Blockbuster deal includes 20th Century Fox film studio and programming library, cable and sports networks, and more In a history-making deal, The Walt Disney Company agreed to acquire much of 21st Century Fox for $52.4 billion. The deal was speculated about for the last few weeks on this blog and elsewhere, as 21st Century Fox owner Rupert Murdoch was looking […]
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, […]
But competition came from an unlikely source…The Al Smith dinner? Thursday night television featured a rare matchup between a Bears-Packers game and a Cubs-Dodgers playoff contest. But it was Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton who crashed the party and stole the show. Game 5 of the National League Championship Series between the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers outdrew the […]
Media outlets looking for boost – even those who aren’t carrying games For better or worse, the worldwide spotlight on Chicago lately hasn’t been a positive one: the city continues to make headlines for its gun violence epidemic, as Republican Presidential nominee Donald Trump has name-dropped Chicago every chance he got as a symbol of what’s wrong in America – […]
Chicago ratings go on a roller coaster ride; ratings drop for fourth game The Chicago Cubs may have been swept out of the playoffs by the New York Mets, but Turner Sports was really the big winner in the series. The National League Championship Series between teams from two of the largest markets in the country brought in a record […]
Fox shut out of rights The NBA maintained the status quo when it came to the league’s television rights as both Turner Sports and ESPN renewed their respective deals for a whopping nine years, bringing in a total of $24 billion, with yearly payments increasing from $930 million to just over $2.6 billion a year, according to the New York Times. […]
– The other shoe has dropped: Craig Ferguson announced Monday he was stepping down as host of CBS’ Late Late Show, effective at the end of 2014. The news comes as David Letterman (who is the executive producer of the show and controls the 11:35 p.m. weeknight time slot), announced his retirement three weeks ago. With this move, he also […]
Grab Baggin’- * It’s like good prevailing over evil: CBS Television Distribution announced the renewal of The Arsenio Hall Show for a second season Wednesday evening, with former Tonight Show host Jay Leno delivering the news to Arsenio in person (see above.) This comes as Arsenio has the youngest median age of any late night talk show amid a recent ratings […]
It’s a blizzard of turkeys! Welcome to the 2013 T Dog Media Turkey Awards, where every Thanksgiving, we serve up turkeys of bad TV, bad radio, and bad decision making in media for the eighth consecutive year. This year, we have 24 turkeys to hand out. So batten down everyone, because here they come! Crowd Goes Wild. Fox Sports 1’s […]
The studio finally comes into the 21st Century. Really. After 76 years – and 12 years after entering a new century, the studio known as 20th Century Fox is embarking on a new name: 21st Century Fox. The name change comes as parent company News Corp. is separating its publishing assets from its entertainment division, announced last June. Rupert Murdoch […]
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 […]