The Media Notepad: Thanks to Santa, WLIT soars with record ratings

Also: Fox re-ups Animation Domination as White Sox voices Jason Benetti and Steve Stone get reneweals, too; DirecTV adds a NewsMax replacement; Blackhawks’ ratings sag as does the rest of the NHL  Even though it’s a ratings period most radio stations not playing Christmas music ignore, the “Holiday” book for iHeartMedia’s 93.9 FM The Lite dominated to no one’s surprise […]

The Media Notepad: WSHE becomes a station who “Loves The 90s and 2000s”

Also: Peoria’s WEEK absorbs rival’s news operation; name change ahead for CBS Media Ventures?; L.A. independent TV station ends long run [Editor’s Note: An earlier post had the incorrect title of a Beyonce song as the word “Ring” was replaced with…something else. It has since been corrected. – T.H.]  It’s not a format change per se, but a slogan one: […]

“Bob’s Burgers” heads to the movies

  The Belcher family faces far more obstacles than the Simpsons did in order to achieve box-office success  When The Simpsons hit the big screen in 2007, the movie was a rousing success, earning more than $536 million at the box office aided by a huge marketing tie-in campaign, which saw several 7-Elevens temporarily converted into Kwik-E-Marts and sold several […]

The Media Notepad: Few are partying with “Chicago Party Aunt”

Bad reviews, viewer feedback sink show as show falls off radar. Also: ESPN 1000’s Mike Thomas exits; ex-B96 jock Roxanne Steele leaves Detroit radio job; Peanuts specials back on PBS Remember a month ago when this space crowed about Chicago Party Aunt, telling her to party on? Well, the party may be soon over as not too many viewers are […]

Sunday ratings roundup: Viewers friend “God Friended Me”

Cubs, Bears score strong in Chicago Note: All numbers are 18-49 unless otherwise noted. These are finals. In a very contentious time in America, viewers needed a friend. And they found one Sunday night. CBS received strong sampling with new drama God Friended Me Sunday night, with a 1.3 rating/5 share and 10.2 million viewers. The series is about an […]

“The Big Bang Theory” calls it a career

The long-running CBS sitcom to end in May after twelve seasons It won’t be remembered for its quality, but Sheldon and Co. have left their mark on pop culture, one “Bazinga” at a time. Chuck Lorre and CBS announced the conclusion of The Big Bang Theory last Wednesday after twelve seasons and ending its quest to becoming the longest-running live-action […]

Fox brings familiar faces back for 2018-19

Tim Allen? Vicki Lawrence? The once edgy Fox brand is history as the network retools to attract older audiences Fox announced its 2018-19 schedule and it is a radical departure from what it was in years past. In the 1990s, Fox was synonymous with “hip, edgy programming” with The Simpsons, Beverly Hills 90210, In Living Color, and Melrose Place dominating […]

The Media Notepad: WBBM Newsradio celebrates 50 years

The original is still the best: WBBM-AM (Newsradio 78) celebrated fifty years in the all-news format this week, with the anniversary of the switch taking place May 6. Believe it or not at one time, WBBM was known for something other than news: the station launched in 1924 , with the calls standing for World’s Best Battery Maker as the […]

The CW returns to Sunday nights

After nearly a decade, The CW is back in the Sunday night race Signaling they are not going anywhere, The CW announced Wednesday their intentions to return to programming Sunday nights after a nine-year hiatus. The expansion gives the network twelve hours a week to program, all in primetime beginning this fall. The move comes as The CW has received […]

Media Notepad: Mancow drops lawsuit against Nyren

Also, The Real renewed through 2020; Anamainics returns; Fox at TCA Our long national nightmare is over: the Mancow-Marv Nyren feud is buried – for now. As first reported by Robert Feder Thursday, WLUP-FM’s Mancow Mueller dropped his “lawsuit” against Marv Nyren, who became his boss again after being named vice president and market manager of Cumulus last fall, who […]

Disney and Fox – the deal no one thought would ever be made

Disney and Fox wheeling and dealing with one another? Laughable, even a year ago. Now, its one step away from reality. In 1990, The Walt Disney Company and the Fox Broadcasting Network battled one another over early fringe afternoon time slots over kids animation: The Disney Afternoon (consisting of DuckTales, Chip n’ Dale Rescue Rangers, Tale Spin, etc.) was expanding […]