Can syndication find the next hit?

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 […]

"Oprah" in trouble?

(Editor’s Note: A rough draft appeared earlier here by mistake, resulting in an error in the second paragraph which has since been corrected. In other words, the word “repeat” should have been where “new” was. – T.H.) Maybe yesterday’s White Sox-Royals brawl may serve as an indication people in Kansas City (and certainly Minnesota) may be sick of anything coming […]

The media news roundup (aka A bunch of stuff)

I thought I’d just slap together these stories for you… – Here are The Daytime Emmy Award winners, held last Friday Night. The biggest surprise here was Tyra Banks beating out Dr. Phil in the best talk show/informative category (and Tyra also told off her critics as well…) – Mike North didn’t show up Monday at WSCR-AM – told by […]

Warner Bros. scores a hat trick

This is the 1,200th post. Hurray for the blog! Three syndicated freshman strips from Warner – Two and a Half Men, TMZ, and George Lopez scored gains in the just-concluded May sweeps, according to Nielsen. Men ranked as the top off-network sitcom in syndication last month, while Lopez surprised everyone by finishing fifth among all off-net sitcoms, jumping up 41 […]

T Dog’s Think Tank: The mess at Channel 2

Sure is a great time to live in Chicago. Our transit service is about to scaled back or cut all together, our taxes have been raised, and to top it all off, our sports teams continue to suck, with the dysfunctional Bulls leading the way. This squad makes the ultra-stupid reality show Crowned more watchable than most of their games […]

KYW anchor arrested

Alycia Lane, a reporter for CBS-owned KYW-TV in Philadelphia was arrested in New York City Saturday night for striking a police officer in the city’s meatpacking district. If you recall, Lane appeared on an episode of Dr. Phil a few years back to discuss her failed marriages (Dr. Phil also airs on KYW and sister station WPSG in Philadelphia.) Dr. […]

"Dr. Phil" spinoff clears half of the country

CBS Television Distribution has cleared a spin-off of Dr. Phil called The Doctors in 50 percent of the country. Among station groups clearing the show include CBS, Belo, Gannett, Scripps, and Cox. Stations grabbing the strip include WCBS-TV in New York, KCAL-TV in Los Angeles, KYW-TV in Philadelphia, KTVU-TV in San Francisco, WSB-TV in Atlanta (which will likely replace Montel […]

Local news no longer feel for the drive at five

There is a notable trend of big-market television stations on the East Coast dropping news at 5 p.m. for syndicated fare. WPLG in Miami went to No.1 in the time period when it inserted Dr. Phil several years ago, and its 6 p.m. newscast got a boost, too. WXIA-TV in Atlanta also scored ratings success with a similar move. That […]