“Rachael Ray” to end after 17 seasons

Ray shifts focus to new venture On September 18, 2006, The T Dog Media Blog was launched – coincidentally on the same day The Rachael Ray Show did. Now after seventeen seasons, it’s Rachael who’s calling it a career – at least in daytime television.  “In my more than 20 plus years in television I have had 17 wonderful seasons working […]

“Dr. Oz” exits for “The Good Dish”

The Good Dish takes over Oz’s old slots in January As expected, The Dr. Oz Show is ending after the host announced a run for U.S. Senate. On November 30, Memhet Oz announced he was running for the Pennsylvania Senate as a Republican for a seat now occupied by the retiring Pat Toomey, even though he currently lives in New […]

The Media Notepad: WGCI announces new evening personality

Also: Jonathan Brandmeier returns with a podcast; daytime talkers perform from home; changes at Tamron Hall. Even though iHeartMedia and other radio companies are either furloughing or laying off employees due to the loss of advertising revenue caused by COVID-19, one station did manage to announce a promotion: iHeart’s WGCI announced last Tuesday that Zach Boog is the new evening […]

Disney, DirecTV the latest to battle over retransmission consent

Companies upping ante in retrans dispute; ABC 7 could be off DirecTV by Saturday  The latest entity to go toe-to-toe with a satellite and cable provider is the biggest name in cable: ESPN. And it could take Chicago’s most-watched TV station down with it. In a carefully orchestrated move, ESPN on its bottom score ticker alerted viewers about the potential […]

The state of syndication in 2017

Few first-run series being offered this year as veteran shows – even low-rated ones – continue to roll along As the National Association Of Programming Executives gathering began Tuesday in Miami, stations are firming up their schedules for next fall as first-run and off-network series are being rolled out onto the marketplace. But what has been the norm in previous years, […]

T Dog’s Media Notepad: ABC 7 shifts “Windy City Live” to 1 p.m.

Local news returns to ABC 7 at 11 a.m.; Dr. Oz returns for three more years; WGN-TV needs a new GM; and more. In a victory for local programming (and yet another defeat for syndicators), ABC-owned WLS-TV (ABC 7) announced Tuesday it was bringing back its 11 a.m. newscast after three years and moving current time slot occupant Windy City […]

Cubs open up 2015 baseball season

Full plate ahead for Chicago sports fans  The San Francisco Giants (remember them?) may have won the World Series in 2014, but you wouldn’t know it judging by the hype a certain Northside team is getting. The Chicago Cubs are opening the 2015 season Sunday Night with a nationally televisied game against the archrival St. Louis Cardinals on ESPN2 (Sunday […]

T Dog’s Grab Bag: Bill Kurtis joins Decades

– Emmy and Peabody winner Bill Kurtis has a new gig: he’ll host a show on the new Decades network called Though the Decades, a weekday strip recalling the events of historical significance between the 1950s and 1990s, beginning in May. The series plans to draw from the vast resources of CBS News and Entertainment Tonight libraries for material. A […]

Tyra’s back in new daytime show

New panel talk show called The Fab clears ABC-owned stations, including WLS-TV Guess who’s back in daytime? After a five-year hiatus, Tyra Banks is back as host of a new one-hour daytime talk show strip called The Fab from Disney-ABC Domestic Television Distribution, scheduled to debut next fall. The program also features four other co-hosts in a panel format. They are: […]