TCA Summer Press Tour: ABC touts diversity

It was ABC day Tuesday at the 2014 TCA Summer Press Tour, with the network bringing out the casts of several new shows to meet the hordes of TV critics. – Executive session: ABC Entertainment President Paul Lee met with the press and talked about a wide variety of subjects from the cancellation of Trophy Wife (let it go, already!) […]

ABC stays the course

For a network in fourth place, you’d think ABC would be making a boatload of changes. Instead, ABC is making only needed changes on four nights – some of them our relatively minor. And how about this: ABC is countering football on Thursdays with an all-drama lineup consisting of shows created and produced by University Park native Shonda Rhimes! This […]

“American Idol” bleeds African-American viewers

But the series is renewed for a 14th season A year ago, T Dog Media examined American Idol’s ratings among African-American viewers. So let’s check in to see how the show is doing in black households this year. For the week ending April 20, the Wednesday night edition of Idol finished in seventeenth place with a 4.4 rating, down considerably from the 10.3 […]

Playing media catch-up

Man, how long has it been since yours truly has written a post around here? Well, this is what happens when you get sick and have Writer’s Block at the same time (or, yours truly has just been lazy.) Anyway, yours truly is revved up (or more like riled up) and ready to go – here are some thoughts on […]

CNN’s “Chicagoland” stalls at the starting gate

The first episode of Robert Redford’s eight-episode documentary didn’t attract much of an audience Reviews mixed, but Chicago viewers’ reception is more positive Chicago is in the spotlight once again thanks to a new eight-hour documentary Chicagoland, which premiered Thursday on CNN and is running at 9 p.m. for the next eight weeks. Produced by Robert Redford, Mark Levin, and […]

NATPE 2014: Day 1

Welcome to NATPE 2014! The 51st annual gathering got underway in Miami Monday, as syndicators, programmers, producers, and content creators converged in Miami for the three-day conference. Here’s what went down on Monday: – During NATPE’s opening keynote speech, Twitter managing brand of global brand strategy Jean-Phillippe Maheu said his social media platform would influence this spring’s TV upfronts, as […]

“The Sound Of Music” comes alive – with ratings

In other news, rushed Ventra card special on WTTW strikes out  A lot of people were hating it on social media (including yours truly), but viewers were fleeing into the entrances Thursday night to see Carrie Underwood in a live staging of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound Of Music Live! on NBC. The three-hour special – the first live network […]

Marvel hooks up with Netflix

In a sign where online video distributors are ramping up their original programming slates, Marvel Entertainment announced Thursday it is pairing up with Netflix to launch four new serialized series beginning in 2015, with thirteen episodes each, scheduled for “multiple years. ” First on tap is Daredevil, followed by series based on Marvel Comics characters Jessica Jones, Iron Fist, and […]

“Scandal” remains red hot

Super Fun Night has Super Fun ratings Crazy Ones decline; NBC Thursday sitcom block flops Judging by all the viewing parties held nationwide for this show (yours truly even got an invitation to one,) you’d think Scandal would be the hottest thing since the advent of the pancake. You’d be right. Scandal skyrocketed in popularity over the past year thanks […]

“Big Bang” gets bigger; “Crazy Ones” scores

But 36 percent ratings drop out of Big Bang is concerning The first major Thursday night ratings skirmish of the season took place with the return of two back-in-the-day TV icons battling it out: Robin Williams in CBS’ The Crazy Ones and Michael J. Fox in his own self-titled new sitcom for NBC. The first hour of primetime saw complete […]

T Dog’s Grab Bag: Mag Mile media coverage under scrutiny

Also: CBS 2 dumps Susan Carlson; Right This Minute finally clears Chicago; Idol’s finale ratings tank as expected; special on Chicago violence doesn’t resonate in ratings While the TV and media world were focusing on the new lineups unveiled by the networks during the upfronts last week in New York, there were other headlines made as well: – The local […]

ABC unveils 2013-14 primetime schedule

Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. already getting tons of buzz ABC released its 2013-14 primetime schedule Tuesday morning ahead of its upfront presentation later in the day, with fourteen new series – nine of those premiering this fall. The biggest show on ABC’s schedule no doubt is Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D, helmed by Joss Whedon. Already, the series’ Facebook page has […]

Bubble Bustin’ Friday

Over the last few years, the Friday before upfronts became quite crazy, with the announcement of pilot pickups – and a huge batch of cancellations. 2013 was no different: Friday afternoon and Friday evening with social media abuzz with the latest pickups and cancellations, as those “bubble shows” fate were finally decided. Well, the bubble burst for a whopping seventeen […]

“American Idol” surges in ratings among African-Americans

This season is certainly one to forget for American Idol in the ratings department. But its a different story altogether when it comes to African-American audiences. While ratings have declined significantly for Idol overall, the opposite is true among black viewers. In fact, most weeks, Idol is either ranked at or near the top in African-American homes. According to Nielsen […]

CBS powers its way to another Thursday night win

A night after more than 60 million tuned in to the Presidential Debates, viewer levels were back to normal Thursday night with CBS dominating the evening once again. All ratings are from the adult 18-49 demo, unless otherwise noted: – First hour of prime-time: the CBS Thursday Night Comedy Power Hour remains just that as The Big Bang Theory (4.9/16, […]