The 53rd annual gathering of the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) got underway at the Fontainbleau Resort in Miami on Tuesday as syndicators, producers, and content creators converged for the three day conference, which ends on Thursday. There were some programming announcements made at or just prior to NATPE’s start: – Disney-ABC Domestic Television announced updated clearance information for new Tyra […]
Also: CBS 2 adds “Good Wife”, “Blue Bloods” to weekend late fringe On the surface, CBS 2’s decision to expand their weekend newscasts would be greeted with as much enthusiasm as driving on the Eisenhower. But to the political advertising community, the news of a another news expansion was like waking up on Christmas morning. As first reported by Robert Feder Tuesday […]
Also: Tyra Banks plans returns to daytime TV – Good news for fans of WCIU’s You and Me in The Morning (and for local television overall): the two-hour morning strip hosted by former Chicago radio personalities Melissa Forman and Jeanne Sparrow is expanding to a third hour in September. Now airing from 6 to 8 a.m. weekdays, the show is extending […]
Cedric also leaves Millionaire, but new host already lined up Fox cancels Almost Human – On Wednesday, Gallup released a poll showing half of Illinois’ residents would move out of the state if they could. Well, one lucky resident just hit the jackpot. Jim Richards, who was the operations manager for classic rock WLUP-FM and alternative WKQX, is being transferred […]
In a long overdue move, Disney-ABC Television Distribution canceled second-year daytime talk show Katie, with Katie Couric. The series is wrapping up production in June 2014. The handwriting for Katie was on the wall when Couric exited ABC a month ago to join Yahoo for an estimated $6 million a year. Even though Yahoo would let Couric continue with her […]
Also: WLS-TV dominates November ratings With the NATPE gathering just weeks away, syndicators are gearing up their sales teams to pitch new projects for the fall of 2014, including Celebrity Name Game (see below) and The Real – both recently receiving “firm gos”. Several freshman and sophomore series are on the bubble including Queen Latifah, The Arsenio Hall Show, Katie, […]
Pending deal has no effect on daytime talk show, which is still on bubble Katie Couric’s stint at ABC News is coming to a close. But her syndicated talk show could be another story. As first reported by The Hollywood reporter Friday evening, Ms. Couric is taking take a position at Yahoo!, the internet portal which was a huge player […]
– Tech difficulties or something else behind the scenes? Mike McConnell’s new online venture at WGN Radio doesn’t seem to be going well. McConnell’s online show and subsequent podcast has been offline for a week due to “tech issues”. But it looks like McConnell may be headed back to Cincinnati: it appears a tentative agreement has been reached on the […]
When rebranding goes wrong; Cubs, White Sox drop in ratings and Dan Harmon returns to Community. While the Blackhawks are grabbing the Windy City’s attention, the same cannot be said for the sorry Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox. Ratings for both Major League Baseball teams are in the toilet, as is their records. According to an article from Danny […]
Could Katie get knocked out of the daytime talk show ring before the end of her second season? Another report has surfaced over the increasingly iffy future of Katie Couric’s daytime talk show, which airs in predominantly early fringe time slots on most ABC affiliates. Fox News is reporting that ABC Syndication is looking for a replacement when Couric’s talk […]
– In a stunning move, the Chicago Sun-Times fired almost all of its photography staff on Thursday, which left 28 people out of work. The Wrapports -owned paper instead plans to train reports to take pictures with smartphones. Yes, smartphones. Among those who were laid off include 35-year veteran Pulitzer-prize winning photographer John H. White, one of the first African-American […]
The studio finally comes into the 21st Century. Really. After 76 years – and 12 years after entering a new century, the studio known as 20th Century Fox is embarking on a new name: 21st Century Fox. The name change comes as parent company News Corp. is separating its publishing assets from its entertainment division, announced last June. Rupert Murdoch […]
Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert unexpectedly passed away Thursday at the age of 70, two days after announcing his cancer had returned and was cutting back on his workload. Ebert had been battling with thyroid cancer, which robbed him of his voice. However, it turned out he also developed cancer in his leg. There were plans to relaunch his […]
(Editor’s Note: Due to illness during the period NATPE took place this year, yours truly unfortunately was not able to write much about the conference. Oh well… there’s always 2014! – T.H.) When the NATPE convention began in the spring of 1964, it began as a small gathering in a New York hotel. Flash forward to 2013 – and after […]
In a surprise announcement, Meredith Vierra has called it quits as host of Who Wants To be A Millionaire. Up to this point, she was host of the syndicated series’ entire run, which spanned eleven seasons. Vierra, who also was a Today co-host during Millionaire’s run, plans to devote more time to other projects, including a film she is currently […]
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