Letterman’s finale episode draws more than 13 million viewers, largest since 1994 (Editor’s Note – all videos associated with this post were removed from YouTube as of June 15. The article has since been re-edited. -T.H.) The final Late Show With David Letterman on CBS Wednesday night sent tons of viewers through the entrances – and scored its highest ratings in over […]
Sinclair realigns newscasts downstate; talent shows to hit syndication; No one is “asking America” – Remember back in October when yours truly asked if new weekly hour-long game show Monopoly Millionaires’ Club would air in Chicago because Illinois was not participating in the related lottery game? Well, here’s your answer: WGN-TV picked up the new Monopoly game hosted by Mike & Molly’s […]
Hubbard rebrands Adult Contemporary station at 100.3 ; Indy station regins with classic hip-hop; WICS anchors brawl and lose their jobs – As part of a major rebranding move at 100.3 FM, Hubbard Broadcasting announced it was changing the call letters of WILV-FM to WSHE-FM, with the new slogan “SHE”. The SHE branding, of course is to call to attention the […]
– Life’s tough in the business: ABC-owned WLS-TV meteorologist Mike Caplan was let go from the station last week after 21 years on the air. There was speculation WLS was going to release one of their meteorologists after hiring WMAQ exile Cheryl Scott late last year. In fact, WLS announced it was going to feature Scott during the 4 and […]
ABC, Scripps stations clear new diginet; ABC to keep LiveWell after all ABC and Scripps Broadcasting announced this weekend they are launching a brand new digital subchannel called LAFF, injunction with Katz Communications beginning on April 15, “tax day”. Details on what the planned comedy network would carry (hint: you can’t go wrong with Mystery Science Theater 3000 reruns) were […]
Editor’s note: This post has been updated with additional information since being published on Saturday. – T.H. It’s the end of an era as the last “superstation” rides off into the sunset. By the end of this month, WGN America – which once carried WGN-TV programming across the country, is converting into a basic cable network in most areas […]
ABC-owned station to run 25 games a season from 2015 through 2019 “Catch the action on WLS”… That’s right, you heard me… ABC-owned WLS-TV (that’s TV, not AM) struck a five-year deal with the Chicago Cubs to air 25 games a season beginning this spring. According to the station’s website, WLS would air games in daytime, primetime, and weekend […]
In an unusual move, at least in this day and age, freshman first-run strip Hot Bench is changing stations locally in the middle of the season. As part of a CBS O&O deal, Hot Bench – syndicated by co-owned CBS Television Distribution – is shifting to WBBM-Ch.2 where it will air weekdays at 2 p.m effective as of March […]
As first reported by Robert Feder Monday morning, WGCI has pulled the plug on The Morning Riot after nearly six years on the air. Out are hosts Tony Sculfield and Nina Chantele, and program director Kenard Kanter, the latter after just nine months on the job. Leon Rogers is staying on in the interim and is being teamed with various […]
It looks like there’s going to be more dysfunctional family fun for years to come. After reports saying Tribune was considering removing NBC Universal Domestic Television’s trio of “conflict talk” shows – Jerry Springer, Maury, and The Steve Wilkos Show at the end of the 2015-16 season comes word the station group has renewed all three shows through the […]
Don’t discount Cardinal Nation: The St. Louis Cardinals finished the just-concluded 2014 season with the highest-rated regular season average in Major League Baseball: according to Nielsen, the team drew a 7.76 average on FS Midwest. Despite the playoff-bound team’s success, this year’s rating is down 12 percent from a year ago. Finishing behind the Cardinals are the Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh […]
Dahl calls out Tribune Media station in a rant. Too bad its something Chicago radio listeners already know. A T Dog Media Think Tank [Editor’s Note: contains strong language. Reader discretion is advised.] Last week, viewers flocked back to their television sets as the new fall season began, with new high-profile programs and a strong lineup of above-quality shows which […]
Tribune Broadcasting wants to make Crime pay in daytime. In what looks like a first step in making over its daytime schedule, Tribune has purchased a new first-run strip titled Crime Watch Daily, scheduled to debut next fall from Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. The program is being targeted not only for daytime, but also for early fringe (late afternoon) […]
After a season which saw several syndicated talk shows (The Test, Bethenny, Arsenio Hall, Katie, and Trisha) get canceled, this season boasts only two new shows – one of them debuted Monday. NBCUniversal Television Distribution’s The Meredith Vieira Show is the first one out of the gate in syndication, premiered today at 1 p.m. on WMAQ-TV in a ten-station NBC O&O […]
Chicago’s news stations might want to rethink their news presentations. An analysis of May local news sweeps numbers in the adult 25-54 demographic in the nation’s ten largest DMAs from TVNewsCheck showed Chicago’s local newscasts losing ground faster than those in New York and Los Angeles. In fact, Chicago’s 21 percent drop overall was second only to Boston (down 23 percent.) […]
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