Also: WCIU has another prime-time stand up comedy special; Dateline NBC to enter syndication this fall (Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with new information.) The Chicago Blackhawks begin their quest for their seventh Stanley Cup Thursday night when they drop the puck against the Nashville Predators in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. With the popular […]
January is yours truly favorite time of year. Why? (No, its NOT the weather.) This month is home to TCA Winter Press Tour and the National Association of Television Program Executives gatherings take place, with the latter being held later this month. Let the fun begin! This edition – the Winter portion of the tour – is taking place over […]
Today’s Grab Bag features Merlin Media, Friday prime-time ratings, Tyler Perry and Oprah Winfrey hooking up, and a possible new name for The Insider which you have to see to believe: It looks like the end is near for Merlin Media: the company announced the sale of New York City alternative rock outlet WRXP-FM to CBS Corp., who plans to […]
From last week, here is the cable portion of Television Critics Association press tour from Los Angeles – three days, and lots of cable networks… Wednesday/Thursday portion Starz Exec session: On Thursday, CEO Chris Albrecht spoke about the end of Spartacus, saying the series had run its course. Albrecht also gave updates on the series Starz had in production – […]
Rosie is over and out; Canadian media consolidates further; and other items of note A lot of items to cover in this week’s Grab bag: In a move that was speculated for some time, struggling cable network OWN finally canceled The Rosie Show after five months on the air. The series’ future was questioned after Rosie O’Donnell sold her Lakeview […]
Did you fill out your brackets yet? It’s time for T Dog’s March Madness Six Pack. We have two regionals: The Chicago Bulls region (winners section; the Bulls have the best record in the NBA) and the Pac-12 Supersectional (losers; – seriously, just two teams in the NCAA tournament?) It’s time for tip-off! The Chicago Bulls Regional Steve Harvey to […]
This week’s Grab Bag include plenty of local TV items – and some not so local: – In an item first reported Saturday at Chicagoland Radio and Media, Brandmeier has been picked up for a second cycle by NBC-owned WMAQ-TV. The series stars WGN-AM morning host Johnathan Brandmeier where takes on the week’s headlines and interviews special guests. Brandmeier had […]
The Winter TCA Press Tour concluded last weekend with many panels dedicated to cable. Here is a brief roundup of what went on, grouped in alphabetical order: AMC To the delight of critics (and fans), AMC announced it was extending the third season order of hit series The Walking Dead from thirteen to sixteen as the second season with thirteen […]
Allen Gregory: Worst. Sitcom. Ever. Welcome to the 6th annual T Dog Media Turkey Awards! Every year around Thanksgiving, yours truly hashes out the worst in the media business – in television, radio, and sports. So bring out the stale stuffing and expired cranberry sauce! It’s time to go gobbling! And the “winners” are… […]
Here we go again: The Church Of Tisch is revamping its perennially low-rated morning show for the 284th time – and there may be changes to WBBM’s dawn patrol newscasts as well. CBS canceled The Early Show on Tuesday and is launching a new two-hour newscast with the rather odd pairing of Charlie Rose and Gayle King with Early Show […]
Plus other news of note, including Rosie Show results; Brandmeier’s return; and a new game show in an unusual time slot. – Viewers welcomed back Tim Allen to network TV Tuesday night with open arms with strong sampling of his new sitcom Last Man Standing. On Tuesday, the series opened with 13.1 million viewers and grew […]
It’s like saying Power 92 is #1 in the Streets! Yep, it’s been a week of mistakes for some – ask the Miami Herald and the Toronto Star who declared some teams champions last week when they weren’t, and for anyone who went into Downtown Vancouver Wednesday evening. It’s not just some bizarre universe where Dewey defeated Truman for President […]
Obviously the biggest highlight of the Winter version of Television Critics Association Press Tour was a rare appearance by the Queen of Talk, Oprah Winfrey. She was at the press tour to promote her new cable network, The Oprah Winfrey Network, or OWN, which launched January 1 in place of Discovery Health. Discovery Communications owns half of the new joint […]
It’s “Game” back on for the one-time CW sitcom. The Television Critics Association tour continued in Pasadena on Thursday with Oprah Winfrey and her new OWN network obviously the biggest attraction (more in the next post.) But there was other news from this day as well, with BET, Turner, and Discovery making presentations: BET The biggest projects BET has on […]
– Put ’em up: It’s an afternoon at the fights! In this corner, its WLS-AM’s Roe Conn and new partner Richard Roeper… and in the other corner, its Conn’s former partner and friend – Garry Meier on WGN-AM. Beginning Monday, Conn & Roeper are on from 2-6 while Garry Meier is on from 3-7 (on days when the Cubs aren’t […]