Also: Chicago Blackhawks add animated alternative broadcast; FCC fine won’t affect WADL sale; Caps/Wizards move to Virginia scuttled In another blow to the long-running Chicago Tonight, anchor and co-host Paris Schutz announced Tuesday he is leaving the WTTW show after a twenty-year run, departing on April 12. Some personal news: Nearly 20 years ago, I walked into WTTW as a […]
Could be a dress rehearsal for more According to a report in the Sun-Times, Weigel’s CW 26 (or WCIU) announced Monday it is televising a Chicago Cubs spring training game against the Milwaukee Brewers on March 12 at 8 p.m. The game will be simulcast on Marquee Sports Network, the home of all Cubs games since 2020 a year after […]
WGN-TV hires new traffic reporter; NBC Sports Chicago adding alternative Blackhawks telecasts; New Orleans Pelicans latest Bally team to seek an over-the-air TV deal The PPM ratings survey for November was released this week and to no one’s surprise, iHeartMedia’s 93.9 The Lite is ahead of the competition. WLIT took first place from Hubbard’s The Drive as the Gold AC […]
Your winners/losers in the 18th annual roundup of the worst in everything: Donald Trump. He’s back. Elon Musk. I’ll tell you what. You can click on this link, which leads to every story this space has featured on the arrogant billionaire, none of it positive. Jerry Reinsdorf. Speaking of arrogant billionaires, the 87-year-old is currently one of the worst owners […]
Experiment consists of four contests in all In a very rare move, NBC-owned WMAQ-TV announced Wednesday it will air two Bulls games and two Blackhawks games in primetime in November and December. All four games are being produced by NBC Sports Chicago, who’ll also simulcast each contest and is being streamed (with authentication credentials) on the NBC Sports app to […]
Joins ABC 7 and WGN in doing so with special segments So far, 2023 saw ABC’s WLS-TV and Nexstar’s WGN-TV mark their 75th anniversaries, the latter with a two-hour special. And now NBC-owned WMAQ-TV (branded as NBC 5 and NBC Chicago locally) is also joining the party. Several WMAQ alumnus will be joining the station for special segments during the […]
Also: Timberwolves strike iHeartMedia deal; CBS affiliates decline Bears game in large numbers; Survivor names a tribe after an old media company Longtime Chicago radio veteran Rick O’Dell is the latest media figure to announce his retirement, doing so on Facebook. His final day is October 4. Currently the program director of MeTV FM (WRME-FM), O’Dell is best known for […]
After decades of indifference, his takeover of franchise put team back in vogue with three Stanley Cup championships In shocking news, Chicago Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz died Tuesday at the age of 70 after a brief illness. The announcement stunned fans, media, and players alike. Condolences poured in from all over Chicago, including the city’s sports teams, the business community […]
Also: NBC Sports Chicago plans extensive NHL Draft coverage; Magnum P.I. canceled a second time; Paramount Plus guts lineup as sale rumors of the studio swirl Soon, they’ll be some relief for Cubs fans who are shut out of watching their games if they don’t subscribe to a cable or satellite provider or Fubo. As first reported by the Sun-Times […]
Also: WTMX defamation suit ends; The CW likely to move again in San Diego; Bubble Bustin’ Week is underway as CBS axes two shows; The much ballyhooed and ridiculous attempt to turn a bunch of lottery balls into a TV show paid off for the NHL: Monday’s televised draft lottery aired by ESPN and produced by the NHL Network […]
Latest twist in on-going saga involving regional sports networks Adding to the latest saga surrounding regional sports networks – and with weeks to go before the start of MLB season, Warner Bros. Discovery have told sports teams they’re shuttering AT&T SportsNet and asking them to reclaim their rights. March 31st is set for the closure, and if WBD can’t reach […]
Also: Sling adds ABC 7 to its lineup – at a cost; MLB possibly looking at reclaiming local rights as RSNs creater; Chicago media comings and goings Joining a trend of veteran series handing out multi-year renewals, the latest came this week when Debmar-Mercury announced it has re-upped Family Feud through 2026, taking the show to its 27th consecutive season […]
Also: Fox re-ups Animation Domination as White Sox voices Jason Benetti and Steve Stone get reneweals, too; DirecTV adds a NewsMax replacement; Blackhawks’ ratings sag as does the rest of the NHL Even though it’s a ratings period most radio stations not playing Christmas music ignore, the “Holiday” book for iHeartMedia’s 93.9 FM The Lite dominated to no one’s surprise […]
Also: Jennifer Hudson’s local time slot set; and the Chicago Blackhawks name new analysts [Editor’s Note: The Blackhawks item has been updated with more information.] If you are a fan of Svengoolie – and I know there are a lot of you out there, then you have a lot to celebrate this October. Weigel’s MeTV is turning the pumpkin month […]
Also: Blackhawks latest Chicago team to drag down national telecasts as the team names Chris Vosters as their new play-by-play guy; CBS Media Ventures cancels two syndicated shows The fun is over for four game shows as ABC late last Friday canceled them, part of its “Summer Fun and Games” initiative. Among the four dumped was Match Game hosted by […]
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