Also: Ryan & Kelly an early hit; Steve Harvey names new EP; WGN-TV launches new lifestyle show Whew… that was close! The Writers Guild Of America and The American Motion Pictures and Television Producers (AMPTP) reached a tentative last-minute deal Tuesday morning averting a strike that would have sent writers to the picket line. The agreement comes after a week […]
XETV flips to Spanish programming on May 31 after losing CW affiliation (Editor’s Note: It is rare these days for yours truly to write about musings from another TV/radio market since this blog is basically about Chicago radio and TV, and the national TV scene. But this is an unusual story worth mentioning.) After 64 years, it is lights out […]
Iconic actress passes away at 80, was a trailblazer for women in Hollywood The television community is mourning the loss of Mary Tyler Moore who died Wednesday at the age of 80. She was known for playing two iconic characters: Lauria Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show and Mary Richards on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Born in Brooklyn’s […]
Few first-run series being offered this year as veteran shows – even low-rated ones – continue to roll along As the National Association Of Programming Executives gathering began Tuesday in Miami, stations are firming up their schedules for next fall as first-run and off-network series are being rolled out onto the marketplace. But what has been the norm in previous years, […]
Former Fox News host heads to peacock network in a very lucrative deal, getting a Sunday night news magazine and a daily daytime hour Megyn Kelly, who became a household name in recent years thanks to Donald Trump, is leaving Fox News to become an anchor and host for NBC News, beginning in a few months. The lucrative deal calls […]
Series lasted three seasons in syndication Although the major broadcast networks had been slow in cancelling shows, one show outright got the ax in syndication. Debmar-Mercury and Fremantle North America announced Friday it was ending Celebrity Name Game after three seasons. Premiering in 2014, the game show was hosted by Craig Ferguson and was created […]
New deal means new title, new locale, new everything In the latest blow to Chicago’s production community, Steve Harvey’s daytime talk show strip is leaving Chicago’s NBC Tower for Los Angeles, costing one hundred local staffers their jobs. As first reported by Robert Feder this morning – and had been speculated for the past year, Harvey’s program is expected to move […]
AT&T to purchase TimeWarner for $85 billion Opponents to deal already lining up Bugs Bunny, Sheldon Cooper, and Scooby Doo are getting ready to reach out and touch someone – a lot of people, that is. While Chicago and the rest of America (except in the St. Louis area) was busy celebrating the Cubs’ advancing to the World Series for […]
Chicago news veteran Sylvia Perez is returning to the airwaves this coming week as new weekend anchor for WFLD’s 7-9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday morning newscasts and starting Monday, filing special reports for the station at 9 p.m. Perez was with ABC-owned WLS-TV for 24 years, spending several of them co-anchoring the station’s 11 a.m. newscast with Linda Yu, who […]
Your 2016 syndication fall preview Harry Connick Jr.s’ new syndicated talk show debuts today, and with it comes a question: could this really be the end of the big-budget daytime syndicated show? This year, Connick’s show is the only new syndicated daytime talk shows being rolled out on a full national basis, as opposed to five new talkers in 2012 […]
In order to boost ratings for this upcoming season, former Dateline host Chris Hansen is joining Warner Bros.’ syndicated strip CrimeWatch Daily in the same capacity for the series’ second season. In addition, the show will now be known as CrimeWatch Daily with Chris Hansen. And as you’ve guessed, Hansen is contributing segments to the show as Hansen vs. Predator – […]
Off-network deals include WGN-TV, WQAD In good news for off-network sitcom-starved stations, Sony Pictures Television announced it has sold ABC Wednesday night sitcom The Goldbergs in syndication starting in the fall of 2017, starting with eighteen Tribune markets. Cash-plus-barter deals include WGN-TV in Chicago and ABC affiliate WQAD-TV in the Quad Cities area, consisting of Davenport, Ia., Rock Island, and Moline, […]
But Michael Strahan’s exit moved up to May 13th Upon her return to Live Tuesday morning, Kelly Ripa joked “Our long national nightmare is over.” She might have referred to the 2015-16 Chicago Blackhawks season, which ended Monday night with a Game 7 loss to the St. Louis Blues. Or more likely, she was referring to the drama surrounding her […]
Michael Strahan’s unexpected departure from Live stuns industry insiders – and Kelly Ripa The announcement of Michael Strahan’s departure from Disney-ABC Domestic Television’s Live With Kelly and Michael stunned the entertainment world Tuesday – perhaps none other than co-host Kelly Ripa herself, who reportedly wasn’t happy about the news. The NFL Hall Of Famer and former New York Giants defensive back accepted an […]
Cubs ratings; Carsey-Werner comedies head to LAFF; Media Life radio survey and more The Chicago Cubs have started off the 2016 season in style and viewers are watching: Monday’s home opener against the Cincinnati Reds drew a whopping 11.4 household same-day live rating, easily finishing as the most-watched program of the evening topping ABC’s Dancing With The Stars (always popular […]