T Dog’s Grab Bag: CBS, AT&T sign retransmission deal

Reach out and touch someone…. No, not there. Or there. The Grab Bag: – CBS AT&T . CBS Corp. and AT & T have signed a brand new retransmission consent deal, covering all CBS-owned stations (which includes CBS, CW, and independent stations), Showtime, The Smithsonian Channel, and CBS Sports Network. Locally, the deal covers CBS-owned WBBM-TV over all AT&T U-Verse […]

Showtime, CW at TCA: Dexter and the Beast

The CW and Showtime – both owned by CBS Corporation – held their presentations at the Television Critics Association Press Tour on Monday, featuring shows about a serial killer, a superhero, and a beast (don’t get these guys in the same room.) – CW executive session: CW network chief Mark Pedowitz has to make the best of many bad situations: […]

Don Cornelius dies

  The television and music industries are mourning the death of Soul Train host and creator Don Cornelius. He was found dead in his home in Los Angeles Wednesday from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Cornelius’ health had been declining for the last few years and was reportedly showing signs of dementia. Cornelius also had brushes with the law; he was […]

NATPE wrap-up

The 49th annual National Association of Television Programming Executives closed its three-day run on Wednesday from the Fontainbleau Hotel in Miami. The gathering attracted many attendees from the around the globe, especially from South American countries, who were seeking Spanish-language programming. In addition, NATPE had a growing digital contingent, thanks to the growing influence (and clout) of Amazon, Hulu, and […]

TCA: CBS Corporation shows off its wares

CBS took its turn at the stage Wednesday and Thursday at the TCA Winter Press Tour. This writeup not only includes CBS, but its sister properties Showtime and CW. – Did she throw new sitcom Rob! under the bus? In a rather brief meeting with critics, CBS Entertainment President Nina Tassler said on Wednesday it would take time finding the […]

TCA, Part 9: CBS and The CW

The end is (finally) here: CBS Corp. wrapped up the broadcast portion to the two-week miniseries known as the Winter Television Critics Association tour in Pasadena on Friday with CBS and the network it part-owns with Time Warner, The CW. CBS -The executive session featured programming chief Nina Tassler and addressed the matter surrounding Two And A Half Men star […]

TCA: CBS looking to stay on top

The  semi-annual Television Critics Association Press Tour got underway this week at the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel in this upscale section of Los Angeles. Many critics complained about the air conditioning in the ballroom and lackluster wi-fi connection, which rivals the poor signal one usually gets at the Harold Washington Library in the Loop. The only difference is the security […]

T Dog’s Four pack – The Santa edition

Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Everyone! Terry Claus is here to deliver some goodies to the good little children… and coal to those who are not-so-good! Who won and who lost… Gifts under the tree – The Doctors. Christmas came early for the one hour medical talk show strip with seasons three and four cleared in 85 percent of the country.  […]

T Dog’s Four Pack

A week of shock and awe – literally. A Halloween edition of T Dog’s Four Pack: Treats – White Collar. USA had a lot of goodies in its bag – to the tune of 5.3 million viewers for the debut of its new Friday night drama White Collar. With the continued success of Dexter on Showtime, being a criminal has […]

TCA: Fox

There is a lot to talk about regarding Fox in their press tour presentations, which took place Thursday and Friday: Fox – Of course, the big story is Paula Abdul leaving American Idol after eight years. At the Fox executive panel, executives Kevin Reilly and Peter Rice said they were talking to her for the last few months regarding a […]

EliteXC knocked out

Meet the latest victim of Floptober (a.k.a. Darkmane strikes again.) In the end, it wasn’t Kimbo Slice, Seth what’s-his-name (McFarlane? nah…), and UFC that knocked EliteXC out. It was a foe that has been knocking everything out left and right as of late: The weak economy. Due to a lack of funds, Showtime Networks and ProElite have shuttered the Mixed […]

Comic-Con: Day 2

Media-related news and notes from Comic-Con Day 2: – It isn’t Comic-Con without manatees: Seth McFarlane had a panel featuring Family Guy and its new spinoff, The Cleveland Show. MacFarlane talked about Family Guy’s upcoming season – a Sliders take off, another episode where Brian and Stewie travel back to 1939 Poland – and accidentally drag Mort Goldman with them […]

The CBS name returns to syndication

They’re back. But the new CBS Television Distribution is in the spirit of the old CBS Films, the syndication division of CBS before the government forced the big three networks to rid itself of the lucrative syndication business in 1970 via the financial interest and syndication rules, which ended in 1995. In 1971, CBS spun-off Viacom, and became a very […]