The latest

Time’s up, you quack. Now get the hell off the stage.

Another one bites the dust: As expected, Warner Bros. has mercifully pulled the plug on the worthless Dr. Keith Ablow Show (And I use the term “Dr.” loosely here.) This bastard, who apparently got his PhD from one of those Sally Stuthers TV commercials (The earn your degree at home one, not the starving children spot), will lose his loser […]

Bears Super Bowl Fun Facts

Here how much has changed since the Bears last went to the Super Bowl: Number of broadcast networks: 1985: 3 Today: 7 Format of 94.7FM: 1985: WLS-FM (Rock/Top 40) Today: WZZN-FM (Oldies – the format and call letters of this frequency would change numerous times between 1985 and 2005)Cost of a candy bar: 1985: 39 cents Today: 89 cents Top […]

UFC Series cleared on Fox-owned MyNetworkTV stations – except in Chicago

The newly formed Trifecta Entertainment has sold its new syndicated martial-arts series, UFC Wired (based on the popular Ultimate Fighting Championship franchise) to all Fox-owned MyNetworkTV stations with one notable exception – WPWR-TV here in Chicago. The deal coincides with the upstart network landing the rights to air International Fight League’s Total Impact ultimate fighting series, which airs in primetime […]

The V of Doom smacks down YouTube

After failing to come with terms with YouTube, Viacom has ordered the popular video on-demand/upload site to remove all of its clips. YouTube is honoring the request, which will take effect immediately. That means no more clips of South Park, Daily Show or MTV content on YouTube. Tensions apparently increased after YouTube was bought by Google a few months ago, […]

Here’s another event nobody cares about

Here’s another clueless organization that just can’t seem to get it right: The Miss America Pageant tanked on CMT Monday Night, drawing just 2.4 million viwers, compared to 3 million viewers last year. Like the NHL did with its All-Star game this year, Miss America moved its failing pageant to cable in 2006, and moved it to a weeknight against […]

T Dog Think Tank: NHL blows it again

This is becoming a common theme here at the T Dog Media Blog Think Tank: _____ blows it again. Fill in the blank. Two weeks ago, it was radio. Again. This week, the NHL. Again. It’s like we’re playing The Match Game. Only this time, we’re dealing with people much dumber than Dora. This year’s NHL All-star Game, which was […]

Super Bowl Watch: When is too much… too much?

WBBM-Ch. 2 found that out when they put a Super Bowl countdown clock on the upper-left hand corner on the screen – continuously – and the complaints rolled in. (and as if their blue lower right-hand bug on the screen wasn’t enough.) Well, it’s gone – at least during network and at the top and bottom of the hour of […]

Super Bowl Watch: Stations are ready to cover the game

(First off, I’ll be posting mainly in the late-night hours this week because of other commitments that have popped up during other hours of the day…. But I will post breaking news when I feel its warranted…. On that note…) Stations in Illinois and Indiana are gearing up to cover the big game: – The CBS affiliates in the home-team […]

ET bumped for Bears

For those of you who need their Britney-Lindsey-Angelina-Rosie-Donald fix, move over: CBS-owned WBBM-TV is pushing Mary Hart out for a week to air “Mission Miami: Countdown to the Super Bowl”, which covers the Bears at the big game, all this week at 6:30pm. But those who need that fix can tune to Entertainment Tonight’s sister show The Insider, on WCIU-TV […]

T Dog Think Tank: Radio industry blows it again

If you haven’t heard by now, a woman died in a radio stunt in Sacramento earlier this month. Jennifer Strange, a 28-year old mother of three, participated in a “Hold Your Water For A Wii” contest for local radio station KDND-FM, a Pop/Top 40 station in Sacramento, aka “The End”, as part of the morning show called “The Morning Rave”. […]

WBBM-Ch.2 to help with HDTV before Super Bowl

With the Chicago Bears in the Super Bowl, CBS-owned WBBM-TV has set up an HDTV hotline to help viewers who have problems receiving the station’s HDTV signal over the air (antenna). WBBM has been notorious for having problems with its over-the-air HD signal. For more information on how to receive the station’s HD signal with an antenna or through cable, […]

Spike O’Dell out at WGN – three years from now

Times may change, but many things stay the same in Chicago year after year – Daley in City Hall, Democrats controlling Cook County, WLS-TV topping in the Nielsens and WGN-AM ruling the roost in morning drive. But a change in morning drive at WGN is coming – three years from now. Spike O’Dell told the Trib’s Phil Rosenthal that he’s […]

New name, same old stuff

The “i” network, which changed from PAX two years ago, is changing its name again – to MyNetworkTV2! Actually, its changing its name to ION, named after the company who now controls the network. Many industry insiders have joked that the “i” in the “i” network stood for infomericals, referring to the high number of paid programs that air on […]