Also: Amazon to stream Diamond’s RSNs; Dish-DirecTV deal dead A staple of local television is coming back: the food show. According to Axios, NBC 5 (WMAQ-TV) has ordered four episodes of Poochie and Pang Eat Chicago, premiering Sunday, November 24 at 11:35 p.m. (time approximate after Sports Sunday) and will air in the late-night slot for the next four weeks. […]
Becomes first Black play-by-play voice for the team as the White Sox may be looking at a new stadium in the South Loop. In a rare positive move for the often-beleaguered team, the Chicago White Sox announced Thursday the hiring of John Schriffen as their new play-by-play voice, replacing Jason Benetti who departed for the Detroit Tigers in the same […]
A year dominated by labor strife, awful Chicago sports teams, and – oh yeah, Elon If you watched the WWE, you remember Vince McMahon playing himself as an arrogant CEO and billionaire, ruling over anything and everything – the ultimate heel. It’s a real-life trend we’re seeing as we close 2023. Led by billionaire Elon Musk, CEOs – whether […]
Leaves with one year left on contract In stunning news, Chicago White Sox announcer Jason Benetti is exiting as announcer for the team and taking the same position as the TV voice of the Detroit Tigers. He replaces Matt Shepard in the role, who wasn’t exactly popular with the Tigers fanbase. “I’m incredibly proud to join this historic and ascending […]
Sinclair is the winner in auction; pays $10 billion for 21 Fox RSNs including Fox Sports Wisconsin The long national nightmare is over: after months of being on the sales block, the Fox Sports RSNs (regional sports networks) finally have a new owner. Sinclair Broadcast Group announced Friday it is buying the 21 sports networks and three Fox Sports College […]
Sale to the Educational Media Foundation ends 41 years of Rockin’ fun In a stunning development, Merlin Media has sold Classic Rock WLUP-FM to the Educational Media Foundation (EMF) for $21.5 million, a company specializing in Christian music with two automated formats: K-Love and Air 1. The sale means the end of one of Chicago’s most iconic radio station brands, […]
Vicious brawl between Yankees, Tigers the likes of which not seen in years As Haray Caray once said, “you can’t beat fun at the ol’ ballpark.” And for once, there was a fight on daytime TV that didn’t involve President Trump or the Jerry Springer show. Thursday’s game between the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers turned into a series […]
Don’t discount Cardinal Nation: The St. Louis Cardinals finished the just-concluded 2014 season with the highest-rated regular season average in Major League Baseball: according to Nielsen, the team drew a 7.76 average on FS Midwest. Despite the playoff-bound team’s success, this year’s rating is down 12 percent from a year ago. Finishing behind the Cardinals are the Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh […]
White Sox now dead last in TV ratings, with Cubs right behind them It’s been a tough summer for local Chicago television. First, Chicago viewers are turning off local news in greater numbers (and as a reward, we’re getting more news!) And now, they’re turning off local baseball – again – as both the Cubs and the White Sox continue […]
Disastrous season on both sides of town had fans fleeing for the exits – but at least they’re not the Astros After the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup June 24, most local sports fans checked out for the summer, thanks to the inept play of both the Chicago Cubs (66-96) and Chicago White Sox (63-99), each finishing last in […]
News on The Insider, Howie Mandel, The World Series, and more: – OMG! OMG! OMG! Can you stand the excitement?!!! In a bid to lure younger viewers, CBS Television Distribution’s The Insider is adding an OMG to its name and beginning in January, will be known as OMG! Insider! Exclamation points!!!! (all right, calm down bucko.) Originally, the series was […]
While the Chicago Bears (and Jay Cutler in particular) disappointed in their hugely anticipated matchup against the archrival Green Bay Packers, they certainly didn’t disappoint in the ratings department (and for a change, it was Cutler who was nastier than Simon Cowell was.) Last Thursday night’s game locally drew a 31.3/48 household rating/share according to Nielsen. The game aired over […]
While America is holding protests against rampant greed, T Dog Media has the winners and losers of the past week who “occupied” the media spotlight: Winners Last Man Standing. Tim Allen picked up right where he left off – as a prime-time success for ABC. Standing debuted last Tuesday to a 3.6 adult […]
Lots of items of note in today’s Grab Bag: – WCFS-FM (Fresh 105.9) has dumped morning man Mark LeBaron. Rick Hall will take over until a replacement is found. Is this a signal something big is coming? Or is the cancellation clock ticking for Fresh FM? – Speaking of which, the clock is up for The Beautiful Life, which CW […]
Detroit’s two main newspapers (The Free Press and News) are scaling back their delivery due to the worsening economic conditions. Beginning in March, both papers will be delivering to homes only three days a week, while being exclusively on newsstands and retail outlets the other four in a slimmed-down version. Both papers are refocusing on their respective online sites, with […]
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