and is scheduled to air weekdays at 5 p.m. Manno’s old shift is being filled temporarily by James VanOdsol. This […]
The Television Critics Association Press Tour came to an end on Saturday with the last three days devoted to cable networks. In the past, cable usually kicked off the press tour, but this year shoved toward the end of the twelve-day tour. Neverthless, critics stayed through the end, with the HBO presentation playing to full capacity on Saturday. The biggest […]
What’s surprising about Monsters and Money in the Morning is the program actually outlived The Jay Leno Show – by one month. In what could be considered the biggest bomb in local television history, CBS-owned WBBM-TV canceled future T Dog Media Blog TV Hall of Shame inductee Monsters and Money in the Morning after six-and-a-half months of ultra-low ratings to […]
It was PBS’ turn at the mic at the annual TCA Press tour on Thursday, which focused mainly on the second edition of their miniseries Pioneers of Television, whose panel of classic TV stars featured two Chicago natives: Robert Conrad (Wild, Wild West, Black Sheep Squadron) Nichelle Nichols (Star Trek), who hails from southwest suburban Robbins. The panel also featured […]
After a 29-year run, longtime Entertainment Tonight anchor Mary Hart has decided to step down next year. The move marks an end of an era for the long-running syndicated strip, which has been on the air since September 15, 1981. Hart joined the CBS Television Distribution program in 1982. According to The Wrap, The Insider’s Lara Spencer has been named […]
Fox’s 2010 TCA Presentation won’t be remembered for its three new shows (in fact, they’re quite forgettable), but for the questions it didn’t answer… Fox execs Kevin Reilly and Peter Rice talked about a lot of things pertaining to their network, but disappointed many at the press tour by refusing to answer any questions related to American Idol, especially on […]
ABC’s presentation at the Television Critics Association Press Tour was dominated by talk of the sudden departure of its longtime entertainment chief (Stephen McPherson) after six years. But while there was talk about it, there was none of it coming from ABC brass – they consider the matter closed. In comes Paul Lee who was named new entertainment chief, who […]
NBC spoke to the critics at the Television Critics Association Press Tour on Friday and held numerous panels. The peacock network unveiled seven new shows for the 2010-11 season, in hopes of getting the network out of fourth place, where it’s been for five years. Here is the what they said at the press tour: Executive session with Jeff Gaspin […]
The CW was next up as part of CBS Corporation’s two days at the Television Critics Association Press Tour on Thursday (CW is part-owned by CBS.) CW chief Dawn Ostroff spoke at an executive session with the critics on Thursday. Among what was discussed: – Overnight ratings weren’t relative anymore. Maybe not, since their ratings aren’t that good to begin […]
The semi-annual Television Critics Association Press Tour got underway this week at the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel in this upscale section of Los Angeles. Many critics complained about the air conditioning in the ballroom and lackluster wi-fi connection, which rivals the poor signal one usually gets at the Harold Washington Library in the Loop. The only difference is the security […]