The Cubs’ new network on Dish? Don’t bet on it

Impasses with Fox, others and costs makes it tough for carriage  If you are a Cubs fan and you are looking forward to watching Kris Bryant and Co. on their new Marquee Sports Network on Dish, let me give you a heads up: it’s not likely to happen. With nearly 150 games set to air exclusively on the Cubs’ new […]

The Media Notepad: US 99 unveils new morning show

Also: No relief in sight for those missing CBS on DirecTV; Dish drops Fox RSNs; WCIU drops new CW 26 trailer; This TV future? Entercom country-music outlet uS 99 WUSN-FM finally announced their new morning show last week, featuring Jason Pullman and Chicago-area native Katie Bright as they replace Stylz & Roman, who were dismissed in May after three years. […]

The tough landscape of weekend programming

Man of the People latest to strike out as viewers head to streaming services on weekends (Editor’s Note: This post has been updated to reflect recent changes in programming schedules.) Funny thing as this person was watching the final Man Of The People Monday night via DVR as in the next-to-last segment, Bill Kurtis said “Tonight we look back at […]

T Dog’s Media Notepad: “Agents of Shield” to end run

Plus other items from San Diego Comic-Con. Also: CBS pulls its signals off DirecTV. The 50th annual Comic-Con gathering took place in San Diego over the weekend (four days in total) and as usual, dropped a ton of big TV news: – At a Hall H Panel Thursday, ABC Studios announced news we already knew for months: the upcoming seventh […]

CBS, AT&T involved in negotiations; blackout looms

July 19 is deadline In what could be the biggest retrans showdown yet, CBS on Tuesday afternoon warned of a looming blackout for AT&T customers for this coming Friday, including those who subscribe to DirecTV, U-Verse, and the DirecTV Now streaming service. This is big because CBS is one of the nation’s largest broadcasters, and own stations in almost all […]

Weigel Broadcasting snares IHSA tournament rights

Brings local high school sports back to over-the-air broadcast television At a time when WGN-TV is losing rights to major-league teams to cable, one organization has decided to bring back games to local TV. As first reported Monday by the Chicago Tribune, the Illinois High School Association – or IHSA for short – has struck a deal with Chicago-based Weigel […]

The Media Notepad: 101.9 The Mix, The Drive dominate Chicago radio ratings

Also: Decades finds new station group; FCC votes to modify kidvid rules and strike down San Francisco apartment broadband law Hubbard Broadcasting continued its dominance of local Chicago radio in the recently released May PPM Nielsen rankings. As reported by Robert Feder, WTMX finished first again, with sister station The Drive (WDRV-FM) finishing a strong second.  The Minnepaolis-based company also […]

Chicago Defender ends print edition; shifts to digital only

Second publication this week to call to quits on print In a timed day-after-a-holiday Friday news dump, the owners of the Chicago Defender announced the publication is ending its print edition on July 11 and shifting entirely to digital. The move is not unexpected; numerous smaller newspapers are doing likewise amid a tremendous slump in print as digital has siphoned […]

“Man” overboard: WGN-TV sinks “Man Of The People”

Elements of series may continue on “non-linear platforms” Back in January 2018, I wrote a review of Man Of The People urging Chicagoans to “tune in and enjoy the show while they can before Captain Chesapeake fires the man, in reference to the former Baltimore kids’ TV host, who appeared on a Sinclair station whom at the time was in […]