TCA: Plenty on the plate for NBC

NBC and two of its cable networks  took to the stage last weekend at the TCA Winter Press Tour in Pasadena to tout its post-Olympic schedule – which contains a major realignment of its late fringe schedule. While NBC has improved its programming under Entertainment President Bob Greenblatt, there are still many weak spots, including Thursday night. – Executive session: […]

“Law & Order: SVU” continues to perform in Season 15

To quote the late singer Aaliyah, “Age Ain’t Nothing But A Number.” But to Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, putting up fantastic numbers at its age 15 is a huge feat. According to Wednesday night numbers released by Nielsen, the special two-hour premiere of SVU earned a 2.7 rating among adults 18-49, up 29 percent from the 14th season […]

NBC unveils 2013-14 schedule

After a season which went through extremes (first place in November 2012 in adults 18-49 to fifth in February 2013), NBC is completely overhauling its primetime slate in 2013-14, with eight new dramas, five new comedies, and three “alternative” reality series. The new schedule was announced Sunday afternoon, a day before NBC’s upfront presentation. Only eight series from this past season […]

T Dog’s Grab Bag: A Boatload of Renewals

– Good Friday was a month ago, but it was really a Good Friday for several bubble shows on network schedules as eight shows were officially picked up for next season: NBC’s Parenthood, Chicago Fire, Revolution, Grimm, and Law & Order: SVU; CW’s Hart Of Dixie and Beauty And The Beast; and CBS’ Two And A Half Men, though without […]

T Dog’s Grab Bag: Harry Teinowitz out at ESPN 1000

– I guess he ain’t “winning” anymore: Harry Teinowitz is out as afternoon co-host at ESPN 1000 (WMVP). Teinowitz, who was paired up with John “Jurko” Jurkovic and Carmen DeFalco for the 2-6 afternoon shift, was given his walking papers Thursday after twelve years at the ESPN-owned radio station. Jurko and Carmen will continue with the show for the time […]

“Arrow” gets solid sampling

New dramas Nashville, Chicago Fire battle it out head-to-head Put a hold on The CW’s funeral, poindexter. Arrow, the new highly-anticipated drama based on the DC Comics character Green Arrow, drew a 1.3 adult 18-49 demo rating, making it the highest-rated premiere on CW since The Vampire Diaries in 2009, and the highest adults 18-49 demo in two years. Arron’s […]

“Modern Family” rocks, “Animal Practice” flops

When yours truly watched Animal Practice, I was looking to see if Randy Michaels’ name was anywhere in the credits… The results for the first Wednesday night of the 2012-13 season are in the books and it was a huge night for recent Emmy winner Modern Family, a so-so debut for new sitcom The Neighbors, and as expected, DOA numbers […]

T Dog’s Grab Bag: WGN Radio loses steam in latest PPMs

A lot of stuff in this grab bag this week: – What’s this? A historic low for WGN Radio? The Tribune-owned talker . Even with Cubs baseball (and the you know the team sucks this year), WGN finished behind WVAZ (V103) and WTMX (The Mix) and also behind WBBM-AM and WDRV (The Drive). Other May PPM highlights include WGCI’s return […]

TCA: NBCUniversal unveils many big projects

The Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour kicked off last week from Pasadena, Calif. and up first among the Big Media companies were the networks of Comcast/NBCUniversal, which includes Bravo, E!, and NBC itself. This portion covers two days (Friday and Saturday), and what’s listed here is not listed chronologically, but by order of network: NBC – The fourth-place network’s […]

“X Factor” debuts with a thud; “Modern Family” stands out

For all the hype The X Factor received over the summer, you’d think it would roll in here Wednesday night and just destroy the competition. Um, no. The first Wednesday night of the 2011-12 season featured a showdown between two reality TV heavyweights and an Emmy-winning comedy whose audience continues to grow. The premiere of the much-hyped of Fox’s X […]

ABC’s, NBC’s Friday frenzy

For two of the broadcast networks, it was Friday Frenzy. With the upfronts set to begin Monday, the networks started cancelling bubble shows ahead of time, as evidenced by Fox’s decision to cancel five shows Tuesday night. On Friday, both NBC and ABC were running like hyenas on hamburger meat. Friday Frenzy began early in the afternoon, with NBC cancelling […]