Also: Black Chicagoans (still) not happy with media outlets; Syndicated ‘Dateline’ shifts to new local outlet; Rock 95.5 surges in ratings After just four weeks, CNN Plus is getting… subtracted. The Warner Bros. Discovery-owned service announced Thursday it was closing April 30 after launching on March 28, debuting to poor reviews and a cumbersome price of $5.99 monthly or […]
Move of longtime ABC competition show is due to the return of Monday Night Football In an announcement that raised eyebrows, Disney announced Friday the move of Dancing With The Stars from broadcast network ABC to its streaming service, Disney Plus. The move means the long-running series – airing on ABC since 2005, will now have season 31 and 32 […]
Also: All CHGO launches; two network TV shows canceled; restaurant with a sitcom connection burns down Much has been made about the lackluster Winter Olympics ratings, but one angle wasn’t talked about much – their effect on NBC affiliates – or lack thereof. And no one experienced a bigger disappointment than Chicago’s NBC 5 (WMAQ.) As reported by Robert Feder […]
Similar to NBC-owned stations’ recent move; ABC 7 returns to prime-time news Joining fellow large-market owned-and-operated counterparts CBS and NBC, ABC-owned stations have now launched 24/7 local streaming channels of their own, including ABC 7 here (WLS-TV). According to the press release, the eight new channels “24/7 local news coverage, breaking news, weather forecasts, feel-good stories from ABC’s award-winning Localish, and […]
Covered Bears for ESPN, former ABC 7 sports reporter Condolences are pouring in from all over as ESPN 1000 (WMVP-AM) Chicago Bears beat reporter Jeff Dickerson died Tuesday at the age of 44 from colon cancer. Our hearts ache as we share that our teammate & friend, Jeff Dickerson, has passed away. JD was an amazing son, husband, father & […]
Popularity isn’t exactly overrated as 2021 ends a wild year in media Like mystery of the sphinx or crop circles, you just can’t explain the continued popularity of certain things despite questionable changes. After the firing of Mark Giangreco and seemingly public disdain for one of her former co-anchors, ABC 7 remains on top of local Chicago news ratings, […]
Local stations, broadcast and cable networks battle it out to ring in the new year I think the question we should be asking is who isn’t doing a New Year’s Eve show this year? The major networks and local stations are throwing their hats in the New Years’ Eve ring as they look to capture their share of an audience […]
Restores ESPN and ABC programming After off for more than a day, Disney programming has returned to Google’s YouTube TV. The deal was announced Sunday and comes in time for Monday Night Football between the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears, a game that carries playoff implications (for at least one team.) Returning to YouTube TV are ABC, ESPN and their […]
ABC 7, ESPN are off Google-owned platform Just like a thief striking in the middle of the night, Disney has taken all of their channels off the Google-owned YouTubeTV platform at 11 p.m. Friday Central Time in a carriage dispute, leaving four million subscribers of the virtual multichannel video programming distributor pissed. Vanishing are seventeen channels, including ESPN, ESPN 2, […]
ACC Network part of pact While retrans disputes are becoming more and more common, at least there are some companies who can come to a deal without any problem. The latest example came a few days ago when The Walt Disney Co. renewed their carriage pact with Comcast to continue carrying their channels uninterrupted on their Xfinity platform. “We’re very […]
Plus…DeDe McGuire returns to Chicago airwaves via syndication; Konkol returns; Judge Steve Harvey? Despite the well-publicized departure of Mark Giangreco earlier this year, viewers are still tuning in to ABC 7’s (WLS-TV) newscasts and is handily beating their competition. Even though 25-54 numbers haven’t been released yet and the following only measures total viewers, ABC 7 easily won the 10 […]
Renewal keeps her show on the air through 2024 Looks like we’re going to hear the phrase “TamFam” for some time to come. Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution announced Monday the renewal of Tamron Hall’s daytime talk show for its fourth and fifth seasons, taking the show through September 2024, thanks to an early pickup by the ABC-owned stations including […]
ABC-owned stations produced documentary on Blago – but you won’t see it on ABC 7 The ABC-owned stations are producing a new documentary on disgraced former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. But in a marked departure, the new series is not appearing on WLS-TV/ABC 7 or any of the ABC-owned stations themselves or even their digital channel Localish. It’s streaming […]
New shows dot local schedules The new television season outside of prime-time begins Monday and you will see some new faces and new places. For one, Jay Leno is returning to daily TV seven years after he left The Tonight Show for a second time. Now, he’s taking his act to earlier time slots with his new You Bet Your […]
Also out as Wheel showrunner due to controversial comments in past weeks after he stepped down as Jeopardy host The other shoe dropped Tuesday as Mike Richards, who stepped down as host of Jeopardy due to comments made on a years- old podcast, was removed from his position as executive producer of Jeopardy and Wheel Of Fortune by Sony Pictures […]