Also: Fox re-ups Animation Domination as White Sox voices Jason Benetti and Steve Stone get reneweals, too; DirecTV adds a NewsMax replacement; Blackhawks’ ratings sag as does the rest of the NHL Even though it’s a ratings period most radio stations not playing Christmas music ignore, the “Holiday” book for iHeartMedia’s 93.9 FM The Lite dominated to no one’s surprise […]
Struggling satellite provider drops conservative news channel as contract expires In a dispute that only came to light Tuesday afternoon, DirecTV dropped conservative-leaning news channel NewsMax at 10:59 p.m. Central Time the same day, as as the two parties couldn’t come to an agreement. The dispute centered on NewsMax demanding a large carriage fee from DirecTV as it was […]
Package was last NFL property still out on open market; heads to YouTube TV After 29 seasons on DirecTV, NFL Sunday Ticket is on the move. Google and the NFL announced an agreement Thursday with the tech giant acquiring the out-of-market package of games for an estimated $2 billion as an add-on option to existing YouTube TV subscriptions and a-la-carte […]
Also: DirecTV and Fox avert blackout; NHL, Roku launch FAST channel; Debmar-Mercury to offer local stations People Puzzler Another news anchor has called it a career: NBC 5 (WMAQ) anchor Rob Stafford announced last week he is retiring after over 30 years in the business. HIs final day is on December 23. “I turn 65 next year and my wife […]
Packers-Bears, FIFA World Cup, and more could be affected For Chicago-area DirecTV subscribers, the possibility of losing the Green Bay Packers-Chicago Bears game from Soldier Field Sunday probably would be a bigger deal if Justin Fields wasn’t questionable to play and both teams had better records. But since the FIFA World Cup and the Big Ten Championship Game are on […]
Welcome to the 17th annual T Dog Media Turkey Awards! This year, 22 unlucky recipients (with one shared) are honored for being awful people, terrible companies, and those who are jerks in every walk of life. If there’s a theme, it’s the year of being a CEO or billionaire – or both as they’re throwing their power and influence around, […]
Also: NewsNation add late morning news block; Scripps adds digital subchannels to DirecTV; Samsung bulks up Plus TV As expected, CBS 2 (WBBM-TV) is launching a new 9 a.m. half-hour newscast, starting September 12: We're launching a new show! Hope to see you weekdays at 9am on @CBSChicago and streaming from 9:30-10am – starting next week! @LBannonWX @RyanBakerMedia pic.twitter.com/9w4HEcjZxU — […]
CW sale, political races, on tap Even though it’s January 14, it’s never too late to look ahead to see what could happen in media for the remaining 351 days left in the year. So let’s look in the crystal ball and see what to expect. As always, we’ll check back at the end of the year to see how […]
Big changes in store for Chicago area non-Xfinity and AT&T customers If you are a WOW customer in the Chicago area, you already know big changes were coming with a sale to RCN. And now, if you’re an RCN customer, changes are coming your way as well. The parent company of RCN announced Wednesday they were uniting the various […]
DirecTV is an independent company once again. But can they recapture their own glory? AT&T completed the spinoff of the satellite provider to private equity firm TPG Monday in a deal valued at $15 billion. The transaction includes streaming provider AT&T Now and U-verse systems, which are being rebranded as DirecTV Stream. In a three-way split, AT&T gets $7. 8 […]
Low ratings, pandemic forces The U to pull plug As first reported by Robert Feder Thursday, The U’s local show The Jam is shutting down production, effective Friday. Sadly, it is true that the Jam is coming to a close. What a ride the past few years have been, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity! We've still got a […]
Second broadcaster/MSO dispute this week Here we go again. Irving, Tex.-based Nexstar Broadcasting removed its stations from satellite provider Dish Wednesday evening at approximately 7 p.m. Central Time due to a retransmission consent dispute, another in a long line of blackouts over the last several years. Nexstar owns 197 stations in over 100 markets including WGN-TV in Chicago and […]
Part of larger deal involving Sinclair Broadcast Group. If you are a Cubs fan, and a Comcast subscriber, you might want to send the peeps at Sinclair Broadcasting Group a thank you card. Yeah, yeah I know. In a deal announced literally hours before the first pitch Friday night at Wrigley Field against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Cubs’ new Marquee […]
Very few people in the Chicago area weren’t able to see the premiere of the new RSN – even if a deal was struck with their provider It’s time to play Monday night quarterback and assess the launch of Marquee Sports Network, the new joint venture between the Cubs and Sinclair Broadcasting. And of course, it didn’t go very well. […]
Disney Plus made the biggest splash of the year 2019 saw the end of several institutions, big media battles, and disappointing sports teams. Let’s start with the huge changes in big media, as Disney closed on its purchase of the 20th Century Fox film studio and Viacom reuniting with CBS again with a new name (ViacomCBS) as the race […]