Also: American Crimes replaces NBC Home LX on digital subchannel space; Last Call for Last Call; TMZ launches new spin-off show WGN-TV vice president and general manager Paul Rennie announced his retirement, effective August 30 after a seven-year run. “It has truly been a great run, and I am filled with a mix of emotions as I prepare to leave […]
Plans to make digital initiative a daily TV show by August In an unusual way of launching a TV show, Fox Television Stations announced Tuesday it is launching Battleground, a new series tracking the 2024 Presidential Election, which is expected to be the most contested in history. The show will focus on seven battleground “swing” states, hence the name: Arizona, […]
…or not, as reruns, court shows dominate local schedules As linear TV viewership continues to tumble, fall schedules for local television stations across the country certainly reflect the trend. Unlike last year when Sherri Shepard and Jennifer Hudson debuted with new syndicated talk shows, there is no such new programming being offered – especially with an ongoing work stoppage in […]
First casualty of Writer’s Strike; Fox readies replacements for stations The ongoing Writer’s Strike in Hollywood has claimed its first victim – a game show strip. A piece in TVNewscheck published last Wednesday revealed a little nugget – the end of Jay Leno’s revival of You Bet Your Life after two seasons as the strike shut down production of the […]
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. […]
After nine shows were wipe off the schedule, a quieter 2023 is ahead If there’s anything after the great syndication purge of 2022, 2023 is shaping up to be much different. An article on NextTV’s website Tuesday detailed how there are very few first-run syndicated programs in development as this year’s new entries are likely to stick around. Even though […]
Also: ABC 7 hires new person for its creative services programming team; Fox’s Chicago duopoly to air new game show; Devil in White City to be adapted for the small screen After leading the paper through a difficult transition as a non-profit, Chicago Reader publisher Tracy Baim is stepping down after four years at the paper and three months as […]
Re-ups take time periods off the board for potential newbies The CW is known for renewing everything (except Katy Keene obviously) so Fox First-Run decided to do likewise and renew its entire its entire catalog of first-run syndicated shows for next season. The shows are Dish Nation, Divorce Court, You Bet Your Life, and 25 Words or Less. Three months ago, […]
Also: Paramount Plus adds new streaming channels; Pictionary gets green light for full-time series; Jussie Smollett found guilty Newsflash: There is a new hit on linear TV not named Ghosts or Law & Order: Organized Crime. In fact, it’s not even in primetime – and it’s local. It’s WGN-TV’s new morning show Daytime Chicago, and it pulled out a ratings […]
Also: Don’t Bet Your Life; Bids made for Tegna; Johnny B to host RHOF ceremony The NFL continues to rack up impressive numbers at a time when viewers are abandoning linear TV in droves. Case in point: The Bears game on Sunday against the Bengals drew a household 22.9 rating and 60 share for Fox-owned WFLD-TV Chicago Sunday, easily making […]
New shows dot local schedules The new television season outside of prime-time begins Monday and you will see some new faces and new places. For one, Jay Leno is returning to daily TV seven years after he left The Tonight Show for a second time. Now, he’s taking his act to earlier time slots with his new You Bet Your […]
And other news of note Traditionally, there is a crush of syndication news at this time of year, but we’re not in any normal times as the coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage the globe as vaccines rolls out. As expected, the yearly NATPE gathering went virtual (as did the annual CES gathering). While NATPE hasn’t exactly been a magnet for […]
New name reflects additional responsibilities in addition to selling to TV stations After fourteen years as CBS Television Distribution, ViacomCBS’ syndication arm announced Monday it was rebranding as CBS Media Ventures. The decision to rebrand comes as the company feels it’s more than just a syndicator serving traditional TV outlets but also to streamers and creating digital content and running […]
Former tonight show host to host first-run syndicated strip for fall 2021 Nearly thirty years after Bill Cosby quickly came and went with a revival of You Bet Your Life, the classic Groucho Marx game show is back with a new host: Jay Leno. Starting in September 2021, Leno will host a new weeknight strip syndicated by Fox First Run, […]
Also: Steve Wilkos and Maury Povich renewed; Kids in the Hall returns; Divorce Court gets a new judge The coronavirus epidemic has now hit Chicago’s media community. As reported by Robert Feder last week, several employees of ABC-owned WLS-TV (ABC 7) have been told to stay home as a few of them may have been exposed to the virus. Four […]
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