Local TV expansion pushes out syndicated fare (updated)

WGN-TV, Fox 32 expands local programming

[Editor’s Note: This post was updated on Sept. 8 to reflect the last-minute scheduling changes made at Fox 32 and Fox Chicago Plus.]

If there’s any indication about the struggles of first-run and off-network syndication, look no further than this season’s new crop of shows, in which you count on one hand whereas in the past, you needed multiple hands. 

That’s because stations across the country are producing more news and local programming, which is cheaper than buying shows. Led by station groups such as Nexstar, Fox, Gray, and Scripps, some of these “lifestyle shows” are the “pay-for-play” variety when local businesses pay a fee to get a slot on the program, providing another revenue stream for the station.

And with Nexstar buying Tegna, the outlook for first-run is even bleaker as its local and regional programming push expands across the country. 

Which brings us to the company’s WGN-TV, which added Daytime Chicago and Spotlight Chicago over the last few years. Now they’re adding another local show called Take Two starting Monday at 2 p.m. “From viral moments to highlights from recent WGN newscasts including WGN Morning News, the show will also take viewers on a journey through some of the station’s memorable moments from the WGN-TV vault,” according to the station. Like sister station KTLA Los Angeles, WGN no longer airs first-run daily syndicated programming. 

Another station group pushing hard on local programming is Fox, which has added shows on its New York, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia stations, and Fox 32 is no exception. According to Gracenote TV listings, WFLD has added lifestyle show Chicago Now to its schedule starting Monday, which originated from the Fox Local App. It is expected to run from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. weekdays while previous occupants Sherri and The Jennifer Hudson Show shifts to respective 1 and 2 p.m. time slots, providing much needed upgrades for each show. 

Fox 32 is also adding The Chicago Report, returning to the 10 p.m. news business for the first time since The Ten was canceled in 2009. Details about the show were not available at press time. Like Chicago Now!, the show should be available on the Fox Local App.

At sister station Fox Chicago Plus, GMFB: Overtime is expanding to two hours and airing from noon-2 p.m. while Suits‘ weekday airings have been dropped. WPWR also made a last-minute addition Sept. 8 with something called Fox Chicago Playlist from 6-9 p.m. weeknights, which is recycled news stories that previously ran on Fox 32’s newscasts featuring a news ticker at the bottom. Not exactly innovative programming, and WPWR would be better off returning to MyNetworkTV programming in primetime, even if its off-network dramas. 

To be sure, syndication still plays a role at Weigel’s The U and U Too, where the rest of the new syndicated shows are landing. WCIU has snagged Deborah Norville’s new game show The Perfect Line to pair with Flipside weeknights at 7:30 p.m. starting Monday (with a second airing at 1 a.m.), and Scrambled Up to air on The U Too weekday mornings at 8 and 8:30 a.m. Flipside and Perfect Line are from CBS Media Ventures. Also new to The U’s lineup is courtroom show Tribunal Justice from the producers of Judy Justice, at 2 and 2:30 p.m. weekdays. 

The U has also acquired off-network reruns of Chicago Fire, marking the first time the NBC drama has been seen here in Chicago as a strip on a local broadcast station, airing weeknights at 9 starting Sept. 22. Also new is CBS Media Ventures’ Ghosts, as the Thursday night CBS sitcom makes its syndicated debut at 11 p.m. beginning Oct. 6. 

Returning to syndication after five years is Live PD as Live PD Presents from Trifecta Entertainment (who replaces Sony Pictures Television as distributor), which is a repackaged version of several spinoffs of the former A&E Friday and Saturday night show, which has been rechristened as On Patrol: Live for Reelz Channel. Sony syndicated Live PD: Police Patrol from 2018 to 2020, but was pulled after George Floyd was killed by a police officer in Minneapolis as the return of such fare proves how much this genre has come full circle since his death. Presents is scheduled for 6 and 6:30 p.m. weekinghts on The U Too and at 2 a.m. Sundays on The U, and is also available as a 24/7 FAST channel on Samsung TV Plus and other platforms. 

Other new reality series being added to The U Too’s weekday schedule include Web Of Murder and Alien Disclosure Files. 

Finally, CBS Media Ventures is replacing The Equalizer in weekend syndication with Fire Country, starting Sept. 13. The Equalizer was canceled by CBS in May after five seasons.