Debmar-Mercury, Fremantle to launch “Buzzr TV”

Both companies strike deal with Fox Television Stations to carry new classic game show channel In news that would no doubt please classic game shows fans, a new digital subchannel featuring the genre is launching this summer thanks to Fremantle Media NorthAmerica and Debmar-Mercury. The two companies are launching Buzzr TV, a new classic game show channel molded in the […]

WGN-TV slots “Celebrity Name Game” at 10 p.m.

Also: Hollywood Daily Live, Daily Helpline debut to microscopic audiences In a rather unusual move, Tribune-owned WGN-TV has slotted Craig Ferguson’s new game show, Celebrity Name Game from Debmar-Mercury at 10 p.m., starting September 22. As first reported by Robert Feder, Name Game would replace the failed revival of The Arsenio Hall Show, which was canceled in May. While other […]

V103 shows Ramonski Luv the door

  (Editor’s Note: a more recent story on Ramonski Luv being released from V103 can be found here in The Media Notepad, fourth item.) How about this? You finish first in your daypart and what is your reward? You get shown the door. This is exactly what happened to Ramon Wade a.k.a. Ramonski Luv, who was let go from Clear […]

T Dog’s Grab Bag: FCC gives Gannett, Tribune Christmas presents

FCC approves purchases; deals close It’s a Holiday Week edition of the Grab Bag – will it be presents or several lumps of coal? Let’s find out: Both Gannett and Tribune received presents in their stockings thanks to the FCC approving their deals on December 20. Gannett purchased Belo last summer, while Tribune announced their takeover of Local TV, LLC […]

Why is Chicago still hung up on Oprah?

A few days ago, Oprah Winfrey announced she put her Harpo Studios up for sale. The facility, which hasn’t been used much since her talk show ended in 2011, could fetch over a million bucks in the real estate market. On Thursday, the Sun-Times’ Neil Steinberg slammed her for not being “Chicago” enough, or something. Great article. If it were […]

T Dog’s Think Tank: “You Got Shteirized”

On Sunday, New York Times reviewer Rachel Shteir reviewed three Chicago based books. But the reviews were less about the books in question and more about Chicago itself. In her review, Shteir – who is also a professor at DePaul University and moved to Chicago thirteen years ago – talked about “poor Chicago” and used every stereotypical crack associated with […]

Analysis: ABC 7 dominates February sweeps… well, almost

Say with me everybody… ABC-owned WLS-TV (ABC 7) dominated the local news competition during the sweeps – this time is the February “book”, as it has done since 1987 (excluding Olympic years.) According to information obtained by Chicagoland Radio and Media, WLS won almost all local news time slots in households and the key adult 25-54 demo, with one major […]

“The Jeff Probst Show” canceled

I’ll bet you’ve heard a lot of this in the last 48 hours: Jeff Probst …the tribe has spoken. CBS Television Distribution voted The Jeff Probst Show off the talk show island after one season, as the program could not find an audience. The Survivor host’s daytime talker had been averaging around a 0.7 Nielsen household live-plus same-day rating this […]

Go Ricki…Go Ricki… She’s gone

A week after the NATPE conference had taken place, Twentieth Television notified stations carrying The Ricki Lake Show it will not return for a second season. The series halts production on March 28, with reruns and originals continuing until September 6. Lake’s second stint as a talk show host was different this time around as she focused more on issues […]

Meredith Vierra exits “Millionaire”

In a surprise announcement, Meredith Vierra has called it quits as host of Who Wants To be A Millionaire. Up to this point, she was host of the syndicated series’ entire run, which spanned eleven seasons. Vierra, who also was a Today co-host during Millionaire’s run, plans to devote more time to other projects, including a film she is currently […]

Confirmed: “Queen Latifah” to CBS 2… and WCIU

As reported here and on other trade sites last week, Queen Latifah’s return to daytime TV snared its first major deal with Sony Pictures Television: CBS’ owned and operated TV stations signed on for the show in sixteen markets. According to an article in Broadcasting & Cable last Monday, Latifah’s show will in fact, be shown on WBBM-TV next fall, […]

Syndication shakeup: Queen Latifah in, Anderson Cooper out

Also: Wheel and Jeopardy! renewed by WLS-TV, other ABC O&Os until 2016 It’s not even the end of October, and already seeing some major shakeups in daytime syndication for next fall: – In news first reported by Deadline, CBS’ owned-and-operated station group has picked up Queen Latifah’s new talk show from Sony Pictures Television for September 2013, clearing sixteen markets, […]