CBS owner outbids tech streamer Editor’s Note: This article was updated on February 27. In 1985, CNN owner Ted Turner made a hostile takeover bid to buy CBS, but the bid failed after Larry Tisch increased his ownership stake in the company, preventing CBS News and CNN from uniting. 41 years later, the two will finally get together – thanks […]
Splits company into two; aims to complete by mid-2026 Warner Bros. Discovery announced on Monday that it will separate the conglomerate into two separately publicly traded companies. Speculated for some time, the move will separate its streaming and studios business from its cable networks, making it a stand-alone company. One company (temporarily named “Streaming and Studios”) will house Warner […]
Also: Person, Place, or Thing gets greenlight to fall series; Pat Robertson dies; Chris Licht out at CNN After forty-plus years as host of Wheel Of Fortune, Chicago native Pat Sajak announced on Monday he was stepping down effective at the end of next season. The 76-year old made his announcement Monday evening on Twitter: Well, the time has come. […]
The CNN castoff finds new home thanks to Nexstar You probably figured Chris Cuomo’s appearance on NewsNation’s Dan Abrams Live Tuesday night would leave to something more for the ex-CNN host down the line. It was so carefully orchestrated you’d think Abrams offered Cuomo a job right on the air. And boom – shortly after his appearance, the Nexstar-owned cable […]
Local stations pre-empt programming on holiday For a city used to the horrors of gun violence, even this was too much to take. On a sparkly clear day, a Fourth Of July parade in the north suburban community of Highland Park was interrupted by a gunman who opened fire from a roof of a commercial building, hitting spectators below. As […]
Also: Black Chicagoans (still) not happy with media outlets; Syndicated ‘Dateline’ shifts to new local outlet; Rock 95.5 surges in ratings After just four weeks, CNN Plus is getting… subtracted. The Warner Bros. Discovery-owned service announced Thursday it was closing April 30 after launching on March 28, debuting to poor reviews and a cumbersome price of $5.99 monthly or […]
Failure to disclose romantic relationship with staff member leads to his demise In the sixteen years of writing this blog, there have been a number of media executives I’ve written about who came off as total assholes – Sam Zell, Randy Michaels, Jimmy deCastro, Michael Ferro, Jan Jeffries, Les Moonves, Marv Nyren, Larry Tisch, and probably more, enough to […]
Local stations, broadcast and cable networks battle it out to ring in the new year I think the question we should be asking is who isn’t doing a New Year’s Eve show this year? The major networks and local stations are throwing their hats in the New Years’ Eve ring as they look to capture their share of an audience […]
What’s happening to the cherished genre these days isn’t funny as it could be reduced to nothing Seven weeks ago, CNN launched The History Of The Sitcom – an unnecessary eight-part documentary on a subject covered to death through books, PBS, and other media celebrating the form stretching from the days of I Love Lucy on your black-and-white mono […]
Cook County State’s Attorney blasts Nexstar’s WGN-TV over poll A poll released by Nexstar-owned independent WGN-TV on Tuesday showed how Chicago-area residents felt about their local political leadership and pressing issues like crime. And let me tell you – it wasn’t pretty as people seem to have it in for Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, […]
Minneapolis stations, cable networks to carry proceedings in the death of George Floyd The landmark Derek Chavin murder trial began Monday and viewers can get a front row seat to one of the biggest legal proceedings in a generation. It’s a historic trial to begin with: it marks the first time a Minnesota criminal trial has been televised gavel-to-gavel from […]
Also: Fox News wins election night; NBA season to start Dec. 22 IHeartMedia’s WLIT launched its Holly Jolly format (or Christmas music as everyone else calls it) starting at 4 p.m. Friday, and is likely to last through the end of the year. This is the 20th year WLIT has turned its playlist to a Christmas Jukebox, playing Mariah Carey’s […]
Two new efforts launching on opposite ends of September hopes to appeal to news viewers tired of partisan news Starting today, a revolution is taking place and it’s happening right here in Chicago. And it is…presenting a neutral newscast. Yes, really. The arrival of the much-anticipated NewsNation today and of CNBC’s The News With Shepard Smith later this […]
Chicago crime grabs more airtime than Covid-19 pandemic as the city continues to grab global headlines for gun violence You’d think in a middle of a national health pandemic, cable news channels would focus on the issues at hand when more than 150,000 people have died from Covid-19, right? Of course not – especially when it comes to Fox News. […]
Viewers, syndicators prepare for regular daytime TV schedules to be disrupted (Editor’s Note: This post will be continuously updated with any information on who is carrying the impeachment hearings. – T.H.) If you are a fan of daytime TV, get ready for a serious reality check. Beginning Wednesday, the major broadcast networks and cable news channels will begin carrying impeachment […]
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