With corruption, high taxes, and gang violence, Chicago has become an international embarrassment and may never recover If you’ve read this blog for the last ten years, then you know yours truly doesn’t just write about the media business. I’ve also written about Chicago and its image problems. The latest international embarrassment came last week when a nine-year old was […]
The anchor merry-go-around continues at the local chapter of The Church Of Tisch In the latest anchor change at CBS-owned WBBM-TV, co-anchor Kate Sullivan was fired Tuesday and replaced by Irika Sargant from sister CBS-owned station WFOR-TV in Miami, as first reported by Robert Feder on Tuesday. She gets the privilege of anchoring next to (or putting up with) Rob Johnson […]
The 2015-16 season begins today in syndication – but in keeping with theme in recent years, there are only a handful of new first-run syndicated programs coming to market. This is mainly due to the continued success of existing syndicated fare such as Ellen, Dr. Phil, Jerry Springer, and Jeopardy! Also, many time periods are being gobbled up by expansion […]
Sinclair realigns newscasts downstate; talent shows to hit syndication; No one is “asking America” – Remember back in October when yours truly asked if new weekly hour-long game show Monopoly Millionaires’ Club would air in Chicago because Illinois was not participating in the related lottery game? Well, here’s your answer: WGN-TV picked up the new Monopoly game hosted by Mike & Molly’s […]
ABC, Scripps stations clear new diginet; ABC to keep LiveWell after all ABC and Scripps Broadcasting announced this weekend they are launching a brand new digital subchannel called LAFF, injunction with Katz Communications beginning on April 15, “tax day”. Details on what the planned comedy network would carry (hint: you can’t go wrong with Mystery Science Theater 3000 reruns) were […]
Chicago’s news stations might want to rethink their news presentations. An analysis of May local news sweeps numbers in the adult 25-54 demographic in the nation’s ten largest DMAs from TVNewsCheck showed Chicago’s local newscasts losing ground faster than those in New York and Los Angeles. In fact, Chicago’s 21 percent drop overall was second only to Boston (down 23 percent.) […]
Rachael Ray is once again getting a new address in Chicago. The famous cook and television personality’s talk show strip from CBS Television Distribution has been acquired by WLS-TV in an ABC owned-and-operated deal which goes into effect this September. This story was first reported by TVNewscheck. In addition to WLS, Rachael was acquired by three other ABC O&Os: KABC-TV […]
With the annual NATPE gathering taking place this week in Miami Beach, its time to see where several shows and proposed projects for syndication stand in 2014: – As first reported by Broadcasting & Cable a few weeks ago, Twentieth Television canceled Judge Alex after nine seasons. The writing appeared to be on the wall when Twentieth renewed Divorce Court […]
– As first reported by Robert Feder, Newsweb WCPT-AM announced it was launching a new weekly program targeted to Chicago’s LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community. Titled Out Chicago, host Scott Duff takes on issues relevant to the LGBT community in the Windy City and surrounding area. WCPT also plans to air Out Chicago vignettes, from 6 a.m. to […]
Pending deal has no effect on daytime talk show, which is still on bubble Katie Couric’s stint at ABC News is coming to a close. But her syndicated talk show could be another story. As first reported by The Hollywood reporter Friday evening, Ms. Couric is taking take a position at Yahoo!, the internet portal which was a huge player […]
– Tech difficulties or something else behind the scenes? Mike McConnell’s new online venture at WGN Radio doesn’t seem to be going well. McConnell’s online show and subsequent podcast has been offline for a week due to “tech issues”. But it looks like McConnell may be headed back to Cincinnati: it appears a tentative agreement has been reached on the […]
Simpsons to run on My50; Modern Family penciled in for 6:30 p.m. and 10 Arsenio, Bethenny score on the first day; The Test flunks The 2013-14 syndication season started Monday, as viewers welcomed back Arsenio Hall and sampled Bethenny Frankel’s new show, but snubbed Kirk Fox’s paternity test show. In addition, the final pieces of Chicago’s local fall schedules finally […]
What this means for fans of the long-running franchise, its syndicator and the show itself In news first reported by TV Guide’s Michael Schneider Monday, the longest-running series in primetime TV history is expected to be sold by Twentieth Television to a cable network this year for airing in the fall of 2014. Possible cable contenders include Turner Broadcasting (TBS, […]
Tribune adds stations from Cleveland, Milwaukee, and Memphis to its stable About a year or so ago, there was speculation on whether or not Tribune Broadcasting, planning to exit Chapter 11, would stay in the broadcast business. Consider this a definite answer. Chicago-based Tribune announced Monday it was acquiring Newport, Ky.-based Local TV LLC for $2.7 billion. The […]
When rebranding goes wrong; Cubs, White Sox drop in ratings and Dan Harmon returns to Community. While the Blackhawks are grabbing the Windy City’s attention, the same cannot be said for the sorry Chicago Cubs and Chicago White Sox. Ratings for both Major League Baseball teams are in the toilet, as is their records. According to an article from Danny […]
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