Raises questions about teams having stakes in regional sports networks Outside of the Sky’s WNBA Championship, the last nine months have been utter hell for Chicago sports fans, from a sexual abuse scandal to sports team owners chewing out reporters, not to mention a certain Green Bay QB “owning” local fans. Now credibility problems has become the latest headache, with […]
CW sale, political races, on tap Even though it’s January 14, it’s never too late to look ahead to see what could happen in media for the remaining 351 days left in the year. So let’s look in the crystal ball and see what to expect. As always, we’ll check back at the end of the year to see how […]
Hall of Famer and video game innovator leaves marks on sports and media John Madden didn’t invent the game of football, but he sure helped contribute to it. The pigskin icon, who was a coach and broadcaster died Tuesday in his Bay Area home at the age of 85. Madden was an innovator in sports broadcasting, injecting enthusiasm and his […]
Popularity isn’t exactly overrated as 2021 ends a wild year in media Like mystery of the sphinx or crop circles, you just can’t explain the continued popularity of certain things despite questionable changes. After the firing of Mark Giangreco and seemingly public disdain for one of her former co-anchors, ABC 7 remains on top of local Chicago news ratings, […]
The Bears aren’t having fun but the NFL, Packers, and NBC sure are as ratings up from last year’s rivalry game. Meet your new television industry overlord Every year around Thanksgiving, this site publishes a feature honoring the worst in media called The T Dog Media Turkey Awards. But now there is a new yearly tradition on T Dog Media […]
Two bad teams equals good ratings for the NFL…somehow You’d think given the horrid records of two of the worst teams in football playing against each other, people would eschew this matchup to find something else better to do right? Well, that theory was tested on Thanksgiving Day when the 3-7 Chicago Bears took on the 0-9-1 Detroit Lions – […]
Plus…DeDe McGuire returns to Chicago airwaves via syndication; Konkol returns; Judge Steve Harvey? Despite the well-publicized departure of Mark Giangreco earlier this year, viewers are still tuning in to ABC 7’s (WLS-TV) newscasts and is handily beating their competition. Even though 25-54 numbers haven’t been released yet and the following only measures total viewers, ABC 7 easily won the 10 […]
Once one of the premier teams in sports, a sex scandal sends the team’s popularity into the toilet Scandal gives Chicago’s image yet another black eye – one of a lot as the team’s decline also reflects the city’s If you’ve read the blog over the years, this space has devoted quite a bit to Chicago sports and how […]
First title for city since Cubs championship clincher in 2016 [Editor’s note: This post was updated on October 21st to add local ratings information.] While a certain quarterback for an NFL team north of the state line claims he owns the football team that plays on the Lakefront, there is one team he can’t lay claim to – and it’s […]
Also: Don’t Bet Your Life; Bids made for Tegna; Johnny B to host RHOF ceremony The NFL continues to rack up impressive numbers at a time when viewers are abandoning linear TV in droves. Case in point: The Bears game on Sunday against the Bengals drew a household 22.9 rating and 60 share for Fox-owned WFLD-TV Chicago Sunday, easily making […]
Same old Sunday Night Football story for Bears I’m not going to bore you whining about why the Chicago Bears keep getting national prime-time TV appearances; I’ve covered the topic aplenty over the years, most recently here and here. But the decision to keep Matt Nagy and Ryan Pace around for another year is one of those “Chicago Way” type […]
Game draws fewer viewers than last playoff run two years ago Nickelodeon simulcast draws praise If it weren’t for Nickelodeon’s family-oriented simulcast of the Chicago Bears-New Orleans Saints game Sunday, this matchup wouldn’t be worth watching. But for once, the “slime” mentioned – and seen – didn’t refer to Mitch Trubisky, Ryan Pace, or Matt Nagy. The Chicago NFL Lakefront […]
The league deserves its ratings losses from dumb scheduling decisions I’m trying to figure out who the hell runs the NFL. Is it Rob Manfred or Roger Goodell? It’s hard to tell these days given both are as popular as a bag of brussels sprouts. But I imagine the league – who decided to plow through the regular season during […]
But national spotlight games keep on coming Over the years here at T Dog Media, it seems I’ve written more negative news about the Chicago Bears than positive – 2006 and 2018 the exceptions, of course. But in most other years, writing about the team has been an absolute drag – especially the infamous 2014 and 2017 seasons. And despite […]
Adding Bears is a victory for start-up RSN The Marquee Sports Network announced Tuesday a new agreement with the NFL’s Chicago Bears, who’ll provide the fledgling regional sports network a studio show and a condensed version of the previous week’s game. Starting Wednesday night, Marquee will air Bear Essentials in prime-time followed by a two-hour replay of the Bears 20-19 […]