The Upfronts post-game show

Another upfront is in the books as the five major TV networks released their 2014-15 campaign to win you, the viewer. And they are going to have a hard time doing so. This year’s upfronts have not been impressive, with a lot of programming missing original concepts, innovation, and creativity – all you have to do is point to the […]

CW hopes to continue momentum into 2014-15

But Tribune CEO throws cold water on party The CW unveiled its 2014-15 schedule to advertisers Thursday, but it was Tribune CEO Peter Ligouri who really stole the show. On the same day CW revealed its fall lineup, Ligouri said at the Moffer Nathanson Media and Communications Summit that he is “not pleased where the CW is” despite the fact […]

The address is CBS for 2014-15 (or not)

CBS unveiled its 2014-15 primetime schedule at an upfront presentation in New York Wednesday and introduced eight new series to the world. Among the announcements made at the conference call was the (not-so-surprising) end to Two And A Half Men in May 2015 after twelve seasons – the longest running live-action sitcom since My Three Sons, which also lasted twelve […]

ABC stays the course

For a network in fourth place, you’d think ABC would be making a boatload of changes. Instead, ABC is making only needed changes on four nights – some of them our relatively minor. And how about this: ABC is countering football on Thursdays with an all-drama lineup consisting of shows created and produced by University Park native Shonda Rhimes! This […]

Fox unveils 2014-15 sked

Fox Monday unveiled its 2014-15 schedule, featuring twelve new series – five of them debuting this fall. Of the five, three are dramas – the highly anticipated Gotham, Red Band Society, and Gracepoint; one comedy (Mulraney); and one reality show (Utopia). With the revamped schedule, there is a scheduling change every night (except Saturday) – including the dismantling of Fox’s […]

NBC unveils 2014-15 schedule

After finishing in first place in the adult 18-49 demo for the first time in years, NBC hopes to keep the momentum going next season with a revamped schedule. Not everything worked of course; sitcoms featuring Michael J. Fox and Sean Hayes bombed this season on Thursday nights past season; its one of the reasons why NBC is revamping Thursday […]

Bubble Bustin’ Friday (and Saturday)

Bubble Bustin’ Friday – which even extended to Saturday – sure lived up to its name as the major networks – namely ABC, NBC, and CBS – began to clear out the deadwood as they prepare for the upcoming week’s upfront presentations. Some of the moves were expected; others (notably the cancellation of Community) generated a firestorm of controversy on […]

Bubble Bustin’ Thursday (or Wednesday)

Thursday night actually saw some high drama – and I’m not talking about the NFL draft. ABC decided to announce the programs it picked up and renew existing shows – creating a little bit of drama of their own on Texas A&M QB Johnny Manizel’s big night. Fans of several shows – notably Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD – were forced […]

“American Idol” bleeds African-American viewers

But the series is renewed for a 14th season A year ago, T Dog Media examined American Idol’s ratings among African-American viewers. So let’s check in to see how the show is doing in black households this year. For the week ending April 20, the Wednesday night edition of Idol finished in seventeenth place with a 4.4 rating, down considerably from the 10.3 […]

“Chicagoland” strikes out with critics, viewers

  With horrible ratings, Chicagoland ranks among one of television’s biggest flops Did Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration manipulate scenes?   I guess Chicago would’ve been better off if we were attacked by a Sharknado. When the dust clears, CNN’s Chicagoland will go down as one of the biggest bombs in the history of television – and one of the worst […]

More Grab Bag: Jim Richards exits WLUP, WKQX

Cedric also leaves Millionaire, but new host already lined up Fox cancels Almost Human – On Wednesday, Gallup released a poll showing half of Illinois’ residents would move out of the state if they could. Well, one lucky resident just hit the jackpot. Jim Richards, who was the operations manager for classic rock WLUP-FM and alternative WKQX, is being transferred […]

Grab Bag: Craig Ferguson exits “Late Late Show”

– The other shoe has dropped: Craig Ferguson announced Monday he was stepping down as host of CBS’ Late Late Show, effective at the end of 2014. The news comes as David Letterman (who is the executive producer of the show and controls the 11:35 p.m. weeknight time slot), announced his retirement three weeks ago. With this move, he also […]

T Dog’s Think Tank: Blow it out your bullhorn

(Editor’s Note: This piece contains strong language. Reader discretion is advised.) If you want to make the case cable TV is one big ripoff, look no further to what aired this past week. And no, I’m not talking about CNN’s crappy Chicagoland show. I’m talking about the inane puke garbage that is The Real Housewives Of Atlanta, which had an […]

Fox dumps “Animation Domination HD”

In news first reported Thursday evening by Broadcasting & Cable, Fox has decided to pull the plug on its Animation Domination High Def (ADHD) Saturday night block, with the last airing scheduled for June 28. Despite the cancellation, the Fox ADHD programming initiative will continue, creating programs for digital platforms and incubating shows for primetime. In fact, Fox is bringing […]

Grab Bag: “The Game” loses in its first PPM matchup

        Plus: Divorce Court to stick around; and a new first-run syndicated drama on tap – Nielsen Radio’s March PPM ratings period just concluded and it shows the new sports radio talker WGWG-FM, or The Game stalled at the starting gate. The station tied for 37th place overall with a measly 0.3 rating, far behind competitors WSCR […]