The Media Notepad: ABC launches Localish as a diginet

Also: Drew Barrymore’s new show gets a production commitment; trouble ahead for WTMX. It’s hard to believe, but the LiveWell Network is actually still around – and more than likely, you probably didn’t know it still existed. Well, it’s finally going away. Beginning on February 17, what’s left of LiveWell is being replaced by ABC Local-ish, which is basically short-term […]

Update: The tough marketplace for weekend programming continues

But one syndicator is making an actual investment Back last July, this blog detailed how tough it is to launch a weekly show as the weekend landscape outside of sports programming has become dominated by reruns, paid religion, infomercials, and fourth-rate programming. The tough marketplace led to the demise of WGN’s Man Of The People with WGN morning sports anchor […]

WGN-TV to add nightly sports show

Continues programming expansion at Bradley Place Nexstar once again continues its push for more programming out of WGN’s Bradley Place by launching a nightly sports show at 10:30 p.m. Billed as “GN Sports”, the program is hosted by WGN sports anchors Dan Roan and Jarrett Payton. The show displaces one of two airings of off-network sitcom The Goldbergs, which relocates […]

Marquee Sports unveils on-air lineup, programming

New RSN drops details; Xfinity still not on board The Cubs and Marquee Sports Network finally (finally!) unveiled details about the new network to fans Saturday at the annual Cubs Convention in downtown Chicago. Programming on the channel consists of the obvious fare you would find on similar regional sports network channels: Cubs pre-game and post game shows and Cubs […]

Fox Television Stations launch new streamer Fox Soul

Fox-owned stations launch OTT service targeting African-American viewers; Fox 32’s Later With Leon to be featured  In an ambitious move, Fox Television Stations announced Monday the launch of Fox Soul, a over-the-top service targeting African-American viewers between the ages of 25 and 54. The new streaming service is featuring live-streaming original programming in prime-time and late night, roughly from 8 […]

Nexstar to launch new Chicago-based national newscast on WGN America

Broadcast group jumps into the cable news game with a different approach to news – the traditional way With the announcement of a new national newscast originating from Chicago, Nexstar is making a huge financial investment in the Windy City. The Irving, Tex.-based broadcaster announced Wednesday the launch of a three-hour prime-time national newscast originating from Chicago’s WGN-TV Bradley Place […]

iHeart Media announces cuts nationwide; Chicago stations lays off three (so far)

Nation’s largest radio chain eliminates positions in belt-tightening In 2009, Clear Channel Communications announced one of the biggest radio layoffs in history, cutting 1,850 positions announced on January 20, the same day President Obama was inaugurated into office. At the time, I wrote: “Even more appalling is their plan to cut back on live, local programming and add more syndicated […]

WGN-TV expands weekend newscasts

More news on tap for Nexstar’s independent station  (Editor’s Note: This post has been updated.) As alluded to when Nexstar announced the closure of CLTV, WGN is rolling out expanded weekend newscasts and local programming – including adding a 10 p.m. newscast on Saturday and Sunday, all effective January 11. For starters, the station’s Saturday morning newscasts are now three […]

“Millionaire” returns to ABC to celebrate (belated) 20th anniversary

Jimmy Kimmel takes over with new format Well, that didn’t take long. Just mere months after airing its final episode in syndication, ABC announced Wednesday at the Winter TCA Tour it is bringing back Who Wants To Be A Millionaire as a series of prime-time specials starting April 8, the same night Modern Family is airing its final episode. Handling […]

The fridge pack (plus one): The unlucky 13 of the decade

There are flops, and then there are….flops. For every success in the most recent decade, there were products coming off so badly, you don’t know how the hell they were even conceived in the first place – you basically had to see it to believe it! If you thought the 2000s version of “The Dirty Dozen” were bad, they have […]

The fridge pack: The twelve items that made the decade

Even through the 2010s were less impactful than the previous decade was (i.e. no iPod-like devices were invented), the period did provide some historic moments. Hearkening back to an era where T Dog Media was a little more looser than it is now, I present to you The Fridge Pack: The Twelve Items That Made The Decade and its impact […]

What to look for in 2020

What’s on the media agenda in the first year of the new decade The new decade brings us things to look forward to in the world of media. So here’s are the ten things to keep your eye on in Chicago and in general for 2020. We’ll check back in at the end of the year to see how we […]

Mary Dixon heads to WBEZ as new news anchor

Longtime WXRT news person returns at a new station After being let go from Entercom’s Adult Album Alternative rock outlet WXRT, Mary Dixon has quickly landed on her feet at Chicago Public Media’s news/talk WBEZ-FM. Beginning next month, the 54 year-old news veteran becomes the station’s new morning news anchor and local host of NPR Morning Edition. She will be […]