Another case of broadcasters challenging FCC regulations In yet another instance where broadcasters are challenging the FCC’s media ownership rules, Scripps’ WRTV in Indianapolis is being sold to Circle City Broadcasting, which already owns CW affiliate WISH-TV and independent WNDY-TV, creating a triopoly in the nation’s 26th-largest market for $83 million. “As a native of Indianapolis and a career small […]
Sale includes Sinclair’s SSA agreements in Springfield and Decatur [Editor’s note: This story was updated March 14 and again on March 15.] In a surprise, Sinclair, Inc., the nation’s second-largest station group, announced Tuesday that it is selling five stations, including three in Illinois as first reported by The Desk. The five are being sold to Rincon Broadcasting, a […]
Also: New Illinois member of Congress supports Standard General-Tegna; Toledo’s WNWO ends “local” newscasts; Phoenix’s basketball teams bail on Bally In what you can call a “weekend news dump”, Cumulus Chicago last Friday let Troy Hanson go from his positions at the cluster. During his time there, he wore several hats including PD of Q101 (WKQX), and VP of programming […]
Also: iCrime debuts this fall; another syndicated show calls it quits; TV/radio stations shifting to the burbs? Catching up on some news: After deciding to delay for a few weeks, Fox released their 2022-23 schedule on June 6 without much fanfare. As expected, much of the lineup remained intact, including The Masked Singer on Wednesdays, Smackdown on Fridays, and the […]
May have complications for Marquee In what could be a troubling sign for broadcasters and regional sports networks alike, Sinclair Broadcasting apparently threw in the towel with a week to go in negotiations with Dish as 108 local stations faces deletion from the satellite service on August 16. The company acknowledged such in a press release Monday, noting the chances […]
25 years ago this week, Fox’s Rupert Murdoch changed the TV world by inking a deal to trigger the biggest affiliation switch in history. It goes back to what happened on December 17, 1993. The networks were complaining about paying too much for sports – the NFL in particular – as the packages were losing money and looking to pay […]
WPWR-CW breakup illustrates how some affiliate partnerships don’t work The major networks have enjoyed long, prosperous relationships with their affiliates. For example, Milwaukee’s WTMJ, St. Louis’ KSDK, and Cincinnati’s WLWT each has enjoyed a long relationship with NBC dating back to the late 1940s. CBS and New Orleans’ WWL have been partners since 1957. And ABC and Dallas’ WFAA go […]
Also: WCIU to air Black History special; Record ratings for radio stations airing Christmas music; St. Louis anchor suspended for racial slur. In a battle for local TV and comedy justice, The Man Of The People defeated the evil Captain Chesapeake from Baltimore. WGN-TV announced last week the renewal of locally-produced comedy Man Of The People hosted by WGN morning […]
Would keep WPIX New York but spin-off WGN to an LLC Maybe the fourth time’s the charm: Hunt Valley, Md. based Sinclair Broadcasting has filed another amended proposal to purchase Tribune Media. In their new filing with the FCC, Sinclair is proposing to sell 23 stations in 18 markets in order to satisfy the broadcast ownership rules. In the new […]
Also: Jamie Allman out at St. Louis’ KDNL; Chicago Tribune unionizes; quick thought on Apu gate and “Roseanne” jokes According to All Access Big changes are coming to Big 95.5 FM, known as WEBG-FM. In a complete housecleaning, the iHeartMedia station fired morning personalities Mason Schreader and Zach Hoesly (“Remy”) and midday personality Steve Stewart, who was also the program […]
Sinclair’s plans for world domination accelerates while the rest of broadcasting industry stays silent By now, everyone knows Sinclair Broadcasting has a right-wing bent in its newscasts, and panders to the Trump administration. But what they’re doing may put the nail in the coffin of local television- and linear television in general. Sinclair recently ordered its news stations to read […]
Also: Telemundo expands local and national news; Funny You Should Ask renewed through 2021; Fox interested in Sinclair stations You’d think an appearance on a national TV show would be a great thing for your local radio station, right? Well, in this case, it turned out to be a huge nightmare. Alpha Media’s WRXQ-FM in southwest suburban Coal City fired […]
CNN, Fox News lag in Chicago market – as local news expansion is starting to go bust in some markets You’d think with all the local newscasts saturating Chicago television, there would be a lot of people watching, right? A recent study released has confirmed this fact – but cable news may be another […]
St. Louis, Milwaukee stations may be spun off by Sinclair sale while John Oliver takes on the company Philadelphia radio station takes a shot a Taylor Swift; changes formats Chicago radio legend John “Records” Landecker is getting a tremendous honor: an induction into the National Radio Hall Of Fame – on the first ballot. Landecker is being inducted into the […]
What can you say about the coverage of the Ferguson, Mo. disturbances from the broadcast networks and cable news networks? They dropped the ball, of course, with the lack of live coverage of the events unfolding in the St. Louis suburb over the last few nights. And if you were a journalist, you sure as hell didn’t have an […]
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