NBC-owned WMAQ-TV is having a blast this month, thanks to the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Ratings for the games have more than tripled its nearest competitors in prime-time – none of which have come even close, proving the games are a big draw in Chicagoland. For example on Saturday, the Olympics drew a 15.2 rating (share not available) on Saturday night […]
Not even the mighty Winter Olympics could slow down American Idol, which is now the undisputed ruler of the Nielsen Kingdom (with the expection of the Super Bowl, of course.) Tuesday night’s ratings showdown featured Idol, the Olympics, and a new episode of Lost. Idol won the 7-9 p.m. time slot with a 9.1/22 rating/share among adults 18-49 (and 24 […]
You can take Ellen DeGeneres off the list of potential replacements for Oprah Winfrey on ABC’s O&Os. Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution’s Ellen was renewed by all ten of the NBC owned-and-operated stations (including WMAQ-TV in Chicago) through 2014, when it reaches its 11th season. The NBC stations have been with Ellen since day one, when her show began in […]
As of this writing, the “Groovy” is being dropped from “Grab Bag” title – but it is still newsworthy nonetheless: …The Winter Television Critics Association press tour is currently taking place in Pasadena, Calif. Among the non-Jay Leno/Conan O’Brien items going on: – Simon Cowell made an appearance at TCA today to officially announce his departure from American Idol to […]
In his 2008 speeches, President Barack Obama talked about change. Well, in the media world, change arrived in the 2000s. And boy, did it ever! When the decade started, who knew we would be watching clips on YouTube, or friending people on Facebook, or watching network TV shows online? Or how broadcast television and terrestrial radio would both have trouble […]
Haven’t done it for awhile, so let’s bring it back! It’s another edition of T Dog’s Four Pack: Winners. – Diane Sawyer to World News Tonight. She replaces the retiring Charles Gibson, and she certainly has the ability to anchor a major network evening newscast – unlike a certain former Today co-host (and the ratings more than tells that story.) […]
There is a lot to talk about regarding Fox in their press tour presentations, which took place Thursday and Friday: Fox – Of course, the big story is Paula Abdul leaving American Idol after eight years. At the Fox executive panel, executives Kevin Reilly and Peter Rice said they were talking to her for the last few months regarding a […]
Fox-owned WFLD-Channel 32 has dumped morning news anchor Mike Barz after just two years amid allegations he acted at a off-site party. The former WGN-TV morning sports anchor joined the station in 2007 from ABC’s Good Morning America, and fronted Good Day Chicago alongside Jan Jeffcoat. He was suspended from WFLD shortly after he joined the station, after allegations he […]
– The Chicago Blackhawks may have lost its Western Conference Finals series with the arch rival Detroit Red Wings, but they were big winners locally in the ratings. Despite the fact Versus isn’t carried on a few systems (WOW to name a few), Game 5 still earned a 7.1 household rating Wednesday night where the Wings beat the Hawks to […]
The broadcast network upfronts began today in New York City, and first up is Fox, who released its fall and midseason schedules today to advertisers. Fox defended its position on why the broadcast networks are better than cable and declined to talk about the controversy over the fourth judge on American Idol (Kara DioGuardi) and whether or not she will […]
A lot of items in The Grab Bag today: – Warner Bros. and HBO has sold the sitcoms Entourage and Curb Your Enthauism to the Tribune station group for late-fringe time periods begining in 2010 on all-barter basis (meaning stations don’t have to pay a dime – just surrender half of their ad inventory to the syndicator.) Locally, you can […]
KRON-TV San Francisco to dump Dr. Phil? It looks like these days viewers prefer the corruption, depression, politics, and crime to escapist fare. It what could be yet another blow to the syndication business, a story by Bloomberg News suggests local stations are dumping entertainment fare to air more local news especially in major markets. This comes as the fight […]
– CBS has re-upped Warner Bros.-produced Two and a Half Men for three more seasons and The Big Bang Theory for two. CBS and Warner Bros. also settled a pending lawsuit (so I guess CBS can go ahead and cancel Cold Case and Without A Trace…) – Is it a good sign when a network shaves twenty minutes off your […]
Haven’t done it in awhile, so let’s see what’s working this week – and what’s not: Four you should grab off the shelf – Garry Meier on WGN-AM. After rave reviews for his recent four-day stint at the news/talk outlet, the station should just give him the vacant 1-4 afternoon slot right now. There’s no contest. – Jon Stewart takes […]
Ah, it’s good to be back… because of several scheduling snafus (eliminating any free time I had), The T Dog Media Blog was unexpectedly put on hiatus last week. But we’re back -and better – and snarkier – than ever before. Let’s celebrate by reaching into the Grab Bag… – A word about this article in TV Week regarding reality’s […]
ABC ABC-Owned Stations ABC 7 Chicago American Idol CBS CBS Chicago CBS Media Ventures CBS News And Stations Chicago Bears Chicago Blackhawks Chicago Bulls Chicago Cubs Chicago White Sox ESPN Family Guy FCC Fox Fox 32 Fox Television Stations Los Angeles Milwaukee NBC NBC 5 NBC Owned Television Stations NBCUniversal Syndication Studios New York City Nexstar Media Group Radio Ratings Sinclair Inc. Syndication The Big Bang Theory The CW The Simpsons Tribune Media Warner Bros. WBBM-TV Chicago WCIU Chicago WFLD Chicago WGN-TV Chicago WGN Radio WLS-AM Chicago WLS-TV Chicago WMAQ Chicago WPWR Chicago