Ratings roundup: “Harry” off to decent start

Cubs score; NFL slides a bit (Editor’s Note: The YouTube video in this post was deleted.) With the new season a week away, new programming is already popping up – and getting decent sampling. The launch of Harry Connick Jr.’s daytime talk show Monday met ratings expectations, drawing a 1.4 household rating/4 share in 56 metered markets, according to Nielsen. […]

Cleveland! Cavs’ title win also one for ESPN, ABC

Highest-rated NBA contest since 1998 In terms of Cleveland media, the last time the city won a championship, WJW-TV was still a CBS affiliate, and the KYW call letters – now used for CBS’ TV and radio stations in Philadelphia – were owned by Westinghouse and used for its TV and radio properties here. And so the Cleveland Cavaliers – […]

Stanley Cup Final bombs in the ratings

Pittsburgh-San Jose matchup draws few viewers, fans It hasn’t been a great overall season for the NHL, as its sporting peers (NFL, MLB,and NBA) are taking advantage of the live viewing phenomenon, as more and more marketers sink money into DVR-proof programming, or as they call it, “live TV”. For one, the recent Stanley Cup Playoffs were a ratings bust, […]

T Dog’s Media Notepad: Ron Magers exits in style

WLS-TV (ABC 7) sent Ron Magers off in style Wednesday night as viewers tuned in en masse to see him anchor his final newscast, earning a time-period winning 10.0 rating in live-plus-same day households according to Robert Feder. ABC 7 Also won the May sweeps at 10 p.m., but finished behind NBC-owned WMAQ (NBC 5) at 10 in the 25-54 demo. Another […]

T Dog’s Media Notepad: “Supergirl” could fly to CW

With the upfronts a little over a week away, reports are surfacing on not if Supergirl is coming back next season but where: The Wrap is reporting Warner Bros. Television is discussing a plan to move the freshman drama from CBS to The CW next year, where CBS and Warner Bros. have a 50/50 interest. There are concerns if the […]

T Dog’s Media Notepad: Cubs outslug singers and dancers

Cubs ratings; Carsey-Werner comedies head to LAFF; Media Life radio survey and more The Chicago Cubs have started off the 2016 season in style and viewers are watching: Monday’s home opener against the Cincinnati Reds drew a whopping 11.4 household same-day live rating, easily finishing as the most-watched program of the evening topping ABC’s Dancing With The Stars (always popular […]

T Dog’s Media Notepad: Back in the saddle again

Hello, and welcome back to T Dog Media! Here are some notable news and notes from the last two weeks: Tom Doerr has resigned as news director of Fox-owned WFLD-TV here in Chicago after just three years and six years overall at the station. Doerr is heading back to Florida to deal with personal family issues. During his tenure, ratings […]

Super Bowl 50 falls short of viewership record

But 111.9 million viewers is pretty darn good The Golden Anniversary of the Super Bowl from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. drew incredible numbers – though the game had a lot to be desired. According to Nielsen, the Super Bowl matchup between the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers drew a final tally of 111.9 viewers – not a […]

“Grease Live” destroys the competition

NHL All-Star Game and Pro Bowl do decently well in Chicago despite competition Fox’s entry into the musical competition was a smash: Grease: Live, an adaptation of the 1970’s musical and 1978 movie, drew 12.2 million viewers and a 4.3 adult 18-49 rating and 13 share, according to Nielsen numbers. The results far outpass NBC’s recent live musicals The Wiz […]

“X-Files” return does it for Fox

    Strong football numbers power X-Files return (Editor’s Note: Contains spoilers.) The Truth is still out there. The X-Files‘ return Sunday night was as good as gold as the return of the Emmy-winning 1993-2002 series paid dividends for Fox. According to Nielsen, the “10th season premiere” of the series starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson scored a 15.1 household […]

“Chi-Town Rising” pulls ratings victory upset

NBC 5’s upstart effort unseats ABC 7’s annual show In news no one saw coming, NBC-owned WMAQ’s freshman New Year’s Eve show beat ABC-owned WLS-TV’s in live plus-same day ratings, according to Nielsen and first reported by Robert Feder. In the quarter half-hour before the New Year began, Chi-Town Rising on WMAQ scored a 17. 1/36 household rating/share, beating WLS’ […]

Harry Porterfield retires

The longtime newsman calls it a career WBBM-TV Anchorman Harry Porterfield announced his retirement Thursday after 51 years in journalism, effective immediately. The 87-year old Porterfield started his career at the CBS-owned station in 1964 as a newswriter and later a reporter. His Someone You Should Know segments were a signature part of WBBM’s newscasts in the 1970’s and 1980’s, […]

“The Wiz Live” scores with critics, fans

Dusting off an old New York area- electronic store slogan from the 1990’s, Nobody Beats The Wiz – at least when it comes to entertainment programming. And that was more than true Thursday night when as the NBC live presentation of the Broadway Musical drew strong ratings – even opposite a special edition of Thursday Night Football. In metered overnight […]