But competition came from an unlikely source…The Al Smith dinner? Thursday night television featured a rare matchup between a Bears-Packers game and a Cubs-Dodgers playoff contest. But it was Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton who crashed the party and stole the show. Game 5 of the National League Championship Series between the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers outdrew the […]
Ratings for the NFL are off this year. Why? Over the last few weeks, you have read about why the NFL’s ratings are declining, with answers ranging from noncompetitive matchups to national anthem protests. Well, now it’s my turn to weigh in. So what’s wrong with the NFL? Well, let’s start locally as the Chicago Bears continue to drive away viewers […]
Media outlets looking for boost – even those who aren’t carrying games For better or worse, the worldwide spotlight on Chicago lately hasn’t been a positive one: the city continues to make headlines for its gun violence epidemic, as Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump has name-dropped Chicago every chance he got as a symbol of what’s wrong in America – […]
WGN-AM President and General Manager Jimmy deCastro has decided to step down from the station effective at the end of this month. The decision was made as the radio exec decided to more focus more on his Evanston-based company, The Content Factory. His firm handles syndication for several programs and distributes new media content. “I’ve done everything I can […]
Sad sack Bears, lackluster ABC and Fox lineups dampen night Note: numbers are 18-49 preliminary unless otherwise noted. And you thought Friday night television was bad. Sunday is fast becoming Tune-Out Night In America. And the lackluster Bears (and two of their oldest animated sitcoms who are like Steve Dahl and Jonathan Brandmeier – past-their-prime acts who won’t get off the […]
If you thought the Chicago White Sox had a bad season…you ain’t seen nothing yet Maybe we should send Chris Sale to cut up some Bears jerseys in the locker room. Monday night certainly wasn’t football night for Bears fans as the team put up the worst performance in at least two seasons as the team was blown out […]
Cubs destroy competition off the field, including the once-mighty NFL – setting a cable TV record in the process Despite loss, Cubs clinch NL Central Even with a loss last night against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Cubs continue to roll with a dominant ratings performance on Comcast SportsNet Chicago. According to a press release, the Brewers-Cubs telecast Thursday night on […]
Cubs score; NFL slides a bit (Editor’s Note: The YouTube video in this post was deleted.) With the new season a week away, new programming is already popping up – and getting decent sampling. The launch of Harry Connick Jr.’s daytime talk show Monday met ratings expectations, drawing a 1.4 household rating/4 share in 56 metered markets, according to Nielsen. […]
Affiliation move takes low-key approach Chicago’s first affiliation change in over 20 years takes place this week as CW moves from Tribune-owned WGN-TV to Fox-owned WPWR-TV. The change marks WGN’s return to independent status for the first time since 1995, when the station joined the then-new WB network (which merged with UPN in 2006 to form The CW.) Meanwhile, WPWR becomes […]
WGN-TV to drop CW affiliation in September; moves to Fox-owned WPWR Tribune Broadcasting renews agreement to carry CW programming in twelve markets Tribune Broadcasting finally renewed its CW affiliations this weekend. But in a surprise move, it didn’t renew its affiliation with WGN-TV in Chicago. Where The CW affiliation wound up is a even bigger surprise. As first reported by Robert […]
Four new series in fall; the rest in midseason. Editor’s Note: Fox made an important schedule change after the Upfronts took place, involving Pitch, Bones, and Prison Break. This article is being rewritten to reflect the changes. I also have some thoughts about Pitch. -T.H. Fox released its 2016-17 programming schedule Monday morning in advance of its upfront presentation the […]
With the upfronts a week away, it’s time to take a look at what was hot and what was not in the 2015-16 television season. This roundup not only is about primetime broadcast TV, but other programming as well from local news to local sports. These are not listed in any particular order. Winners. – Cable dramas. While the news has […]
Cubs ratings; Carsey-Werner comedies head to LAFF; Media Life radio survey and more The Chicago Cubs have started off the 2016 season in style and viewers are watching: Monday’s home opener against the Cincinnati Reds drew a whopping 11.4 household same-day live rating, easily finishing as the most-watched program of the evening topping ABC’s Dancing With The Stars (always popular […]
With 2015 in the rearview mirror, here are the stories to look for in 2016: 1. The spectrum auction. The upcoming – and complicated – spectrum auction the FCC is holding is likely to change the face of television as we know it. Some over-the-air stations could pack it in and call it a career as the FCC plans […]
Networks now playing games with viewers Remember a few years ago when radio was tagged as a dying medium? Now you can give the title to broadcast networks’ prime-time TV programming. As more and more viewers are shifting to streaming services to watch their shows, the Big Five certainly aren’t giving a reason for viewers to stick around – renewing […]
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