The Media Notepad: Dish drops NBC Sports Chicago

Also: Fox32/My50 goes up Schitt’s Creek; stunning fall from the top for The Mix; ABC closes Grand Hotel As expected, Dish has pulled the plug on NBC Sports Chicago October 1 as the satellite carrier continues to make life miserable for content providers – and subscribers. With the Cubs leaving the partnership effective October 1 for new upstart Marquee, new […]

The state of syndication in 2017

Few first-run series being offered this year as veteran shows – even low-rated ones – continue to roll along As the National Association Of Programming Executives gathering began Tuesday in Miami, stations are firming up their schedules for next fall as first-run and off-network series are being rolled out onto the marketplace. But what has been the norm in previous years, […]

CBS announces new 2013-14 schedule – with a few surprises

Tiffany network looking to maintain dominance CBS released its 2013-14 primetime schedule Wednesday morning ahead of its presentation later in the afternoon – and believe it or not, there were a few surprises in the lineup. For one, CBS is creating a two-hour comedy block on Thursday nights, based on the success of The Big Bang Theory. CBS has slotted […]

TCA: Cable shows off the goods

January is yours truly favorite time of year. Why? (No, its NOT the weather.) This month is home to TCA Winter Press Tour and the National Association of Television Program Executives gatherings take place, with the latter being held later this month. Let the fun begin! This edition – the Winter portion of the tour – is taking place over […]

CBC slammed for airing American shows. Again.

Stop me if you’ve heard this before… The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is being criticized by governmental leaders and actor unions for airing too much American programming on the public network – a practice it has been doing for decades. The controversy comes as CBC dropped two Canadian-produced newsmagazine/lifestyle shows: Fashion File and Steven & Chris, due to low ratings and […]

A bunch of stuff

Headlines from the world of radio & TV: – The Raleigh News & Observer has a story on WNCN-TV, the NBC affiliate in Raleigh, N.C. whose news ratings have gone up since ownership transferred from NBC to Media General in 2006 – but not enough to eclipse top rivals WRAL-TV (a CBS affiliate owned by Capitol Broadcasting) and ABC-owned WTVD. […]

WPWR’s fall schedule

We’re gonna turn it on… we’re gonna turn on the power… at Fox-owned WPWR this fall. But the power’s been off for a few years now at the station. Like other big-market MNT affiliates (WWOR and KCOP in N.Y. and L.A., respectively), WPWR has performed poorly, often placing last in total-day ratings among Chicago’s English and Spanish commercial TV stations. […]

DaVinci’s back for more

The series may have ended in its native Canada some time ago, but the program continues to roll on in the U.S.: DaVinci’s Inquest, the former CBC drama featuring Nicholas Campbell as Vancouver’s coroner, is returning for a third season in syndication. Program Partners has cleared the procedural drama in 98 percent of the country including all top 20 markets. […]