T Dog’s Six Pack: Picking up the slack

  With Crain’s Chicago Business’ Ed Sherman ending his business of sports blog, T Dog Media is now the only place to get your weekly winners and losers fix. Only there’s six items – three winners and three losers. And mostly doesn’t deal with sports. Okay, sometimes it does. Incidentally, credit for T Dog’s Six Pack should also go to […]

One for the record books – yet again

The Voice and Smash get off to impressive starts Here we go again – for the third year in a row, the Super Bowl has set another viewing record – but just barely. Sundays Super Bowl XLVI game between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis drew 111.3 million viewers – up […]

TCA: Disney/ABC: “The Revolution” will be televised

Tuesday and Wednesday saw Disney’s ABC and ABC Family take over the TCA Press with ABC Entertainment President Paul Lee addressing the media on Tuesday regarding numerous issues: – Lee said that despite low ratings AND the show being pulled off the schedule AND the episode order being cut, Pan Am actually has a shot of returning next season. In […]

Bears-Lions tackles competitors onto turf

ESPN’s Monday Night Football tilt between the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions was a success for ESPN and the city of Detroit – but not for the Bears. The game on WCIU earned a 13.4 household rating and a 20 share while ESPN pulled a 18.8/27, combining for an overall 32.2/47, easily outdrawing other series in the Chicago market, including […]

“New Girl” = New hit

Judging by the fawning of “New Girl” Zooey Deschannel (left), you’d think every male in America would want to lay her down by the fire and make sweet love to her. And who wouldn’t? While no one spilled the remains of dead fictional sitcom characters or walked through nude in any of last night’s programming (though a lot of us […]

New “Two And A Half Men” wallops competiton

  Uncle Kelso has arrived in the Harper household – and he’s already winning – and so is the former occupant. The ninth season premiere of Two And A Half Men – the first one without Charlie Sheen after his well-publicized departure from the series last March, and the first for new series regular and former That ’70’s Show star […]

Paige Wiser out at the Sun-Times

In a move which leaves neither big-time Chicago newspaper without a television critic, The Chicago Sun-Times fired Paige Wiser after a little over two years on the job after submitting several inaccuracies in a Glee Live! concert review, an offshoot of the popular Fox series. Wiser had been with the paper for the last seventeen years, mostly as an entertainment […]

Superstar finale Wednesday

If anyone were to tell you who dominated the ratings on the final official day of the 2010-11 television season, all they have to say is Oprah Winfrey and American Idol. – The series finale of The Oprah Winfrey Show locally on WLS-TV drew a 13.4 household rating and a 38 share, with the 11 p.m. repeat drawing a 5.7/14. […]

Tuesday night fights: Bulls stumble on the court and in the ratings

Courtesy: NBA/Getty Images “Dancing” dominates broadcast channels in Chicago; “Idol” takes ratings hit Tuesday was a rather competitive night for television both locally and nationally with the final two performing on American Idol and the season finale of Dancing With The Stars. But national viewers preferred the dancers and wannabe signers as opposed to Derrick Rose and LeBron James. According […]

ABC rolls out 2011-12 schedule

ABC released its 2011-12 season schedule this morning in advance of its upfront presentation to advertisers this afternoon in Manhattan with twelve new series. Seven of those premiere this fall, and the list includes the return of Tim Allen to the network and and also Charlie’s Angels, in a reboot of the late 1970’s series which was a huge part […]

CSN Chicago, Philadelphia set records

Despite tougher competition from the broadcast networks Tuesday night, Comcast SportsNet dominated the ratings in prime-time thanks to Game 5 of the Chicago Bulls-Indiana Pacers series and a deciding Game 7 of the Chicago Blackhawks-Vancouver Canucks tilt. Comcast SportsNet scored a 8.4 household household rating and a 6.8 ratings in the 25-54 demo from 5:30 P.m. to 1:30 a.m., topping […]

TCA, Part 6: Fox with a full plate

While ABC skimped through its TCA Press Tour presentation Monday, Fox had a full plate of panels for three of its new shows on Tuesday, including one for its revamped version of American Idol, with new judges Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler. Fox announced at the press tour its was renewing Raising Hope for a second season, announced a premiere […]