His departure leaves a void as linear usage declines and cord-cutting continues When Tom Skilling stepped down from his longtime role as meteorologist at WGN-TV Wednesday night, it marked the end of an era for Chicago’s longest-tenured television personality after 46 years on the air at the same station. But it also marked the end of an era for Chicago […]
Iconic meteorologist retires February 28; announces Demetrius Ivory as his successor and renames WGN Weather Center after him Nexstar’s WGN-TV announced Thursday it is going all out to celebrate Tom Skilling and his work at the station spanning 45 years. The celebration of course, coincides with February being a sweeps month – well, at least there’s still such a thing […]
Renewals mean Ken Jeong’s daytime project sits on the bench for now In a move coming as no surprise, Fox and Hearst stations have renewed Warner Bros.’ The Jennifer Hudson Show for a third season while CBS Media Ventures’ The Drew Barrymore Show was picked up for a fifth season by the CBS-owned stations. These renewals are for those who […]
A year dominated by labor strife, awful Chicago sports teams, and – oh yeah, Elon If you watched the WWE, you remember Vince McMahon playing himself as an arrogant CEO and billionaire, ruling over anything and everything – the ultimate heel. It’s a real-life trend we’re seeing as we close 2023. Led by billionaire Elon Musk, CEOs – whether […]
NAACP, Operation PUSH urge sale of WADL The saga involving Detroit’s WADL has taken another turn with the owner getting support from unlikely sources. Chicago-based Rainbow PUSH Coalition and the NAACP have each sent a letter of support of Kevin Adell to the FCC in his efforts to sell his WADL to Mission Broadcasting. The Rev. Jesse Jackson sent a […]
Also: Bally Sports facing eventual end; SiriusXM goes through an extensive overhaul; Detroit CW battle heats up After a years-long wait, Chicago TV stations will finally launch the next generation of over-the-air signals. Named ATSC 3.0, the new technology enables viewers to watch shows in 4k (2160p) definition, superb Dolby Atmos sound, and in HDR (high dynamic range.) The signals […]
Five-year deal comes as Smackdown heads back to cable Finally….the WWE has come back to The CW! But it’s not the show you think. World Wrestling Entertainment announced Tuesday afternoon its NXT franchise, which showcases up-and-coming wrestling talent, is moving to The CW next fall after a long run at NBCUniversal’s USA Network, who’ll regain Smackdown this fall after five […]
Also: Lakers and Spectrum announce DTC option; record set for shortest affiliation deal; Too much Judy? Have Chicagoans had enough of the Bears? An interesting take surfaced Monday as Chicago’s radio ratings were released. Radio Insight noted most cities’ sports talkers went up at the dawn of the NFL season – with the exception of Chicago’s 670 The Score/WSCR , […]
Comes at a time of uncertain future for local institution While all the hoopla was over WGN-TV celebrating its 75th year of broadcasting, let’s not forget there’s another station celebrating its 75th, too. ABC-owned WLS-TV, branded as ABC 7 since the 1990s, celebrated its 75th on September 17. Although there was no two-hour special to comminate the occasion like WGN’s, […]
Impasse lasted 77 days [Editor’s Note: This article was originally published a day earlier. It has been slightly re-written to reflect updated news.] In news that broke overnight Sunday (and I do mean literally), the signal for Nexstar stations returned this morning to DirecTV, DirecTV Stream, and U-Verse after 77 days under an interim agreement, leading to a more concrete […]
The decline of linear TV claims another victim as WTTW pairs back public affairs show With the news Nexstar is looking to buy ABC and its owned stations – which could eliminate a local newsroom in Chicago in a possible merger of WLS-TV and WGN-TV, comes this bit of unwelcome news: WTTW is reducing the number of episodes of its […]
Comes a day after a former Nexstar exec says it could happen [Editor’s Note: This story has been updated.] News of a potential ABC sale picked up Thursday after Bloomberg reported The Walt Disney Co. was in talks for either Nexstar or Allen Media Group (led by Byron Allen) to purchase ABC and its owned eight stations, after a Deadline […]
NatGeo, Disney Channel, Freeform and more off Spectrum nationwide; ABC 7 off in Wisconsin Well, you can add another carriage dispute to the Barbie (and we’re not referring to the blockbuster movie of the summer.) Without any advanced warning – no commercials, no red flag banners on station websites – nothing, The Walt Disney Company pulled all of its 20+ […]
Also: WBD inching closer to exiting RSN business; WGN to air ACC Football through The CW [Editor’s Note: The second item in this post has been updated.] We have another local TV personality announcing his retirement – this time it’s Jim Rose, the longtime ABC 7 (WLS-TV) sports anchor, who announced Monday he was stepping down from the station after […]
…and may extend until fall – or even later as the Unions-Hollywood and DirecTV-Nexstar show no sign of ending soon Despite the WGA being on strike since May 1 and Nexstar stations vanishing off DirecTV since July 2nd, the disputes are only getting uglier and may require government intervention if there is any hope of these being resolved. And now […]
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