Wendy McMahon is out as head of CBS News and Stations

Cites loss of editorial independence after 60 Minutes lawsuit Paramount Global’s CBS News lost its leader Monday as Wendy McMahon was essentially fired as head of the CBS News and Stations group.  On Saturday, Paramount co-CEO George Cheeks demanded her resignation from CBS News after she reportedly apologized to staff for how CBS was handling the 60 Minutes fiasco. The […]

Comcast, Paramount Global renews deal

CBS Chicago to stay on Xfinity systems; subscribers to get Paramount Plus Paramount Global and Comcast announced a new carriage deal on Tuesday. The multi-year deal includes Paramount’s portfolio of networks, including CBS and its owned stations, BET, MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and others. Comcast subscribers will also continue to gain access to streamers Paramount Plus, BET Plus, and Pluto […]

Amazon pulls Diamond/Bally offer to fund RSNs

$115 million investment taken away as broadcaster plans to exit bankruptcy Anaheim Ducks dump Bally for new over-the-air/streaming venture [Editor’s Note: This article was updated at 4:47 p.m.] If you are in a Bally Sports market and hoping to stream your favorite games through Amazon, it won’t happen.   The tech and e-commerce giant announced Monday it was pulling its $115 […]

T Dog’s Think Tank: The White Sox uses the CBS Chicago blueprint for its Fan Alienation Plan

Chicago’s South Side MLB team resembles CBS Chicago’s ratings disasters in every way possible  In the early 2000s, then-Chicago Tribune media critic Steve Johnson noted the management at CBS-owned WBBM-TV implemented what he called a “Viewer Alienation Plan”, a series of bad decisions repelling viewers from the station throughout the 1990s, including tabloid newscasts, awful anchor pairings, and a deer-in-headlight […]

SInclair’s Charge! shifts to WLS-TV under new ABC-owned station deal

Allen Media Group’s This TV is out as contract expires In a move that could read as an April Fools’ joke, Sinclair Inc. announced Monday it would pay ABC’s eight owned-and-operated stations to carry its digital network Charge! on its over-the-air dot-three tiers (as in 7.3, 11.3, etc.) The deal is unusual as Sinclair agreed to pay an unspecified license […]

Sinclair charges up Charge for more upgrades

Replace Circle in some markets, including Chicago’s WBBM-TV Sinclair’s digital subchannel Charge returns to the Chicago area, landing at CBS-owned WBBM-TV as part of a deal with the CBS News And Stations Group, who saw several stations also take sci-fi-based channel Comet.  “We are thrilled to announce the expansion of our networks’ distribution and the strengthening of our impactful partnership […]

The Media Notepad: Merit hooks up with TBN for distribution

Also: PBC heads to Amazon Prime; Paramount Global may be on sales block; Cord-cutting having an impact on Baltimore’s finances  More information was released last week about Dr. Phil McGraw’s new network Merit Street is relying on an old standby to distribute the network.  Trinity Broadcasting Network, who usually broadcasts non-secular fare, will air several hours of Dr. Phil’s new […]

CBS to pull CW affiliations in eight markets

Largest network defection since 1994 when it happened to…CBS With Nexstar acquiring three-fourths of The CW, the network who was once partner in the venture is now dropping the low-rated network from its eight big-market stations by September 1 and is being re-christened as independents. The eight are located in Philadelphia, Atlanta, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa, Detroit, Sacramento, and Pittsburgh. […]

The Media Notepad: WBBM Newsradio names Craig Schwalb news director

Also: Mayoral debates scheduled; CBS-owned stations to rebrand news properties Audacy’s all-news WBBM-AM/WCFS-FM announced last week the hire of Craig Schwalb as brand manager and news director of the station effective January 23. He succeeds Ron Gleason, who retired last month.  Schwalb comes from Hubbard’s dominant all-news station WTOP in Washington, D.C., a station who typically leads the country in […]

Internal Investigation sweeps GMs out of CBS 2 in both Chicago, L.A.

CBS 2 Chicago GM Derek Dalton out after three years; L.A. GM out too After ViacomCBS concluded its six-month investigation into racial and sexual harassment at its 28 CBS-owned television stations, the network relived two local station executives of their duties.  Fired from their positions Thursday were WBBM-TV/CBS 2 general manager Derek Dalton and Los Angeles’ KCBS/KCAL GM Jay Howell […]

CBS lays off staff, including Chicago’s CBS 2

More than a dozen staffers let go, including longtime investigative reporter Pam Zekman  [Editor’s Note: This story has been updated.]  Pulitzer-prize winning investigative reporter Pam Zekman was one of a dozen staffers let go at CBS-owned WBBM-TV Wednesday as parent company ViacomCBS made 300 to 400 layoffs at CBS Entertainment Group.   It appears CBS 2 bore the brunt of the […]

WGN-TV to add nightly sports show

Continues programming expansion at Bradley Place Nexstar once again continues its push for more programming out of WGN’s Bradley Place by launching a nightly sports show at 10:30 p.m. Billed as “GN Sports”, the program is hosted by WGN sports anchors Dan Roan and Jarrett Payton. The show displaces one of two airings of off-network sitcom The Goldbergs, which relocates […]

CBSN to expand to other markets, including Chicago

Local news streaming service to be based out of CBS 2 Chicago is about to get its first local news streaming service. As announced on Thursday, CBS Television Stations and CBS Interactive announced an expansion of their local news streaming service to Chicago and twelve other cities, with content provided by CBS owned-and-operated stations in those markets. Modeled after CBS’ […]

Fall syndication preview: CrimeTime all the time

Only two new shows in syndication this fall (Editor’s Note: This post has been updated. See below.) If you love the true crime genre, you are going to be happy with what’s going to air on local stations this fall. In fact, their are just two new shows: CBS Television’s Face The Truth and Debmar-Mercury’s Caught In Providence, featuring an […]