Also: ABC’s stations team up with Nat Geo on another water special; Spectrum says they will drop more under performing channels; Houston’s Space City Home Network launches You heard of The Mod Squad, right? Now meet The Sven Squad. Just in time for Halloween, MeTV’s Svengoolie is adding cast members for the first time. Joining the horror movie host […]
One of the first African-American news anchors in Chicago, Porterfield had a 51-year career in journalism Harry Porterfield, one of Chicago’s first Black anchors and reporters, died peacefully from natural causes in his Munster, Ind. home Monday at the age of 95. Porterfield was a trailblazer in Chicago media circles, joining local TV news at a time when there were […]
Former B96 exec takes job at classic hits station Former Audacy exec Todd Cavanah has returned to Chicago radio as new PD of Cumulus’ WLS-FM, taking over the classic hits station effective immediately. Cavanah is a longtime fixture on the Chicago radio scene, spending 33 years at Audacy and its predcessor companies, CBS Radio and Infinity Broadcasting. He departed Audacy […]
A FAST streamer aiming to be just more than FAST You’ve probably heard of Xumo, one of those “FAST” apps in the streaming landscape competing with Pluto TV, Redbox, Amazon’s Freevee, and others in the growing Free Advertising Supported Television landscape, with over 190 channels dedicated to a wide variety of genres. But Xumo is aiming for more as it […]
Follows HBO’s exit five years ago With the decline of linear TV – and traditional Pay TV in general, it’s no surprise Paramount Global’s Showtime Sports division is shuttering its doors after 37 years in operation. The unit was mostly home to boxing events run by Premier Boxing Champions and Bellator MMA fighting plus sports documentaries, would close by the […]
Also: Bally Sports Arizona folds; SAG-AFTRA talks fail; your newest talk show host is…Ken Jeong? With Sinclair out as partner in Stadium, the digital subchannel occupying the same will have a new name and new format effective October 30. Called The Nest, Sinclair says the new channel features “family-friendly programming” but with reality cable TV show reruns. Shows featured in […]
Last day on the air February 28 Longtime WGN-TV meteorologist Tom Skilling announced on the station’s 5 p.m. newscast his retirement after 47 years broadcasting the weather. His last day on the air is February 28 of next year. “There’s no formula for this. I am going to retire at the end of February after a marvelous 45 years at […]
Ebony name returns to TV as the former Chicago-based property showcases Black films and television For the first time in a long time, the Ebony magazine name is back on TV. The brand name synonymous with Black life in America is teaming up with Lionsgate to launch a 24/7 FAST (free advertiser-supported television) channel. The new Ebony channel features content […]
Joins ABC 7 and WGN in doing so with special segments So far, 2023 saw ABC’s WLS-TV and Nexstar’s WGN-TV mark their 75th anniversaries, the latter with a two-hour special. And now NBC-owned WMAQ-TV (branded as NBC 5 and NBC Chicago locally) is also joining the party. Several WMAQ alumnus will be joining the station for special segments during the […]
Also: The latest Chicago radio ratings; Arizona Coyotes to move all games to broadcast TV Cumulus Media’s conservative talker WLS-AM recently announced they were adding two new afternoon shows to replace the departed Big John Howell Show. First from 3-4 p.m. weekdays is Closing Bell. Not related to the similarly-titled CNBC business news show airing at the same time, Bell […]
But the South Side team isn’t the league’s worst-rated Even though neither the Cubs and the White Sox made the playoffs this year, at least one team managed to score a victory in the ratings department. According to final 2023 regular-season ratings released Tuesday (see below), the Cubs scored an increase for a season where they played better than they […]
Adds to numerous incidents at or in the station over the years You can add this to the “weird things that’s hapened at 190 North State Street” file. On Monday night around 10 p.m. – minutes before ABC 7 (WLS-TV) was set to go on the air with its nightly newscast (delayed due to Monday Night Football), a car was […]
Syracuse plans to close public studio due to lack of use One of the causalities of cord-cutting and the continuing rise of technology is using the public studio at your local cable company to produce a public-access show. This appears to be happening in Syracuse, N.Y. as part of the city’s new agreement with Charter Communications, who market their products […]