Radio’s Renaissance

It looks like the NBA, NHL, and the Chicago Blackhawks aren’t the only ones having a renaissance – According to Kurt Hanson, radio is having one, too (and the recent AOL-CBS Internet radio streaming deal cements that point.) Maybe radio isn’t dead after all – you know, unlike the Bulls’ current season.

Sports ratings going up, up, and away

Maybe its the writers’ strike. Maybe its the Cubs’ post-season run. Maybe its the Blackhawks’ resurgence. Maybe its the Celtics and Lakers making noise in the NBA playoff race. Maybe its the hugely successful NFL post-season. Whatever it is, sports is gaining viewers from a year ago, and all sports are benefiting. Even a Cubs exibition game from nine days […]

Bulls fire head coach

Like the Blackhawks did in 1976 to their coach, and what happened to former Bulls coach Tim Floyd in 2001 (he resigned), Bulls coach Scott Skiles gets canned on Christmas Eve in 2007, fast becoming a Christmas tradition in Chicago. The Bulls, which are quickly becoming the NBC of the NBA, are 9-16, and were blown out in back-to-back games […]

USA renews "Raw" until 2010

Three more years for WWE Raw on USA Network. So, that means three more years of Vince McMahon and brain-dead wrestling fans screaming “What?” at every opportunity. Ugh. So if David Stern and Gary Bettman can stick around and continue to ruin the NBA and NHL, respectively…

The 2007 T Dog Media Blog Turkey Awards

With the Pumpkin Pie Awards for Excellence Welcome to the second annual T Dog Media Blog Turkey Awards. Once again, we’re here to serve up the disasters in media in 2007. I have nineteen turkeys to hand out… so let’s get gobbling! And this year’s awards go to… – The Chicago Bears. A Super Bowl hangover this year. And especially Rex […]

NBA extends pacts with ESPN and TNT

Despite declining ratings for the NBA Finals, the NBA extended its television and digital platform rights until the 2015-16 season for ESPN, ABC, and TNT. The new deals gives ESPN and TNT the rights to stream NBA material onto its digital broadband platforms, including ESPN360 and TNT Overtime.

A nobody’s watching hat trick

The 2007 NBA Finals will go down as the least watched finals ever – The San Antonio Spurs-Cleveland Cavilers matchup drew just a 5.5 Nielsen household rating last night, and a 6.2 for the entire series, in which the Spurs swept the Cavs in four. Along with record-low ratings for the World Series (between Tigers-Cardinals) last fall and the Stanley […]

NBA Finals tank in the ratings

With the NBA and Stanley Cup Finals down in the ratings dumps (thanks to the numbing dullness of the events) and Chicago’s two baseball teams struggling, no wonder casual fans are deserting sports programming. If anyone wants to watch someone with absolutely no talent, they head to America’s Got Talent – not the ice, hardwood, or the diamond (well, maybe […]

Basketball bouncing down

The Jazz-Spurs NBA Western Conference Final was a ratings flop, and the San Antonio Spurs advancing to the Finals won’t help the NBA or ESPN. But at least they won’t have the numbers the NHL and NBC will have for the Ducks-Senators Stanley Cup matchup. Sadly for the NBA, that’s the only positive thing out of all this. Meanwhile, the […]

Bullrun

The Chicago Bulls may not be burning up the ratings nationally like they used to (after all, this is a country that now would rather watch a bunch of cars race around a track all day), but they are a hit locally – Game 4 between the Bulls and the Miami Heat – a game that capped off a sweep […]

Baseball’s hot; NBA, NHL playoffs not

The ratings for Major League Baseball games are up 20 percent on regional cable networks, according to Nielsen, and advertisers are clearly benefiting from the strong start. Some of them, like Fox’s Detroit and Houston’s regional sports networks, are averaging better ratings than the local CW and MyNetworkTV affiliates in prime time. Meanwhile, Fox’s Saturday Game of the Week (which […]

CBS Sports, YouTube to feel the madness

CBS Sports, YouTube, and the NCAA have created a channel on the video site, presented by Pontiac. (We build excitement!) This starts with the opening tip of the popular NCAA tournament today. The channel presents game highlights, press conferences, CSTV material, and more. To see the channel, click here. (Don’t forget, CBS is streaming their games online as well. Go […]