Another long-time face in first-run syndication could disappear – or not. Former Memphis judge Joe Brown, whose syndicated courtroom show is currently in its fifteenth season, could be removed from the bench if CBS Television Distribution doesn’t come to terms on a new contract, Broadcasting & Cable’s Paige Albinak reported exclusively on Wednesday. While the show itself is renewed on […]
The Tribune Co. Unofficially puts its papers on the block; Oscar viewership is up over a year ago; and more Mancow is headed to your TV: – It looks like the Chicago Tribune is up for sale. As first reported by CNBC on Monday, the 166-year old paper and others in the chain are on the block by creditors who […]
MacFarlane panned at Oscars, but he wasn’t the problem with the show A few months ago on Twitter, yours truly said Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane wasn’t a good fit as host for the 85th Annual Academy Awards, aka The Oscars. Sunday’s telecast certainly verified that fact – well, somewhat. The first few minutes of MacFarlane’s gig actually got off […]
Okay, yours truly hasn’t done a winners and losers listing lately. Because finding winners in this industry is too hard to find? T Dog’s Six Pack is back with a hot Blackhawks team, while unless you’re CBS, network television has gone ice cold. Winners. The Chicago Blackhawks. This team is so hot, they’re practically melting the ice they play on! […]
The Tribune Co. entered a new era on December 31, exiting bankruptcy after four years. Now it appears the new regime may be without one of its flagship station’s biggest draws. The Chicago Tribune reported on Sunday the Chicago Cubs may exit WGN-TV after the 2014 season, which could end a 66-year relationship with the Tribune-owned station. It seems changes […]
I’ll bet you’ve heard a lot of this in the last 48 hours: Jeff Probst …the tribe has spoken. CBS Television Distribution voted The Jeff Probst Show off the talk show island after one season, as the program could not find an audience. The Survivor host’s daytime talker had been averaging around a 0.7 Nielsen household live-plus same-day rating this […]
In a move that is widely being praised by many local and national media observers, current WMAQ general manger and Chicago-area native Larry Wert was named the new president of local broadcasting Tribune Broadcasting on Wednesday. Poaching Wert from NBC is the biggest move Tribune has made yet since Peter Ligouri took over as CEO, which is coming off a […]
(Editor’s Note: Due to illness during the period NATPE took place this year, yours truly unfortunately was not able to write much about the conference. Oh well… there’s always 2014! – T.H.) When the NATPE convention began in the spring of 1964, it began as a small gathering in a New York hotel. Flash forward to 2013 – and after […]
Super Bowl XLVII down from last year, but still pulls in an audience; CBS to be investigated for F-bomb; and so is WMVP for unrelated incident The Super Bowl matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers drew a huge audience on Sunday – but not as high as the two previous Super Bowls. According to Nielsen […]
A week after the NATPE conference had taken place, Twentieth Television notified stations carrying The Ricki Lake Show it will not return for a second season. The series halts production on March 28, with reruns and originals continuing until September 6. Lake’s second stint as a talk show host was different this time around as she focused more on issues […]
Welcome to the seventh annual wrap-up of the best and worst Super Bowl commercials (man, time flies!) The ads were featured in Super Bowl XLVII, a matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers televised over CBS. Here are the five best (and a few honorable mentions) and worst ads (you probably guessed by now who finished first) […]
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