NBC 5, WVON partner for mayoral forum targeting Black community

Tired of all these mayoral forums yet? There are more to come. If you watch Survivor, then you know about Tribal Council, where the strategies and backstabbing come out in full play. The Chicago mayoral forums have been like Tribal Councils every single night with insults, personal attacks, and language that makes the last few Survivor seasons look peaceful by […]

The Media Notepad: “Family Feud” renewed through 2026

Also: Sling adds ABC 7 to its lineup – at a cost; MLB possibly looking at reclaiming local rights as RSNs creater; Chicago media comings and goings  Joining a trend of veteran series handing out multi-year renewals, the latest came this week when Debmar-Mercury announced it has re-upped Family Feud through 2026, taking the show to its 27th consecutive season […]

The Media Notepad: Fox 32 gets Amazon Thursday night Bears game – report (updated)

Also: local Atlanta station removes popular syndicated show to air more news; controversial political ad removed from local airwaves; the GOP looking to deregulate the media business even more; Ramsey Lewis dies [Editor’s Note: There is an update to the second story in this piece. See below.] Thursday Night Football may have left Fox, but its owned stations certainly haven’t […]

The Media Notepad: CBS 2 to launch 9 a.m. newscast

Also: NewsNation add late morning news block; Scripps adds digital subchannels to DirecTV; Samsung bulks up Plus TV  As expected, CBS 2 (WBBM-TV) is launching a new 9 a.m. half-hour newscast, starting September 12: We're launching a new show! Hope to see you weekdays at 9am on @CBSChicago and streaming from 9:30-10am – starting next week! @LBannonWX @RyanBakerMedia pic.twitter.com/9w4HEcjZxU — […]

Report: NBC may cut back prime-time hours

  Move as a result of waning interest in linear TV In what could be potentially the biggest shake-up in prime-time since the implantation of the PrimeTime Access Rule in 1971, NBC is mulling a plan to give the 10 p.m. ET/ 9 p.m. CT slot to affiliates – likely for them to program local news. “While NBC is the […]

The Media Notepad: Cubs-Reds Field Of Dreams game a base hit for Fox

  Also: NBC 5 makes a new hire while a Baltimore TV reporter gets fired. The second edition of The Field Of Dreams game didn’t have the theatrics of last year’s contest, but still drew a healthy amount of eyeballs. The game featured two teams who were already out of playoff contention this season: The 44-64 Chicago Cubs and the […]

Chicago stations cover Highland Park shooting tragedy

Local stations pre-empt programming on holiday For a city used to the horrors of gun violence, even this was too much to take. On a sparkly clear day, a Fourth Of July parade in the north suburban community of Highland Park was interrupted by a gunman who opened fire from a roof of a commercial building, hitting spectators below. As […]

Leila Rahimi joins NBC 5 full-time as sports anchor

Gives up full-time position as 670 The Score co-host but remains to co-host on Wednesdays Appearing on NBC 5/WMAQ-TV’s Sports Sunday has now led Leila Rahimi to a full-time position handling sports anchor duties, beginning next month, becoming the first full-time female sports anchor in the history of the station.  She’ll appear on the station’s 5, 6, and 10 p.m. […]

The Media Notepad: Winter Olympics’ lackluster ratings performance drags down NBC 5’s news ratings

Also: All CHGO launches; two network TV shows canceled; restaurant with a sitcom connection burns down Much has been made about the lackluster Winter Olympics ratings, but one angle wasn’t talked about much – their effect on NBC affiliates – or lack thereof. And no one experienced a bigger disappointment than Chicago’s NBC 5 (WMAQ.) As reported by Robert Feder […]

The Media Notepad: WGN Radio surges in ratings

Also: NBC 5/Telemundo to award nonprofits; Sherri Shepard to succeed Wendy Williams; Introducing Ion Mystery  Is WGN-AM staging a return to the top?  The first PPM numbers released for 2022 shows the Nexstar-owned station placing fourth overall, up 49 percent from the last survey – marking their highest ranking since October 2008 at the dawn of the PPM era. Leading […]

NBC 5 launches 24/7 news channel on Peacock

  Streaming news wars escalates as CBSN rebrands   Following in the footsteps of CBSN Chicago, NBC 5 (WMAQ-TV) launched a new 24/7 all-news streaming service on the Peacock streaming platform last Thursday. Both NBC 5 and Peacock share Comcast’s NBCUniversal as a corporate parent. Branded NBC Chicago News, the new 24/7 channel features live simulcasts and encores of NBC 5 […]