Dish and DirecTV objections and Fubo offering a similar package led to the demise The Venu is closed before it even opens. Despite a settlement reached in a lawsuit settled by Disney and Fubo due to the latter agreeing to sell itself to them, the joint venture between Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery to launch a new affordable skinny […]
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. […]
Creates the largest pay-TV provider in the country with an estimated 18 million subscribers As anticipated amid rumors over the weekend, DirecTV has agreed to purchase rival satellite TV provider Dish DBS (direct broadcast satellite) from Echostar for $1 and the assumption of $9.75 billion in debt. The transaction, subject to government approval, will create the largest pay-TV conglomerate in […]
Also: Sling adds ABC 7 to its lineup – at a cost; MLB possibly looking at reclaiming local rights as RSNs creater; Chicago media comings and goings Joining a trend of veteran series handing out multi-year renewals, the latest came this week when Debmar-Mercury announced it has re-upped Family Feud through 2026, taking the show to its 27th consecutive season […]
Channels return after weekend standoff After Dish and Sling customers woke up Saturday morning to find Disney channels missing, they returned late Sunday night as the parties came to a tentative agreement. The move to pull the channels came after the contract between the two parties expired on September 30 and neither negotiated an extension to keep the channels on […]
Surprise move came with no warning In a move that has Dish and Sling customers fuming, cable and broadcast channels owned by The Walt Disney Company were pulled off of their systems at 2 a.m. Central Time Saturday morning in a retransmission dispute. The decision to yank the channels surprised everyone as usually, customers are given a heads-up on if […]
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 […]
Deal is for local stations, nothing more In a blow for local sports fans who are not subscribers to cable or DirecTV, Sinclair new carriage deal with Dish does not include the regional sports networks the company owns, branded Bally Sports Net. But it is good news for Dish subscribers who won’t have to suffer any program interruptions on 144 […]
Also: Young Sheldon adds TBS home; Rick Dees becomes voice of RewindTV; Dish and Sinclair avoid blackouts – for now Veteran meteorologist Andy Avalos announced his retirement on Friday after 33 years on Chicago television. Starting on August 30, fellow NBC 5 (WMAQ) meteorologist Alicia Roman is taking over Avalos’ spot on the morning newscast from 4-7 a.m. She’s been […]
May have complications for Marquee In what could be a troubling sign for broadcasters and regional sports networks alike, Sinclair Broadcasting apparently threw in the towel with a week to go in negotiations with Dish as 108 local stations faces deletion from the satellite service on August 16. The company acknowledged such in a press release Monday, noting the chances […]
Also: Trump Country concedes; Rock 95.5 drops to a ratings low; DMA update On Christmas morning, Dish subscribers received an unexpected present: the return of WGN-TV and WGN America to their systems. A deal was reached late Thursday night between the satellite provider and Nexstar, owners of both the local Chicago television station, the cable network, and other local stations […]
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 […]
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 […]
Welcome to the 14th annual T Dog Media Turkey Awards – celebrating the worst in media, sports, and life in general. We have 17 recipients to announce, so let’s get gobblin’: Survivor. The way CBS handled – or mishandled the latest Survivor controversy leaves a lot of be desired. An extra side turkey is given to Jeff Probst for what […]
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