Emmys prove futile draw; so does MNF featuring Bears The Emmys were handing out trophies last night, but it won’t get one for Best Ratings Performance. According to Nielsen, last night’s Emmy Awards – airing on NBC this year on Monday because of Sunday Night Football – earned a 7.4 household rating in the metered markets, down from the 8.2 […]
Chicago, Milwaukee viewers tune in but national ratings hit a ten-year low The excitement surrounding the changes the Chicago Bears have made this off-season – hiring Matt Nagy as the new head coach and the blockbuster trade acquiring linebacker Khalil Mack in a trade with the Oakland Raiders paid off in the local ratings in the first game of the […]
New president wants less politics, more sports As Chicago reels from yet another year of deadly gun violence, don’t look for anymore ESPN specials on the matter, if the new head of the network has his way. As reported by the Washington Post, new ESPN chief Jimmy Pitaro said he wants less of a focus on politics and social issues […]
Required sale of RSNs paves way for merger In a marked turn from its dealings with AT&T and TimeWarner, the Justice Department announced Wednesday it has approved a $71.3 billion deal between The Walt Disney Corporation and 21st Century Fox for most of the latter’s business. The deal was originally announced in December 2017, with Disney offering $52 billion for […]
Eliminates beat coverage in cost-cutting move This is something you’d expect in a much smaller market. But not in sports-crazy Chicago. But this is what we have here, and as first reported by Robert Feder Thursday, the Chicago Tribune announced it has cut beat reporters for the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Blackhawks, despite the recent success of the latter […]
Three-year pact means no linear TV – for now If you want to watch Chicago Fire, you can still watch it on NBC. But if you want to watch the soccer team of the same name…well, you are out of luck – for now. The Major League Soccer team announced Friday it has struck a deal with the new over-the-top […]
Fox’s regional sports networks now could be part of sale A deal to sell the entertainment assets of 21st Century Fox to The Walt Disney Company is coming close to fruition, according to CNBC.com. But now there is a new twist: Fox’s regional sports networks may become part of the Disney family. Initially, Fox reportedly proposed to keep Fox News, […]
The two rivals are discussing, but would not include some Fox properties, including Fox News and Chicago’s WFLD-TV Itchy and Scratchy joining forces with Mickey Mouse? It could happen. As first reported by CNBC Monday, 21st Century Fox is considering selling part of their assets to the Walt Disney Company. The proposed deal would not include Fox Broadcasting, Fox O&Os, […]
If you are employed during the day, be extremely grateful you don’t have to witness the battle of the mediocre at 9 a.m.: September 25th saw the premiere of Megyn Kelly’s new talk show on NBC competing with Live With Kelly and Ryan on ABC affiliates in most markets, including nine of the ten largest with programs actually tying each […]
Why? Bill Maher and former Rep. Joe Walsh have said much worse about African-Americans – and they get to keep THEIR jobs (Editor’s Note: This post has been updated with new information since this was posted. – T.H.) As you know by now, ESPN personality Jemele Hill was reprimanded by the network for tweets she sent on Monday, referring to […]
More boxing on the way As the sports world Saturday was focusing on the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor pay-per-view fight from Las Vegas, ESPN made some boxing news of its own over the weekend by announcing a new, multi-deal year to carry boxing matches from Top Rank, a promotion run by legend Bob Arum. Top Rank tested the waters recently with […]
Disney to pull films from SVOD service in 2019; launches new service; also new ESPN OTT In a stunning move, The Walt Disney Company announced Tuesday it was pulling its movies from Netflix and launching its own subscription streaming service instead in 2019. Starting with the 2019 theatrical slate, Disney and Pixar movies will stream exclusively on the yet-to-be-unnamed service, […]
(Editor’s Note: This story was originally posted on Tumblr July 27 due to a site outage and has been updated from the original. Contains strong language – reader discretion is advised. – T.H.) You can always count on the Crosstown Cup to draw viewers in Chicago. No matter what side you’re on (disclosure: yours truly is a fan of the […]
As anticipated, ESPN lays off staffers, writers, on-air personnel Several recognizable names cut, including two with Chicago ties As expected, ESPN announced Wednesday it was laying off around 100 people – many of them on-air personnel and a few of the layoffs were surprises. ESPN has suffered some ratings downturn in the last few years, and revenues have declined as more and more […]
Also: Page Six clears 90 percent of country First look at new Defenders; ABC 7 drops “First Alert” branding; Frank Mathie retires. In an unusual move late in the regular season, ESPN announced earlier this week the promotion of Michelle Beadle as NBA Countdown host, ESPN/ABC’s pre-game show. She’ll also host halftime segments in-between games. Beadle returned to ESPN a few years ago […]
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