Well, guess who’s back in the Stanley Cup Final. It’s the Chicago Blackhawks, who are looking to win their second championship in the last four years. They’ll face another “Original Six” foe in the Boston Bruins, who are looking for their second Stanley Cup in three years. Both teams face off Wednesday, with game one scheduled here in Chicago at […]
An update to Friday’s story regarding Susannah Collins: As speculated, Collins’ firing was indeed ordered by Blackhawks’ owner Rocky Wirtz who, according to Robert Channick of the Chicago Tribune Saturday, sent a letter to CSN Chicago, showing his concern about those SportsNutz videos she was in during 2009 and 2010. The copy of the letter was cc’ed to Jerry Reinsdorf […]
Last week was a heinous one for the news media as the Boston Marathon Bombing took place – not to mention an explosion at a fertilizer plant near Waco, Texas, which killed fifteen people and injured hundreds. Chicagoans had their own problems to deal with, as heavy rains brought flooding to the area, adding to the workload for already stressed-out […]
Move over ESPN, you’ve got some competition. Fox Sports announced Tuesday at a upfront presentation the launch of a brand-new national all-sports network known as Fox Sports 1. The “worst kept secret” was unveiled at an upfront presentation to the media and advertisers in New York City. The net plans to debut in 90 million homes on August 17, replacing […]
And other syndication news of note With NATPE looming around the corner, activity in the first-run syndication business for 2013 has certainly picked up. Here’s the latest: -As reported by Broadcasting & Cable Tuesday, Debmar-Mercury pulled the plug on first-run syndicated talker “conflict” talker The Jeremy Kyle Show after two low-rated seasons. Kyle, a British personality who does a similar […]
Election day isn’t for another two weeks, but Chicagoland viewers already had a tough choice to make Monday night – the Lions-Bears game or the third Obama-Romney Presidential Debate? Turns out Chicagoans preferred Obama and Romney over Jay Cutler and Ndamukong Suh. But it was close, according to Nielsen Media Research. Monday night, the Bears-Lions game delivered a 16.8 household rating […]
The Bears ruled Monday night. Rinse. Lather. Repeat. The Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys were featured on ESPN’s Monday Night Football and drew the largest audience of the season with 16.6 million viewers, a 12.3 household rating, and a whopping 6.8 rating among adults 18-49, topping all competition – broadcast or cable. The Bears – led by quarterback Jay Cutler […]
It’s a done deal: after a successful six-week test run at a few Fox-owned stations this summer, Bethenny Frankel’s new talk show from Warner Bros. has been cleared on the rest of the group in seventeen markets, including WFLD-TV in Chicago and is now going forward with a national launch in 2013. The former Real Housewives star was tested in […]
ESPN tops all broadcast and cable networks with Monday Night Football – and a unbelievable bad call to end the game The first night of the 2012-13 season got underway Monday night, but someone forgot to tell the viewers. Looking at the results, a lot of returning programs were down from year-ago time periods, notably Dancing With The Stars and […]
(Editor’s note: the wrong draft of this article was posted earlier. This is the correct version. -T.H.) It’s been the mantra for the last couple of years now: whatever ESPN wants, ESPN gets. I guess there are some benefits to being The Worldwide Leader in B.S. ESPN announced on Tuesday a renewal deal with Major League Baseball, with the sports […]
ABC’s 2012-13 campaign has changes on four nights in a schedule released Tuesday morning before its upfront presentation later in the afternoon. (In addition, fellow Disney property ESPN also held an upfront on Tuesday. Information is at the end of the ABC analysis.) ABC plans to debut five new series this fall, with another five scheduled for midseason. Like Fox […]
It’s the first Six Pack of 2012 and here’s and the list of winners and losers of the new year so far: A Happy New Year Chicago Bulls. With the team off to a strong start this (abbreviated) season, ratings are already soaring for Comcast SportsNet and WGN-TV – not a good thing to hear for the major networks locally, […]
The National Football League has secured deals with three of its network partners to keep football on over-the-air broadcast TV for the next decade. The deals keeps everything status quo – Fox continues to broadcast the NFC package it has held since 1994; CBS retains the AFC package it has held since 1998; and NBC keeps the Sunday night package […]
A quick wrap-up of the week that was in media: Winners. WGN Radio. Jonathan Brandmeier’s arrival to the storied 720 is sure to bring back the entertainment value back to the station in the morning, a la Wally Phillips and Bob Collins. Now, just don’t screw it up. NBA Fans, TNT, and ESPN. The lockout’s over and pro basketball is […]
ESPN’s Monday Night Football tilt between the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions was a success for ESPN and the city of Detroit – but not for the Bears. The game on WCIU earned a 13.4 household rating and a 20 share while ESPN pulled a 18.8/27, combining for an overall 32.2/47, easily outdrawing other series in the Chicago market, including […]
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