“X Factor” debuts with a thud; “Modern Family” stands out

For all the hype The X Factor received over the summer, you’d think it would roll in here Wednesday night and just destroy the competition. Um, no. The first Wednesday night of the 2011-12 season featured a showdown between two reality TV heavyweights and an Emmy-winning comedy whose audience continues to grow. The premiere of the much-hyped of Fox’s X […]

Superstar finale Wednesday

If anyone were to tell you who dominated the ratings on the final official day of the 2010-11 television season, all they have to say is Oprah Winfrey and American Idol. – The series finale of The Oprah Winfrey Show locally on WLS-TV drew a 13.4 household rating and a 38 share, with the 11 p.m. repeat drawing a 5.7/14. […]

Tuesday night fights: Bulls stumble on the court and in the ratings

Courtesy: NBA/Getty Images “Dancing” dominates broadcast channels in Chicago; “Idol” takes ratings hit Tuesday was a rather competitive night for television both locally and nationally with the final two performing on American Idol and the season finale of Dancing With The Stars. But national viewers preferred the dancers and wannabe signers as opposed to Derrick Rose and LeBron James. According […]

Fox unveils 2011-12 lineup

Fox released its 2011-12 schedule this morning in advance of its upfront presentation, which took place in New York this afternoon. Usually, Fox has two sets of schedules: one of fall, the other in midseason to accommodate the return of American Idol. And here is their lineup (new series are in CAPS; all times Central) Fall 2011 lineup: Monday 7:00 […]

The Grab Bag: Chicago welcomes new Hubbard overlords

The Voice finds… its “voice”…  Looney Tunes returns… and other news of note – It’s official: the sale of Bonneville’s radio stations in Chicago and a few other cities is now complete: Twin Cities (Minneapolis-St. Paul) -based Hubbard Broadcasting has officially taken over The Mix (WTMX), The Drive (WDRV), and WILV-FM on May 2. The formats and management who served […]

Playoff fever: Catch it!

Bulls’ and Blackhawks’ victories not just limited to the arena Forget Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler, the top prime time star as far as Chicago is concerned is Derrick Rose. Comcast SportsNet dominated the ratings with an iron first Thursday night with a Quarterfinal doubleheader featuring both the Chicago Bulls and the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks, setting records […]

T Dog’s Six Pack: Winning and Losing

Harry Teinowitz: “I’m winning.”  Okay, so Charlie Sheen is “winning” – if your definition of winning is being fired off a hit show, having police raid your house, and jumping the shark on Twitter after only a week. But the winners and losers this week are for real: They’re really winning and losing, not some dopey sham job Sheen is […]

“Windy City Live” blows into town

Officials at ABC-owned WLS-TV has decided on a title for its new morning talk show not named Oprah, and it’s blowing into town. The generic-like name of Windy City Live was chosen as the title of WLS’ new local morning show which replaces The Oprah Winfrey Show. Two weeks ago, Robert Feder of Time Out Chicago reported that WLS sports […]

Chicago tunes out election coverage

“I’m CEO of Chicago, b-tch!” Chicago elected new mayor Rahm Emmanuel in a historic election – the first in 22 years without the name Daley on the ballot. But in the end, the ratings for Chicago’s broadcast TV stations looked like what you normally find on a Tuesday night as low voter turnout morphed into a huge viewer tuneout. WGN-TV […]

T Dog’s Six Pack: Snowed under

Yes, February has been one hell of the month, with a historic blizzard (the most snowfall ever recorded at one time for the month) and late-season cold snap that paralyzed Chicago earlier in the month. Even The T Dog Media Blog didn’t escape winter’s fury as the world headquarters went without both heat and power for 20 hours at the […]

“Live From Darryl’s House” to rock WGN

In a continuing bid to add to their programming slate, Trifecta Entertainment & Media announced Friday it was launching Live From Darryl’s House as a weekly half-hour syndicated series this fall after a successful New Year’s Eve airing on WGN-TV in Chicago and on WGN America. Trifecta has cleared Live From Darryl’s House on WGN and six other Tribune stations, […]

Bears flop on field, but score in the ratings

On the field in the NFC Championship Game, the Chicago Bears was much like The Cape. But in the ratings, they came up like American Idol (and in fact, outdrew it.) Sunday’s game between the Bears and arch rival Green Bay on Fox-owned WFLD drew an astonishing local household rating of 50.6 and a household share of 80, with more […]

TCA, Part 9: CBS and The CW

The end is (finally) here: CBS Corp. wrapped up the broadcast portion to the two-week miniseries known as the Winter Television Critics Association tour in Pasadena on Friday with CBS and the network it part-owns with Time Warner, The CW. CBS -The executive session featured programming chief Nina Tassler and addressed the matter surrounding Two And A Half Men star […]