Also… Face The Truth won’t be back for a second season; CourTV returns May 8; AT&T sells Hulu strike While HBO turned Chicago’s weather into one big promotional machine (Winter came on Sunday…and left a big, slushy mess), it seemed to have worked: Sunday’s eighth-season premiere of Game Of Thrones proved to be a big draw. The season premiere attracted […]
Back when the year started, T Dog Media look at the stories to watch in 2018. So how did we do? Let’s find out: 1. The proposed merger of Disney and 21st Century Fox and AT&T and Time Warner. All eyes will be on these two as they make a case to federal regulators to combine as we see how […]
Move marks latest shift for premium service (Editor’s Note: This post has been updated.) After a few years on the ropes, HBO’s boxing franchise is down for the count. HBO announced Thursday it was ending boxing telecasts on the network after 45 years, with the cancellations of World Championship Boxing, Boxing After Dark, and The Fight Game. The move isn’t […]
New streaming portal for DC Comics fans includes original scripted programming The biggest news coming out of the 48th annual Comic-Con gathering in San Diego Thursday was a surprise announcement from Warner Bros. The studio announced it was launching a new streaming portal called DC Universe, involving iconic superhero characters such as Batman, Superman, Aquaman, The Green Hornet, Wonder Woman, […]
Also: Start TV debuts; WGN Block Party in Homewood; and Comic-Con begins today. Consider it deal done…for Disney: Comcast announced Thursday it was dropping its $65 million bid for 21st Century Fox, essentially giving rival Disney a victory in the battle for the assets. Disney agreed to buy most of 21st Century Fox in December originally for $52 billion but […]
They want to get “bigger and broader” to compete with Netflix – but they use language only a commercial broadcaster would use If you are a fan of HBO or any premium cable service you have to be concerned about what was reported in the New York Times on July 8. Blaring the headline “HBO Must Get Bigger And Broader […]
Required sale of RSNs paves way for merger In a marked turn from its dealings with AT&T and TimeWarner, the Justice Department announced Wednesday it has approved a $71.3 billion deal between The Walt Disney Corporation and 21st Century Fox for most of the latter’s business. The deal was originally announced in December 2017, with Disney offering $52 billion for […]
Changing marketing conditions could be factor; AT&T may be only hope If the Cubs are looking to launch their own TV network in 2020, their options are becoming quite limited. According to a report Monday in Sports Business Journal and Awful Announcing, AT&T is considering looking to add the baseball team to their portfolio of sports rights. AT&T operates a […]
Merger survives court challenge Tuesday’s federal court decision clearing the way for AT&T to acquire TimeWarner has implications not only for consumers and businesses, but the entire media landscape. Judge Richard Leon of the D.C. District Court ruled in favor of the two companies on Tuesday imposing no conditions after a long six-week trial. The merger was announced on a […]
Happy New Year from T Dog Media! With 2017 in the books, it is time to look ahead to 2018. Here’s what to expect in the media world: 1. The proposed merger of Disney and 21st Century Fox and AT&T and Time Warner. All eyes will be on these two as they make a case to federal regulators to combine […]
Back a year ago, yours truly did a look ahead into 2017. So how did everything turn out? I have the answers right here! 1. The FCC under a Trump administration. With a 3-2 FCC majority, issues the FCC championed under Tom Wheeler: net neutrality, preserving the cross-ownership rule, and other issues are going to get a hard look at […]
FCC reverses 2015 vote; leaves uncertain future for Net Never in the years I’ll followed the media business I’ve seen so much hatred for the FCC – even during the Nipplegate controversy and when former chairman Kevin Martin was running the agency. But what we saw Thursday may have Trumped everything. In yet another bitterly partisan divided vote in an […]
Ratings don’t seem to matter much as ad buyers remained committed to primetime TV This season, the television business has had its share of negative headlines: notably declining ratings for many shows, especially in the key 18-49 demo. But this isn’t deterring buyers from investing their advertising in primetime TV. And nowhere more this was evident than last week as […]
The latest service to be featured “over the top” is one featuring several beloved classic cartoon characters. Time Warner announced this week a new Internet-only version of its classic animated channel Boomerang. The service plans to exclusively offer 5,000 hours of classic library material from the Warner Bros. and Hanna-Barbera catalog, featuring characters such as Bugs Bunny, Scooby-Doo, and Fred […]
In what technically is the first prime-time cancellation of the season (in February no less), CBS has pulled the plug on Doubt after just two episodes. The court drama starred Katherine Heigl and Laverne Cox, who became the first transgender individual to star in a prime-time show. But the audience didn’t respond: the series’ premiere drew 5.3 million in its […]
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