So far, no impact has been felt – but it’s early If you put this trade war in an entertainment context, it’s Kendrick Lamar vs. Drake on a much larger scale. President Donald Trump is taking on the country where Drake is from, slapping tariffs on Canada, urging them to become the 51st state (although the District of Columbia and […]
Sock ’em robots match a hit with viewers [Editor’s Note: This piece does contain profanity. Reader discretion is advised.] Remember when some guy named Terence initially dismissed the 4 Four Nations Face-Off as a quick money grab and would flop hard on the ice? I have never made such a miscalculation in the 19-year run of T Dog Media […]
Sets stage for heated U.S.-Canada battle tonight – and has a unique connection to an event in the same building 28 years ago [This post was updated February 15 at 11:55 p.m.] Even though this writer had no interest whatsoever (until they started fighting nine seconds into the U.S./Canada game Saturday) in a contrived quick cash-grab tournament (which is working […]
Also: WCIU has another prime-time stand up comedy special; Dateline NBC to enter syndication this fall (Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with new information.) The Chicago Blackhawks begin their quest for their seventh Stanley Cup Thursday night when they drop the puck against the Nashville Predators in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. With the popular […]
But 111.9 million viewers is pretty darn good The Golden Anniversary of the Super Bowl from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. drew incredible numbers – though the game had a lot to be desired. According to Nielsen, the Super Bowl matchup between the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers drew a final tally of 111.9 viewers – not a […]
Rogers to sublicense games to CBC; TVA gets exclusive French-language rights; Bell Media’s TSN shut out In one of the biggest TV deals in North American history, Canadian cable giant Rogers Communications – which was founded as a vacuum tube company in 1925 and pioneered FM Broadcasting in Canada in the 1960s, reached a 12-year, $5.25 billion pact with the […]
Yours truly is testing a brand new feature titled Quick Hits and Bits, a quick roundup of the latest and not-so-latest television, radio, and Internet news – along with a few editorial quips. This is not meant to replace “The Grab Bag” column I’ve been writing about for the last few years, but wanted to get more media items on […]
When rebranding goes wrong; Cubs, White Sox drop in ratings and Dan Harmon returns to Community. While the Blackhawks are grabbing the Windy City’s attention, the same cannot be said for the sorry Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox. Ratings for both Major League Baseball teams are in the toilet, as is their records. According to an article from Danny […]
– In a stunning move, the Chicago Sun-Times fired almost all of its photography staff on Thursday, which left 28 people out of work. The Wrapports -owned paper instead plans to train reports to take pictures with smartphones. Yes, smartphones. Among those who were laid off include 35-year veteran Pulitzer-prize winning photographer John H. White, one of the first African-American […]
Oh Oh. Charlie Sheen’s “winning” again. FX and Debmar-Mercury announced on Wednesday the ninety-episode pickup of Sheen’s new sitcom Anger Management, with production beginning in September and new shows airing in January. With the pickup, the series is now being prepped for an off-network broadcast syndication debut for 2014. In order to get the ninety-episode pickup, Management had to meet […]
Wednesday was cable’s turn at The Television Critics Association Press Tour as HBO took center stage for its presentation with the main event – Aaron Sorkin vs. The Critics over controversial new drama The Newsroom. Things were so tense, you wonder if Larry Merchant (HBO’s boxing analyst) should’ve moderated the panel. But first, a few undercards: – HBO executive session: […]
Rosie is over and out; Canadian media consolidates further; and other items of note A lot of items to cover in this week’s Grab bag: In a move that was speculated for some time, struggling cable network OWN finally canceled The Rosie Show after five months on the air. The series’ future was questioned after Rosie O’Donnell sold her Lakeview […]
Uncle Kelso has arrived in the Harper household – and he’s already winning – and so is the former occupant. The ninth season premiere of Two And A Half Men – the first one without Charlie Sheen after his well-publicized departure from the series last March, and the first for new series regular and former That ’70’s Show star […]
Despite tougher competition from the broadcast networks Tuesday night, Comcast SportsNet dominated the ratings in prime-time thanks to Game 5 of the Chicago Bulls-Indiana Pacers series and a deciding Game 7 of the Chicago Blackhawks-Vancouver Canucks tilt. Comcast SportsNet scored a 8.4 household household rating and a 6.8 ratings in the 25-54 demo from 5:30 P.m. to 1:30 a.m., topping […]
Get ready for yet another British invasion – this time from Britain’s top daytime talk show host. As rumored for months, Debmar-Mercury has signed a deal with Jeremy Kyle to host an American version of his hour daytime talk-show strip for fall 2011. Kyle’s show has been cleared in 70 percent of the country, and declared a firm go. The […]
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