WPWR’s fall schedule

We’re gonna turn it on… we’re gonna turn on the power… at Fox-owned WPWR this fall. But the power’s been off for a few years now at the station. Like other big-market MNT affiliates (WWOR and KCOP in N.Y. and L.A., respectively), WPWR has performed poorly, often placing last in total-day ratings among Chicago’s English and Spanish commercial TV stations. […]

Program Partners scores coup in New York

Let’s Play Crosswords, the new game show from small syndicator Program Partners, nabbed a big timeslot in the biggest market in the country – by getting the 4 p.m. time slot on WNBC-TV in New York City. This comes as syndicators are gearing up to launch their new shows in September. (registration may be required to click on link) Among […]

Who’s in your five?

Interesting notes from Feder’s column today: * The game show Let’s Play Crosswords won’t be done in Chicago after all. After the producers decided to shoot the program without a studio audience, Program Partners’ new syndicated strip will originate in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, daytime soap star Ty Treadway has been tapped as host. * The FreeFM (or FraudFM) slogan at […]

NBC Tower top site for "Crosswords"

The NBC Tower (home to WMAQ-TV here in Chicago) appears to be a leading candidate to land the production facilities for the new game show from Merv Griffin and syndicator Program Partners, Let’s Play Crosswords, which made a deal on Tuesday with five NBC O&O’s, including WMAQ here. Robert Feder in today’s Sun-Times has a little more on the deal, […]

Let’s Play Crosswords

And that’s what Program Partners, Merv Griffin, and the William Morris Agency will do this fall as five NBC O&O’s have agreed to clear the new game show for next fall. The stations are: WNBC-TV New York, KNBC-TV Los Angeles, WMAQ-TV Chicago, KNTV San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, and KXAS-TV Dallas. NBC Universal will sell the barter time within the program. (That’s […]

DaVinci’s back for more

The series may have ended in its native Canada some time ago, but the program continues to roll on in the U.S.: DaVinci’s Inquest, the former CBC drama featuring Nicholas Campbell as Vancouver’s coroner, is returning for a third season in syndication. Program Partners has cleared the procedural drama in 98 percent of the country including all top 20 markets. […]