"Anchorwoman" bombs (updated)

Anchorwoman earned a paltry 1.0 rating in adults 18-49 for Fox. It’s not a good sign when your reality show about a bimbo newscaster achieves the same ratings as actual newscasts on WBBM-Channel 2. And you thought the Baltimore Orioles had a bad night… UPDATE: Anchorwoman was canceled today, marking the first time Fox has yanked a show after one […]

Dumbest reality show of the year?

Ha. There are about one hundred of them in contention for that title. But the one that may win (non-Flavor of Love category) is Anchorwoman, a new short-term show airing on Fox tonight. The program features Lauren Jones, a former WWE diva, Barker’s Beauty, and current aspiring actress working for a ratings challenged CBS affiliate. No, it’s not WBBM-TV (Channel […]

Homer hits a homer

No D’ohing here: The Simpsons Movie was a big box-office success this weekend, opening at the top with an amazing $72 million, which is the fifth best opening of the year. The movie, based on the long-running sitcom on Fox, succeeded thanks to a strong marketing campaign (from longtime partners 7-Eleven and Burger King) and turnout from die-hard fans and […]

Fox at TCA

It’s Fox’s turn at the mic at TCA press tour. Among the nuggets: – The first of Fox’s new fall lineup to roll out will be on August 30 with the season premiere of Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? with Cops and America’s Most Wanted following on Sept. 8 and Kitchen Nightmares on Sept. 13. – Fox has […]

NBC vs. Fox

The only difference between this rivalry and the Yankees-Red Sox one is that people actually care about the latter one. Still, for TV fans, this one is going to be an interesting one to watch, with former NBC exec Kevin Reilly now at Fox and two karaoke-contest series are hitting the airwaves at the same time on their respective networks […]

All Star Game takes a hit

Ratings for the MLB All-Star Game were down 13 percent from last year to 12.53 million total viewers, joining the continuing trend of viewers abandoning sporting events (except the NFL) for other fare. This time, that fare is some stupid show called The Spelling Bee, a karaoke contest in with contestants try to sing the words to songs. The baseball […]

Reilly back in the game at Fox

Fox has hired Kevin Reilly as Entertainment President of their broadcast network – the same job he was fired from at NBC. He will report to Fox chairman Peter Ligouri. Both worked together at FX.

Can The Big Ten Network win?

Teddy Greenstein in today’s Trib talks about the soon-to-launch Big Ten Network and how it is struggling to get carriage among the Midwest’s biggest cable operators, including Comcast, Time Warner, Wide Open West, and Charter systems. The Big Ten Network also wants to be on an expanded sports tier, and not a pay-for-play sports tier. BTN officials point that the […]

"The Office" sold to TBS and Fox

My Name Is Earl also goes to TBS NBC Universal sold its (somewhat) popular sitcom The Office to TBS and to several Fox-owned television outlets today. Fox stations will clear the show in ten markets, including WFLD/WPWR in Chicago. TBS will air repurposed episodes this fall and will strip the program in 2009. TBS adds the show to its stable […]

Fox to sell nine stations

News Corp. has announced it will sell nine of its Fox owned-and-operated stations in these markets: Cleveland (WJW), Denver (KDVR), St. Louis (KTVI), Kansas City (WDAF), Milwaukee (WITI), Salt Lake City (KSTU), Birmingham (WBRC), Memphis (WHBQ), and Greensboro-Winston-Salem-High Point (WGHP). This is part of a trend in which major networks are selling their O&Os in smaller markets. CBS and NBC […]

Court throws out Fox’s profanity case

A federal court has thrown out the FCC’s profanity ruling against Fox over two Billboard Music Awards broadcasts and said the agency’s “fleeting expletives” policy was “failing to articulate a reason basis for its change in policy.” You can download the decision here (thanks to TV Barn for the link; you must have a PDF reader to view the document.) […]

Idol finale slips 19 percent from last year

Just 29.5 million tuned in to last night’s Blake-Jordin showdown, down from 36.4 million last year. Among adults 18-49, Idol nabbed a 11.1, below its season average. In Chicago, Idol nabbed a 28 household share, but it was outdrawn by Dancing With The Stars with a 30 household share. But to put it all in perspective, this year’s NFC Championship […]