The Media Notepad: “Judy Justice” adds linear TV run this fall
Also: Cubs PA announcer looking to become next talk show host; A new MeTV FM hire; the former Trump Country recently became an all-Taylor Swift station
Just what we need – even more of Judy.
As expected, repeats of Judy Sheindlin’s new Freevee court show Judy Justice is a firm go in syndication this fall with nearly 400 episodes never seen before on linear TV. Amazon MGM and producer Sox Entertainment announced Thursday the show cleared 100 markets on stations owned by Sunbeam, Mission, Weigel, and more.
While no individual stations were formally announced, look for Judy Justice to air on Weigel’s WCIU this fall, known as CW 26. The show is also cleared on WPIX New York (Mission/Nexstar) and WSVN Miami (Sunbeam). CW 26 already airs a 4-to-6 p.m. block of her previous series Judge Judy, which is staying in syndication this fall with the potential to confuse viewers.
New episodes of Judy Justice continue on Freevee, Amazon’s FAST network of channels until the current season ends on April 5. Similar in format to her old show Judy Justice becomes the first off-streaming show to land in traditional syndication.
“What a full circle moment,” Sheindlin said in a statement. “This continues to be quite an adventure!”
Despite airing in reruns since 2021, Judge Judy reruns continue to be successful for local stations, drawing an average of 6.7 million viewers a week – more than most syndicated programs, first-run or off-network. Sheindlin left Judge Judy after 25 years as her relationship with distributor CBS Media Ventures deteriorated.
This is the first syndicated strip Amazon MGM has syndicated in years. Founded in 1924, the famed studio was acquired by Amazon in May 2021, 35 years after becoming independent once again after being briefly owned by Ted Turner, who retained most of the pre-1986 film library (now owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.) Amazon owns the rights to a small TV library including The Pink Panther, The Addams Family, Green Acres, and Fame. MGM’s film library (post-1986) contains titles from Orion Pictures and Filmways.
Is the Cubs PA announcer looking to become the next Oprah Winfrey?
According to a recent Block Club Chicago article, Jeremiah Paprocki – a 24-year-old who became the first Black PA announcer in Wrigley Field’s storied history, is planning to launch a late-night talk show called Late Nights In Chicago, producing five pilot episodes with the first being taped March 24 at the Studebaker Theater downtown. The first guests include Chicago TikTok historian Shermann “Dilla” Thomas and local rapper Matt Muse. This would be the first live audience participation show to air from Chicago since the cancellation of Windy City Live in 2021.
“So this show is going to be for Chicago, by Chicago,” Paprocki told Block Club Chicago. “Hopefully it will be a great way for people to spend a night Downtown, learn about interesting people and for us to highlight the best of Chicago.”
The University of Illinois grad got the idea after attending a taping of ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live.
“I know I have the passion, because I’m crazy enough to upstart my own show. But a good talk show host should focus on highlighting the guests. If I do it right, everyone will hopefully leave with a better understanding of their story.”
While it may or may not go national, Paprocki hopes to join a select few who succeeded in launching a talk show from the Windy City. Of course, the best-known example is Oprah Winfrey, who came here to host A.M. Chicago in January 1984, and her success translated into one of the biggest talk show franchises in history. Other talkers who’ve had success here include Phil Donahue, Jerry Springer, Jenny Jones, and Steve Harvey, whose departure for L.A. in 2017 left the city without a nationally syndicated talk show. The last local talk show to tape with an audience – Windy City Live – was canceled three years ago.
The last late-night talk show attempt in Chicago came in 2012 when Michael Essany – who achieved a bit of celebrity status for hosting a local cable access show in his Valparaiso, Ind. home when he was a teenager, launched an ambitious effort titled Seven On Ridge over little-watched independent WJYS-TV and taped at the Genesis Convention Center in Gary, Ind., whose facilities hosted the 2001 and 2002 Miss USA pageants. As you can imagine, the project wasn’t successful due to nearly non-existent ratings and production disputes and lasted only three months. Other late-night projects that came and went quickly include 1991’s Johnny B. On The Loose and On The Mound with former Cub Ryan Dempster, as the pandemic derailed the planned launch of the show.
If you are looking for the last successful late-night Chicago talk show, you have to go back to 1959 when Playboy Magazine founder Hugh Hefner hosted Playboy’s Penthouse over WBKB-TV (now WLS-TV) where it ran until 1961.
Paprocki’s is publishing the show YouTube with the possibility of other platforms in the future, so at least he’ll reach more viewers than Essany ever did on WJYS.
Weigel’s MeTV FM (WRME-FM) announced last week the hire of Phil Manicki as program director of the Soft AC station. He succeeds Rick O’Dell, who retired from the station last fall.
“We are thrilled to welcome Phil to the MeTV FM team,” said Neal Sabin, Vice Chairman of Weigel Broadcasting Co. “With his extensive knowledge of music and Chicago radio, I’m confident he will grow our memorable and timeless music brand. MeTV FM continues to be “hopelessly devoted” to playing favorite hits from the ‘60’s, 70’s and ’80s”
“Thanks to Weigel Broadcasting for creating the coolest radio station in Chicago,” Manicki said. “I’m excited to join the incredible team at MeTV FM following fellow WPGU alumni, Rick O’Dell to write the next chapter in the station’s story.”
Manicki career in Chicago radio spanned 25 years as an on-air personality, including being part of the first on-air team at Hubbard’s The Drive when it launched in 2001 and spent a little over two decades at the station until exiting two years ago. Before WDRV, Manicki also held on-air gigs at WLUP-FM, WGN Radio, and WCKG 105.9 FM. Manicki also had experience programming stations in Champaign, Peoria, and other towns.
During the October ratings period, MeTV FM finished sixteenth with a 2.1 share.
Hell naw: In the ultimate twist of irony, a Sanibel, Fla. radio station who rebranded itself as Trump Country in 2020 recently stunted with…an all-Taylor Swift format.
Serving the Ft. Myers- Naples market, WHEL-FM pulled the plug on its Active Rock format in September 2020 and in a controversial move, launched a country music format branded Trump Country to capitalize on the popularity of the 45th President in Southwest Florida as he was running for re-election, even going as far to use an on-air impersonator.
But after he lost to Joe Biden, Trump Country transitioned into Hell Yeah 93.7 FM in December 2020 retaining the Country music format. But like the Active Rock format before it, the Sun Broadcasting-owned station languished in the ratings, finishing third behind two other country stations in the market in the most recent ratings survey. Making things worse, the format was put on pause after Hurricane Ian hit the area in October 2022, temporarily displaced by a Spanish-language station.
On January 17, Hell Yeah was bumped to a weaker translator in the market to stunt with an all-Taylor Swift format, as the undisputed queen of pop dominated the conversation in the last year thanks to a successful tour and of course, attending Kansas City Chiefs games both home and away to watch her beau Travis Kelce and attracted new female viewers to the already dominant NFL.
While it was traded in for a me-too CHR format as Hot 93.7 Monday, at least for a time Southwest Floridan Swifties had a format to call their own, certainly “trumping” Trump Country, even in Trump Country.