The Grab Bag: WWWN isn’t “winning” – it’s losing
Due to my behind-the-scenes-work for the relaunch of The T Dog Media Blog, yours truly hasn’t been able to write about some of the items that has been going on. So let’s catch up:
– Maybe they should change the call letters to WLLL? WWWN-FM, the new all-news station launched a few weeks ago has not gotten off to a “winning” start – in fact it’s “losing”… badly: In the first PPM survey since the switch from alternative rock WKQX/Q101, the station plunged to a tie for 36th place with a measly half a share point. Keep in mind however, the survey also included the “stunting” phase, which included a temporary Hot AC music format with Robert Murphy in the mornings. But still, the very slow start is jarring.
– And speaking of Robert Murphy, the former Q101 morning host has landed in the same capacity recently at Classic Hits outlet WILV-FM (100.3). This marks the first regular gig Murphy has held in Chicago since a short-lived stint as a talk show host at WLS-FM in the mid-1990’s and a few years later at rimshotter WXXY-FM.
– If you think nobody is listening to WWWN, no one’s watching Excused either: The syndicated dating reality show from CBS Television Distribution averaged a 0.4 household overnight rating and 1 share in its first two weeks on the air, down from its lead-in and year-ago time period. The highest-rated first-run freshman series thus far is Warner Bros. Anderson which has averaged around a 1.2 overnight rating.
– After failing to come to a renewal agreement with RTV, classic TV competitors Antenna TV and MeTV splitting the shows. New shows on MeTV from NBCUniversal include Kojak, Columbo, and The Rockford Files while Antenna TV grabs Adam-12, Dragnet, Leave It To Beaver, McHale’s Navy, Jack Benny, and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. some of the NBCU programming on the list is already on the air locally on MeToo (WMEU). Click here and here to access the fall lineups for MeTV and Antenna TV, respectively.
– Speaking of classic TV, some rare footage of WFLD-TV’s Screaming Yellow Theater (1970-73) have been found, featuring the original Svengoolie – Jerry G. Bishop! The episodes found originally aired on WFLD in March and April 1973 and feature WLS-AM “Superjock” Larry Lujack and Penthouse Playmate of Year 1972 Tina McDowall. You can view the segments in The Museum of Classic Chicago Television at FuzzyMemories.TV, who should be credited for transferring and digitizing these gems for all of us to see.
– Capitol redux? ABC’s All My Children ended its 41-year run at the network Friday with a cliffhanger: As the final scene unfurled, someone was shot and the screen faded to black. The reasoning for the cliffhanger is simple: Children and One Life To Live were sold to production company Prospect Park, which plans to continue the series online. However, if the series does not return, it could leave viewers feeling the same way fans of CBS soap Capitol did when that series wrapped up on March 20, 1987. In the series finale, a character was placed in a firing squad in a Middle Eastern kingdom. More recently, The Sopranos ended their series on June 10, 2007 when during the final scene, the screen suddenly cut to black in the middle of a game-changing plot, angering many fans.
Beginning Monday, new lifestyle/cooking show The Chew will occupy the time slot All My Children previously owned.