This week’s issue of Crain’s Chicago Business details the continuing ratings struggle of CBS-owned WBBM-TV. Joe Ahern, who helped rocket competing WLS-TV into a ratings powerhouse in the ’80’s and ’90’s, is finding it a difficult task to repeat the same feat at WBBM. At issue is the station’s poorly-rated newscasts, which places behind not only ABC-owned WLS and NBC-owned […]
It looks like Family Guy has succeeded where The Simpsons succeeded. According to numbers supplied by Twentieth Television (from a banner ad that appeared on TV Week’s website), Family Guy’s airing at 10 p.m. on WGN-TV finished number one in the time period between Sept. 17 and Sept. 21 among men 18-34 (2.2) and women 18-34 (2.6). It beat not […]
The FCC came to Chicago last Thursday, for public hearings on media consolidation and diversity. The whole thing was webcast for the world to hear on the FCC’s website, and yours truly hooked it up to listen for eight hours. Eight loooong hours… The FCC was there at Operation PUSH, and if you listed to the webcast- hell, you’d think […]
It turns out some media outlets did report on the FCC public hearings that took place last night: From WBBM-TV: Hundreds Line Up Speak To FCC About Media Rules From Fox News Chicago (WFLD): FCC Hearing Attracts Hundreds in Chicago WMAQ-TV also mentioned the hearing last night on its’ 10 p.m. newscast.Meanwhile, Presidential candidate and Illinois Senator Barack Obama is […]
One could wonder if the announcement yesterday hiring of Mai Martinez as the new weekend anchor of WBBM-TV’s weekend newscasts coincided with the FCC hearings on media diversity scheduled on the same day- or the fact that they are broadcasting Saturday’s Mexican Independence Parade (don’t ask about her qualifications.)
To no one’s surprise, the five first-run strips that debuted yesterday got off to a mixed start, with only one (Steve Wilkos) up from its lead-in and all down from year-ago time period averages. Here’s a metered-market ratings rundown of the five new syndicated first-run strips from Monday: Program Rtg/Shr Lead-in 9/06 TP Best performer TMZ 2.0/4 1.9/4 1.9/4 St. […]
Chicagoland Radio and Media titled a post “Dancin’ With the Barz” (clever) on this Feder story, as Mike Barz from WFLD’s Good Day, Chicago was doing some after-hours dirty dancing at a night club with a female staffer last Friday – and he actually won something – not a trophy, but a one-day time out from management. And yes, The […]
Scroll down or click here to read post, with updated information on two shows (Becker, Girlfriends) that are no longer on the schedule (actually, it’s information that I wrote on this blog before – this is WCIU’s explanation of it…)
The Cleveland Plain Dealer profiled former WBBM-TV boss Bill Applegate last week at his latest venue as GM of beleaguered CBS affiliate WOIO-TV and My Network TV affiliate WUAB-TV, both owned by Raycom Media. Like WBBM, WOIO has struggled in the news ratings (placing fourth) and has credibility issues (such as news anchor Sharon Reed posing nude for a report […]
This summer’s reality shows are taking a back seat to the ultimate reality show: The Cubs chase for the National League’s Central Division Championship. Wednesday night’s Dodgers-Cubs game was the highest rated program in prime-time and the entire broadcast day in Chicago, according to Nielsen with a whopping 11 rating and 19 share (second item. Yeah, there’s a first item, […]
A new local TV show is debuting this weekend on ABC affiliate WLS-TV. Starting this Saturday night, the station will air a new sports-variety show called Chicago Huddle, which is being taped at ESPN Zone in Chicago’s River North area. The program will air Saturday nights after the station’s late news, at 11:05 p.m. (time approximate.) WLS-TV, ABC, and ESPN […]
Apprentice winner and Orland Park native Bill Rancic will co-host In the Loop with iVillage, a reincarnated version of iVillageLive, a show that aired on the NBC O&O’s from Universal Studios in Orlando and flopped with viewers. The new version of the program will air live weekdays at 11 a.m. (CT) on WMAQ-TV here in Chicago from the NBC Tower. […]
Weigel-owned independent WCIU is out with its fall schedule. To see it, click here (Adobe Acrobat required.) Pretty stable schedule, particularly in daytime…. Notables: -Jury Duty, a new syndicated courtroom show (yeah, we need another one of those) with C-list celebrities serving as jurors, airs at 9 a.m., beginning Sept. 17. –CBS Television Distribution’s Half & Half, a former UPN […]
We’re gonna turn it on… we’re gonna turn on the power… at Fox-owned WPWR this fall. But the power’s been off for a few years now at the station. Like other big-market MNT affiliates (WWOR and KCOP in N.Y. and L.A., respectively), WPWR has performed poorly, often placing last in total-day ratings among Chicago’s English and Spanish commercial TV stations. […]
Thanks to Sitcoms Online, we’ve got the complete fall lineup for Weigel’s retro TV station WWME-TV, or MeTV. To see the schedule, click here. As mentioned before, new to the schedule are The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Cosby Show, and Cheers (which is now airing on sister WCIU.) Bonanza and Taxi (debuts 10/1) are also joining the weekday schedule, […]
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