Also: WGN Radio renews Chicago Blackhawks pact through 2024; Paternity Court renewed two more years -WGN Radio has extended its pact with the Chicago Blackhawks through the 2023-24 season, the team announced on Thursday. The deal keeps a sports presence on WGN, after the station lost Cubs telecasts in 2014. The news comes as the Blackhawks scored the highest local […]
With 2015 in the rearview mirror, here are the stories to look for in 2016: 1. The spectrum auction. The upcoming – and complicated – spectrum auction the FCC is holding is likely to change the face of television as we know it. Some over-the-air stations could pack it in and call it a career as the FCC plans […]
The 2015-16 season begins today in syndication – but in keeping with theme in recent years, there are only a handful of new first-run syndicated programs coming to market. This is mainly due to the continued success of existing syndicated fare such as Ellen, Dr. Phil, Jerry Springer, and Jeopardy! Also, many time periods are being gobbled up by expansion […]
The latest edition of T Dog’s Media Notepad: – Only in Chicago: if you stream any kind of entertainment and have a paid subscription, you – the consumer- are now going to be subjected to a 9 percent sales tax. This includes any paid subscription to Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, Amazon Prime, etc. The so-called “cloud tax” also applies to businesses […]
WBBM news woes continue; CBS criticized for Mentalist reruns to replace Letterman; former Chicago FM call letters find a new home – As first reported by Robert Feder Wednesday, Soul 106.3 (WSRB) evening radio personality Ramonski Luv was released by the station after only a few months on the air. Luv, whose real name is Ramon Wade, was paired with […]
Sinclair realigns newscasts downstate; talent shows to hit syndication; No one is “asking America” – Remember back in October when yours truly asked if new weekly hour-long game show Monopoly Millionaires’ Club would air in Chicago because Illinois was not participating in the related lottery game? Well, here’s your answer: WGN-TV picked up the new Monopoly game hosted by Mike & Molly’s […]
Hubbard rebrands Adult Contemporary station at 100.3 ; Indy station regins with classic hip-hop; WICS anchors brawl and lose their jobs – As part of a major rebranding move at 100.3 FM, Hubbard Broadcasting announced it was changing the call letters of WILV-FM to WSHE-FM, with the new slogan “SHE”. The SHE branding, of course is to call to attention the […]
Illinois residents may not be able to join the Monopoly Millionaires’ Club A new Monopoly-themed TV show is coming to a market near you this winter. But if you live in Chicago or in the state of Illinois, you are likely frozen out of the cold. A new syndicated game show titled Monopoly Millionaires’ Club is scheduled to debut in midseason […]
It looks like there’s going to be more dysfunctional family fun for years to come. After reports saying Tribune was considering removing NBC Universal Domestic Television’s trio of “conflict talk” shows – Jerry Springer, Maury, and The Steve Wilkos Show at the end of the 2015-16 season comes word the station group has renewed all three shows through the […]
According to Variety, Craig Ferguson is in “advanced talks” to host a new talk show produced by Tribune Media. But instead of the show being targeted for daytime, early fringe, or late night time slots, which usually is the case for most programs in this genre, Ferguson’s show would be targeted to prime access, generally 6-8 p.m., depending on what […]
Once again, Arsenio’s “bark” has lost its “bite”. To the surprise of some since it was renewed for a second season (but not others), CBS Television Distribution canceled The Arsenio Hall Show Friday after nine months on the air, official ending his comeback attempt – twenty years after he departed his original show. This comes after several station groups belonging […]
But Tribune CEO throws cold water on party The CW unveiled its 2014-15 schedule to advertisers Thursday, but it was Tribune CEO Peter Ligouri who really stole the show. On the same day CW revealed its fall lineup, Ligouri said at the Moffer Nathanson Media and Communications Summit that he is “not pleased where the CW is” despite the fact […]
Lack of experience, awkwardness, and arrogance kept viewers away from former Real Housewives star’s daytime talker In a project that never should have seen the light of day, Warner Bros. (or Telepictures, or Lorimar, or whomever) decided last week to put former Real Housewives star Bethenny Frankel’s talk show out of its misery after just five months on the air. […]
– As first reported by Robert Feder, Newsweb WCPT-AM announced it was launching a new weekly program targeted to Chicago’s LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) community. Titled Out Chicago, host Scott Duff takes on issues relevant to the LGBT community in the Windy City and surrounding area. WCPT also plans to air Out Chicago vignettes, from 6 a.m. to […]
Time to see what’s in this week edition of the Grab bag: – With This TV leaving for WGN-TV November 1, Weigel Broadcasting is replacing it with Bounce, moving from its 23.2 subchannel position to the much stronger 26.5 position, according to an item on WCIU’s website. Bounce is an African-American-targeted subchannel targeted to adults 25-54. The move comes as […]
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