FCC approves Comcast-NBC merger

Big media just got bigger. The FCC approved the Comcast-NBC Universal deal on Tuesday more than a year after the deal was announced, with the Justice Department also giving its blessings. And unlike the Sirius/XM merger, this deal wasn’t voted upon party lines.The FCC voted in favor of the deal 4-1 with Democratic commissioner Michael Copps the lone dissenter. While […]

T Dog’s Six Pack

Yes, T Dog’s Four Pack is back! But due to the struggling economy (ha, ha), yours truly is forced to cut one each from the winners’ pack and the losers’ pack – and merge the rest together to form T Dog’s Six Pack – three winners and three losers each in the same post – plus, Six Pack is a […]

Tribune wants more of "This"

Chicago-based Tribune Co. actually likes something crosstown rival Weigel Broadcasting Co. has – This. Tribune announced today it has signed a long-term deal to add This TV in several markets (including WPIX in New York) and renewing existing deals in others (KTLA in Los Angeles.) This TV is a joint venture between Weigel Broadcasting (which owns WCIU here, and airs […]

T Dog’s Four Pack

The best and the worst in media for the week ending May 9: Winners: – Perfect. The City of Oakland and the word “perfect” often goes together as Playboy models and science-fiction conventions. But the city gets to celebrate for one day as Dallas Breaden pitched a perfect game Sunday for the hometown Athletics against the Tampa Bay Rays. Now […]

T Dog’s Four Pack – Putting the biscuit in the basket

Here’s who is scoring goals – and who isn’t – it’s a hockey-themed T Dog’s Four Pack: Lighting the lamp: Family Guy. No, you don’t see this show in the winner’s circle too often, but Sunday’s night episode – despite some rather uncomfortable dialogue in the first act – was the best of the season and perhaps ever, on a […]

Flash Forward… to your demise… Part 2

It may be over for FlashForward. The ABC sci-fi drama did not generate any interest Thursday night, averaging only a 1.9 rating among adults 18-49, and 6.5 million viewers according to figures supplied by Nielsen and The Wrap. While the program fared better in households, the 25-54 demo, and even made Trending Topics on Twitter during the 8 p.m. hour […]

ESPN, ABC affiliates tussle over sports

Many affiliates are upset with ABC and ESPN over a decision to remove several Sunday afternoon NASCAR races from the broadcast network to ESPN, leaving them with just three prime-time races to carry. The move rankled affilates – particuarly in Southern television markets, where NASCAR is very popular. NASCAR – whose season begins this Sunday with the Daytona 500 – […]

T Dog’s Fridge Pack: The twelve items that made the decade

In his 2008 speeches, President Barack Obama talked about change. Well, in the media world, change arrived in the 2000s. And boy, did it ever! When the decade started, who knew we would be watching clips on YouTube, or friending people on Facebook, or watching network TV shows online? Or how broadcast television and terrestrial radio would both have trouble […]

Upon further review… the Cubs-White Sox TV ratings post

A post I wrote last Tuesday received some negative feedback, as yours truly painted a too-rosy picture of Comcast SportsNet’s ratings regarding the Cubs and White Sox – particularly the latter team. According to an article appearing in Sports Business Journal ranking Major League Baseball’s thirty teams in terms of television ratings on games aired by their regional sports networks […]

T Dog’s Four Pack

This week’s Four Pack contains the baseball playoffs, some dancing, and Rachael Ray – oh my! Winners – Postseason baseball. Ratings for the divisional baseball  playoffs on TBS were up from last year…. maybe because the Cubs and White Sox weren’t in it? – Rachael Ray. Her talk show is renewed until 2011-12 in 90 percent of the country, including […]

Chicago’s baseball teams did better on the tube than on the field

While Chicago’ baseball teams did not have a successful season on the field, they had some success on the tube. Sports Business Journal ranked the 2009 regular season of thirty teams, and the Chicago Cubs finished ninth among regional sports networks, with a 4.1 household rating – but this number was down 16% from 2008 numbers. Meanwhile, the Chicago White […]

Heard around the blogs…

Yours truly had a thing or two to say about Thursday’s White Sox-Cubs interleague game on Steve Rosenbloom’s blog Monday night: Cubs-Sox game on Thursday? Yawn. Thank god I have a job. The players and management on these two loser teams shouldn’t have theirs. I don’t know what’s more pathetic…The Cubs… The White Sox… or the fact “Heroes” is still […]

T Dog’s Four Pack

The last few weeks had some noteworthy stories, and here’s how it all went down: the good and the bad. Winners – Rick Bayless win Top Chef: Masters. Yes, our town’s own Rick Bayless won Top Chef: Masters last week, just giving us more proof he’s more talented than his brother, Skip. – Project Runway. The move to Lifetime and […]

T Dog’s Groovy Grab Bag- The Animated Edition

A ton of news featuring Family Guy and South Park today here in The Grab Bag. It’s like having Cubs fans and White Sox fans together in the same room. Oh-Oh… Hey, no beer throwing! – To build up Emmy buzz for its nomination as a Best Outstanding Comedy Nominee, the producers of Family Guy held a live table reading […]