New shows dot local schedules The new television season outside of prime-time begins Monday and you will see some new faces and new places. For one, Jay Leno is returning to daily TV seven years after he left The Tonight Show for a second time. Now, he’s taking his act to earlier time slots with his new You Bet Your […]
Locast goes down for the count; Nexstar on a roll; Let’s Make A Profit? It’s game over for Locast as last week, the non-profit streamer of local TV channels pulled the plug on the service after a federal judge declared it not to be one. In the case brought by four major broadcast networks, they accused Locast of streaming their […]
Former WGN News and NewsNation exec succeeds Derek Dalton Also at CBS 2: Drew Barrymore, Let’s Make A Deal swap time slots In hopes to turn around its moribund ratings, CBS-owned WBBM-TV hired WGN-TV and NewsNation veteran Jennifer Lyons as president and general manager, effective Monday. She will also oversee local news streaming channel CBSN Chicago. “We feel extremely fortunate […]
Cook County State’s Attorney blasts Nexstar’s WGN-TV over poll A poll released by Nexstar-owned independent WGN-TV on Tuesday showed how Chicago-area residents felt about their local political leadership and pressing issues like crime. And let me tell you – it wasn’t pretty as people seem to have it in for Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, […]
Also: Young Sheldon adds TBS home; Rick Dees becomes voice of RewindTV; Dish and Nexstar avoid blackouts – for now Veteran meteorologist Andy Avalos announced his retirement on Friday after 33 years on Chicago television. Starting on August 30, fellow NBC 5 (WMAQ) meteorologist Alicia Roman is taking over Avalos’ spot on the morning newscast from 4-7 a.m. She’s been […]
Tamron Hall shifts to ABC 7; WGN-TV launches new morning show As expected, ABC 7 (WLS-TV) acquired the rights to Tamron Hall’s talk show to replace Windy City Live in the 1 p.m. time slot beginning September 6, when it starts its third season. The move was too easy to predict – ABC 7 and Hall’s show share a corporate […]
Ends traditional news programming in prime-time, but adds news in mornings Despite ultra-low ratings, Nexstar’s NewsNation is expanding by adding a morning newscast and adding legal analyst Dan Abrams. Abrams is being added to NewsNation’s prime-time lineup beginning on September 27. Titled Dan Abrams Live, the new one-hour show is basically a discussion of the day’s events. Abrams is a […]
Also: A Shark becomes a judge; Pictionary returns; MyNetworkTV adds Chicago Fire and a new Detroit affiliate Once again, Chicago-based NewsNation is making changes to its lineup. Announced last week, the network formerly known as WGN America is adding another personality show in primetime, featuring a show hosted by former Fox News personality Leland Vittert, who’ll helm On Balance. Beginning […]
WGN-TV picks up show in Nexstar deal. Also: Access: Hollywood renewed through 2025 Are you ready to put up with Young Sheldon five nights a week? You’d better be. Already airing on Nick at Nite, the Big Bang Theory prequel has been sold in 90 percent of the country by Warner Bros. to broadcast stations this fall, including Nexstar stations […]
Nexstar spin-offs a network from Antenna TV Usually in TV land, we have spin-offs of shows, some of the most successful being Gomer Pyle, USMC; Facts Of Life; Maude; Good Times; and Laverne & Shirley. Now for the first time, we have a spin-off of an entire channel. On September 1, Nexstar is launching Rewind TV, featuring 1980s and 1990s […]
Nexstar shifts focus from entertainment programming to news In a long-awaited move, Nexstar announced on Monday they were expanding NewsNation into other dayparts, including prime access and early fringe. Beginning March 1, WGN America is adding two more hours of news: a 5 p.m. newshour anchored by Nichole Berlie, who previously anchored weekends, and Joe Donlan gets a solo spot […]
NewsNation cut back to two hours but more are planned In a surprising move, WGN America announced Tuesday it was cutting its NewsNation prime-time block by a third to slot a new interview show hosted by former cable news personality Ashleigh Banfield. As first reported by Variety, the Nexstar-owned cable network is debuting her new show March 1 at 9 […]
Also: Trump Country concedes; Rock 95.5 drops to a ratings low; DMA update On Christmas morning, Dish subscribers received an unexpected present: the return of WGN-TV and WGN America to their systems. A deal was reached late Thursday night between the satellite provider and Nexstar, owners of both the local Chicago television station, the cable network, and other local stations […]
Second broadcaster/MSO dispute this week Here we go again. Irving, Tex.-based Nexstar Broadcasting removed its stations from satellite provider Dish Wednesday evening at approximately 7 p.m. Central Time due to a retransmission consent dispute, another in a long line of blackouts over the last several years. Nexstar owns 197 stations in over 100 markets including WGN-TV in Chicago and […]
Starts November 30 on Nick at Nite; rights are non-exclusive Signaling the sign of the times in the television business, ViacomCBS’ cable networks acquired the linear syndication rights to Young Sheldon from Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution for an unknown sum, announced in August. But to show you how far recent off-network sitcoms have fallen in the marketplace, the news […]