25 years ago this week, Fox’s Rupert Murdoch changed the TV world by inking a deal to trigger the biggest affiliation switch in history. It goes back to what happened on December 17, 1993. The networks were complaining about paying too much for sports – the NFL in particular – as the packages were losing money and looking to pay […]
Viewers tune out Patriots-Rams; lowest ratings in over a decade Thanks to numerous punts and less-than-inspiring play, Super Bowl LIII turned into a Super Dud. In the lowest-scoring game in Super Bowl history – sixteen points in total, the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams settled for a 3-3 tie at halftime in a game featuring numerous punts and […]
Thrilling game proves to be a ratings hit – Golden Globes less so (Editor’s note: This post has been updated with new ratings information.) Despite the odious outcome, the NFC Wild Card Game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Chicago Bears was a ratings success for NBC and the NFL. The Bears hosted their first playoff game since the 2010 season […]
Back when the year started, T Dog Media look at the stories to watch in 2018. So how did we do? Let’s find out: 1. The proposed merger of Disney and 21st Century Fox and AT&T and Time Warner. All eyes will be on these two as they make a case to federal regulators to combine as we see how […]
Cubs, Bears score strong in Chicago Note: All numbers are 18-49 unless otherwise noted. These are finals. In a very contentious time in America, viewers needed a friend. And they found one Sunday night. CBS received strong sampling with new drama God Friended Me Sunday night, with a 1.3 rating/5 share and 10.2 million viewers. The series is about an […]
Kavanaugh-Ford hearings draw 20 million viewers in daytime; cable news networks benefit The big ratings story yesterday didn’t take place in primetime. Live coverage of The Kavanaugh hearings at the Senate Judiciary Committee drew an average of 20.4 million viewers across six networks Thursday between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. according to Nielsen. The cable news networks drew the biggest […]
But broadcast television is the winner, thanks to baseball, Bears, Tiger Despite a sunny Sunday afternoon, television turned out to be the biggest winner as viewers headed through the entrances to watch football, baseball, and Tiger Woods as homes using television (HUT) levels went through the roof. Big events certainly helped goose the numbers: in the Chicago area, you had […]
Chicago, Milwaukee viewers tune in but national ratings hit a ten-year low The excitement surrounding the changes the Chicago Bears have made this off-season – hiring Matt Nagy as the new head coach and the blockbuster trade acquiring linebacker Khalil Mack in a trade with the Oakland Raiders paid off in the local ratings in the first game of the […]
New president wants less politics, more sports As Chicago reels from yet another year of deadly gun violence, don’t look for anymore ESPN specials on the matter, if the new head of the network has his way. As reported by the Washington Post, new ESPN chief Jimmy Pitaro said he wants less of a focus on politics and social issues […]
Sinclair selling off WPIX, WGN to win approval? Meet the Shell Answer Man. During the eight years I worked at the Better Business Bureau, yours truly has seen plenty of scams perpetrated onto by the public the organization had to warn about. But even those can’t compare to what Sinclair and the FCC are pulling. In a filing revealed on […]
But 103.4 million viewers isn’t bad Super Bowl LII gave us what we wanted in a football game – a close contest throughout, an exciting finish, and best of all, the Philadelphia Eagles beating the favored New England Patriots for their first Super Bowl title and their first overall championship since 1960. But despite all the theatrics, it wasn’t enough […]
Fox doubles down on football despite declining ratings, financial losses In a blockbuster deal, Fox announced Wednesday it has acquired the NFL’s Thursday Night Football package in a five-year, $3 billion pact, roughly $550 million a year. Effective next season, Fox replaces CBS and NBC as the primary broadcasters. The deal calls for Fox to produce the entire slate (eighteen […]
Happy New Year from T Dog Media! With 2017 in the books, it is time to look ahead to 2018. Here’s what to expect in the media world: 1. The proposed merger of Disney and 21st Century Fox and AT&T and Time Warner. All eyes will be on these two as they make a case to federal regulators to combine […]
Anthem protests, weak record doesn’t deter fans Also news on a former Bears star; NBC 5; FCC (Editor’s Note: An earlier draft of this post mistakenly featured a picture of Drew Brees for the first item. Apologies. -T.H.) While ratings for the NFL have declined nationally – allegedly due to anthem protests, that is not the case in Chicago – […]
Game against Eagles last Sunday was shoved onto little-watched outlet in Los Angeles. The Chargers’ move to Los Angeles from San Diego couldn’t have been more disastrous. Game three into this experiment, and the Chargers are only drawing around 25,000 fans per game in the 30,000-seat StubHub Center, a soccer stadium in south suburban Carson, Calif., thirteen miles south of […]
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