Arrival puts Peacock, Paramount Plus, and YouTubeTV on notice In huge sports media news, three major media companies – The Walt Disney Co., Warner Bros. Discovery, and Fox Corporation are teaming up to launch a brand-new sports streaming service likely to launch this fall – perhaps just in time for the NFL season. The news broke on CNBC this afternoon. […]
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 […]
Disney CEO seems to backtrack on comments made last summer Remember earlier this year when Disney CEO Bob Iger was looking at selling ABC and its owned stations, several cable networks, and a stake in ESPN? Never mind. Is ABC for sale? @andrewrsorkin asks Bob Iger "It is not for sale" — Tim Baysinger (@tim_bays) November 29, 2023 On Tuesday, […]
Also: Bally Sports getting ready to close; The CW is on the move in two markets CNBC and other outlets are reporting Friday evening numerous companies have “paused” advertising on Twitter/X after owner Elon Musk boosted an anti-Semitic post on the platform. Lionsgate (Debmar-Mercury) was the first traditional media company to pause and Apple was the first tech company to […]
Also: SAG-AFTRA strike ends; Jennifer Hudson’s ratings grow; Disney names two cable networks as possible sale candidates It’s official – Ryan Chiaverini was named lead sports anchor by ABC-owned WLS-TV Thursday, succeeding Jim Rose, who retired in September after 41 years at the station. “Ryan knows Chicago sports inside out and cuts right to the heart of what this city’s […]
Also: ABC’s stations team up with Nat Geo on another water special; Spectrum says they will drop more under performing channels; Houston’s Space City Home Network launches You heard of The Mod Squad, right? Now meet The Sven Squad. Just in time for Halloween, MeTV’s Svengoolie is adding cast members for the first time. Joining the horror movie host […]
Adds to numerous incidents at or in the station over the years You can add this to the “weird things that’s hapened at 190 North State Street” file. On Monday night around 10 p.m. – minutes before ABC 7 (WLS-TV) was set to go on the air with its nightly newscast (delayed due to Monday Night Football), a car was […]
Comes at a time of uncertain future for local institution While all the hoopla was over WGN-TV celebrating its 75th year of broadcasting, let’s not forget there’s another station celebrating its 75th, too. ABC-owned WLS-TV, branded as ABC 7 since the 1990s, celebrated its 75th on September 17. Although there was no two-hour special to comminate the occasion like WGN’s, […]
Impasse lasted 77 days [Editor’s Note: This article was originally published a day earlier. It has been slightly re-written to reflect updated news.] In news that broke overnight Sunday (and I do mean literally), the signal for Nexstar stations returned this morning to DirecTV, DirecTV Stream, and U-Verse after 77 days under an interim agreement, leading to a more concrete […]
Comes a day after a former Nexstar exec says it could happen [Editor’s Note: This story has been updated.] News of a potential ABC sale picked up Thursday after Bloomberg reported The Walt Disney Co. was in talks for either Nexstar or Allen Media Group (led by Byron Allen) to purchase ABC and its owned eight stations, after a Deadline […]
Disney to permanently remove some channels as it agrees to sell apps through Spectrum in a blueprint others will likely follow After all the countless pieces over how the Charter-Disney feud could wind up killing linear TV and the cable bundle, customers woke up Monday morning to find their Disney channels back – but not all of them returned. Disney […]
NatGeo, Disney Channel, Freeform and more off Spectrum nationwide; ABC 7 off in Wisconsin Well, you can add another carriage dispute to the Barbie (and we’re not referring to the blockbuster movie of the summer.) Without any advanced warning – no commercials, no red flag banners on station websites – nothing, The Walt Disney Company pulled all of its 20+ […]
White Sox debacles, and news crews getting robbed spotlight the tremendous failure of city institutions If you were a kid in the 1970s or 1980s perhaps you remember a commercial for Resse’s Peanut Butter Cups when someone got peanut butter into their chocolate, and vice versa. So what happens when the problems of sports’ worst-run franchise mash-up with the […]
Iger’s possible move could have implications for local and network TV In an interview with CNBC Thursday morning, Walt Disney Co. CEO Bob Iger from a financial conference from the side of the road in red-state Idaho stunned observers saying he is open to selling ABC and its non-sports cable networks such as FX and Freeform as they “may […]
Also: Person, Place, or Thing gets greenlight to fall series; Pat Robertson dies; Chris Licht out at CNN After forty-plus years as host of Wheel Of Fortune, Chicago native Pat Sajak announced on Monday he was stepping down effective at the end of next season. The 76-year old made his announcement Monday evening on Twitter: Well, the time has come. […]
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