Programming plans unknown; may hand time back to affiliates After thirty years, CBS is exiting the late-late night business with the cancellation of the comedy game show After Midnight. An adaptation of an earlier version titled @Midnight on Comedy Central, the show was brought back to CBS in January 2024 with Taylor Tomlinson as host, airing after The Late Show […]
WSVN to stay with Fox as ABC shifts to a 7.2; First major affiliation switch in the market since ’95 Affiliation switches are rare nowadays, but when they happen, it’s big news – even in the streaming era. WPLG Miami-Ft. Lauderdale announced on Thursday that it is ending its 64-year relationship with ABC to become an independent station. Sunbeam’s WSVN […]
Majority-Black cast looking to resurrect daytime serials and daytime TV It’s been 25 years since a daytime serial debuted on television when Passions premiered on NBC. Since then, the soap opera genre has lost steam through the 1990s and 2000s, as younger viewers defected toward the more real-life (if you can call it that) drama of daytime talk shows such […]
23 channels stay on service Days after YouTubeTV emailed subscribers (including this writer) that it was on the verge of losing 23 channels owned and/or operated by Paramount Global, the two reached a resolution Saturday night with a new deal. Terms were not disclosed. News of the impending blackout made news Wednesday night and intensified Thursday, as CBS ran ads […]
Latest carriage dispute comes out of nowhere Update, February 14, 12:36 a.m.: Paramount and YouTubeTV have agreed to a short-term extension of their previous contract, keeping CBS and 22 other channels on the virtual provider as they hammer out a new agreement. Neither party stated how long the extension would last. Original Story from February 12: Another carriage dispute […]
Also: Ramblin’ Ray gives up KCMO gig to focus on WLS-AM; Moffett Nathanson gives mixed reviews of upcoming NBCU cable spinoff Unlike other Chicago Sports embarrassments this year, this one was shown live in front of the largest audience of the season. The Bears’ major meltdown against the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving drew a record of 37.5 million viewers for CBS […]
Cable networks such as USA Network and E! under new ownership by 2026 With the business in freefall, Comcast Corp. has decided to part ways with its cable networks. As hinted a few weeks ago, Comcast announced Wednesday it is spinning off its cable networks from its NBCUniversal into a new company. Tentatively titled SpinCo (we hope it’s a temporary […]
Ten-year linear, streaming deal start in 2027 The Grammy Awards has a new home as music’s biggest night is headed to ABC. The Walt Disney Co. announced Wednesday it has obtained the rights to carry the Grammy Awards to air on ABC and streaming on Hulu and Disney Plus. The ten-year deal reunites the awards show with the Alphabet network […]
Journalists under fire from Trump, the left, and even Mayor Johnson as journalism’s prestige continues to sag If you thought the 2024 Chicago White Sox had a rough year, the media had it worse. Daily attacks on the Fifth Estate have become commonplace in the last few weeks leading up to the Presidential election. And it’s not just coming from […]
A lot at stake for the sitcom, as a Young Sheldon sequel makes its debut Once the goldmine, the sitcom has fallen on hard times, like the rest of linear TV. For decades, the format pioneered by I Love Lucy would successfully run in primetime, then reruns would go to off-network syndication and earn unparalleled riches. Since entering syndication in […]
Chicago’s South Side MLB team resembles CBS Chicago’s ratings disasters in every way possible In the early 2000s, then-Chicago Tribune media critic Steve Johnson noted the management at CBS-owned WBBM-TV implemented what he called a “Viewer Alienation Plan”, a series of bad decisions repelling viewers from the station throughout the 1990s, including tabloid newscasts, awful anchor pairings, and a deer-in-headlight […]
After near collapse, the duo finally crosses the finish line With several false starts and a near collapse, the Paramount-Skydance deal is finally done. Announced Sunday evening, Paramount Global and Skydance finally agreed to merge in a two-step process: First, Skydance will purchase National Amusements – a company long held by the Redstone family for $2.4 billion and pay another […]
Also: Kenya Moore out at Housewives; Fox and Sinclair team up for new syndicated true crime show; Paramount looking to sell assets Even though the recent NBA Finals naturally drew a larger audience on average, the excitement of the Stanley Cup Final was unparalleled as the series lasted seven games with historic implications. The Edmonton Oilers – who won four […]
Future uncertain for the studio A merger between Paramount Global and Skydance has collapsed as controlling company National Amusements has ended talks. National Amusements, Inc. (NAI) is the controlling shareholder of Paramount Global, owned by Shari Redstone, daughter of the late Sumner Redstone, who ran NAI and controlled the former Viacom. She reportedly had a deal with Skydance, run by […]
Also: Daily Herald makes changes; CBS releases fall sked early; US 99’s Drew Walker exits The new proposed regional sports network featuring the Blackhawks, Bulls, and White Sox now may have a behind-the-scenes change. In a surprising move reported by The Athletic Saturday night, the new regional sports network Jerry Reinsdorf is looking to launch will now be handled by […]
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