Reaper, the quirky dramedy currently airing on Tuesday on CW, may be headed for first-run syndication. The series – now in its second season – would be sold to CW affiliates for airing on Sunday nights at either 7 or 8 p.m. However, Disney-ABC Television Distribution could sell the show to a My Network TV affiliate, independent station, or even […]
ABC pickups; Millionaire returns to prime-time; Caprica is here; B96’s new hires. – ABC has picked up twelve veteran series for the 2009-2010 season, despite the fact some have eroded in the ratings. Renewals include Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Supernanny, Wife Swap, and Ugly Betty. Betty, who returns on April 30 at 7 p.m. (CT) will likely keep its time […]
The alternative title is being used to describe today’s News & Notes, as there is sad news to report: – Chicago Defender sports journalist Larry Gross passed away Wednesday at the age of 59 due to complications from lung cancer. Gross covered mostly local sports for the paper, including Chicago Public School Prep action. The wake will be held Feb. […]
The National Association of Television Program Executives convention got underway today in Las Vegas. While it won’t be as jumping as it was in recent years, there is business to be done here in the world of syndication and beyond. Plus, look for not one, but two T Dog Think Tanks on the state of syndication in 2009. We’ll have […]
The ongoing saga of Tribune bankruptcy will have a big effect on the syndication business. Tribune owes four major syndicators money: Warner Bros., NBC Universal, Disney-ABC, and Twentieth. As a result of the Chapter 11 filing (with Tribune restructuring debt), the studios aren’t going to see a dime of the cash anytime soon. This puts some stress on the studios’ […]
CBS Television’s new Doctors has tied NBC Universal’s Deal or No Deal in the first-run syndication race among new series, with both shows tying each other at 1.9. GAA rating. Doctors was up 12 percent from last week; Deal was flat. But Disney-ABC’s new weekly hour Legend of the Seeker beat them both, with a 2.1 rating, up 5 percent. […]
Foxhas announced it is trading in Sonic the Hedgehog – for a bunch of people riding around in Hoveround chairs. In a move that ends children’s programming on Fox after 18 years, the network announced it is dropping the 4KidsTV block it had been airing on Saturday mornings. This comes after 4Kids sued Fox for a refund, alleging it owed […]
Here’s a look at some of the new syndicated programs and how they are faring thus far, based on info culled from Broadcasting & Cable and TV Week: Legend of the Seeker. Disney-ABC’s first syndicated scripted hour in a decade has made a strong impression in the ratings, with a 2.9 Nielsen household rating and 4.2 million viewers for its […]
With Oprah Winfrey scheduled to run her new cable network in a joint venture with Discovery beginning next year, there is increasing speculation she may discontinue her daily talk show strip when her contract with CBS Television Distribution expires in 2011. The speculation increased when Discovery Communications CEO David Zaslav revealed in an earnings report a few days ago that […]
More rating upswing news: The new syndicated action hour from Disney-ABC titled Legend of the Seeker improved time periods by 15 percent from October 2008, including an 80 percent jump in the ratings at WGN-TV here in Chicago, which aired the premiere Saturday at 4 p.m. Among demos, Seeker sook and got big rating increases among men 25-54, women 18-49, […]
Another installment in the Groovy Grab Bag – let’s see what’s in the sack: – WGN-TV announced it was re-airing the Carlos Zambrano no-hitter on Friday night at 10 p.m. on WGN and WGN America. Zambrano no-hit the Houston Astros Sunday night in Milwaukee in a game moved from Houston because of Hurricane Ike. Zambrano became the first Cubs pitcher […]
Quick, when was the last true first-run syndicated hit? Though many syndicators would argue, it was six years ago with Dr. Phil averaging a 4.4 Nielsen rating in its freshman season. Before that, you would have to go all the way back to June 1996 for the last breakout hit – Warner Bros.’ The Rosie O’Donnell Show. And if you […]
With added competition from new freshman game show strips Trivial Pursuit: America Plays and the new weekday version of Deal or No Deal, Disney/ABC’s long running game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire is getting a facelift for its seventh season in syndication, which begins on September 8. Among the changes: Time’s Up. In order to speed up the […]
All right, fanboys and fangirls, Comic-Con from San Diego is here! And it’s not just for comic book fans anymore… There’s a lot of television-related stuff here as well! A lot of news at Comic-Con for its first day (covered the T Dog Media Blog way – sarcastically), so let’s get to it… – Name change for Wizard’s First Rule: […]
Well, that was quick. Forty-eight hours after Roger Ebert and Richard Roeper announced their departure from At the Movies, Disney-ABC Domestic Television Distribution has named new co-hosts for the weekly syndicated movie review show – and announced a new format as well. Ben Lyons – the son of New York film reviewer Jeffrey Lyons (who coincidentally co-hosts a competing syndicated […]
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