Fox dumps syndicated shows – and possibly Jennifer Hudson, too

Pictionary, Person Place Or Thing, and Dish Nation to end as Fox’s TV stations plan to make significant changes next season In a surprise shellacking, Fox First-Run canceled three syndicated half-hour shows Tuesday: Person Place Or Thing, Pictionary, and the long-running Dish Nation, according to TVNewsCheck as Fox’s owned stations – including Fox 32 (WFLD) and Fox Chicago Plus (WPWR), […]

“Georgie & Mandy” – the next “Sanford Arms”?

A lot at stake for the sitcom, as a Young Sheldon sequel makes its debut  Once the goldmine, the sitcom has fallen on hard times, like the rest of linear TV. For decades, the format pioneered by I Love Lucy would successfully run in primetime, then reruns would go to off-network syndication and earn unparalleled riches. Since entering syndication in […]

Phil Donahue dies at 88

Legendary, pioneering talk show changed TV Phil Donahue, who put the issues-oriented daytime talk show on the map in the 1970s, died Sunday at the age of 88 in his New York City home after a long illness. Even though Donahue’s talk show wasn’t the first syndicated talk show to originate from Chicago, he was an innovator in discussing taboo […]

“Family Guy”, “Bob’s Burgers” set to exit broadcast syndication

Local stations downgraded animated series to late-night, overnight time slots Family Guy reruns head to Comedy Central [Editor’s Note: This post was updated August 14.] If you’re watching reruns of Family Guy and Bob’s Burgers on your local TV station, you’ll need a new platform to watch them on as both are being removed from broadcast syndication due to expiring […]

Syndication: What’s new this fall

…or not, as reruns, court shows dominate local schedules As linear TV viewership continues to tumble, fall schedules for local television stations across the country certainly reflect the trend. Unlike last year when Sherri Shepard and Jennifer Hudson debuted with new syndicated talk shows, there is no such new programming being offered – especially with an ongoing work stoppage in […]

Remembering the NBC “Checkerboard”

On September 14, 1987, NBC’s owned-and-operated stations decided to launch a bold experiment, airing a different sitcom every weeknight leading in to prime-time. It was a disaster.   Before streaming, where you can watch what you want when you want – or what day you want, there was a time where local stations did something called “checkerboarding”. As you know, prime-time […]

“Dr. Oz” future in question after host announces Senate run

FCC’s equal-time rules takes show out of New York City, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh markets [Editor’s Note: This post was updated at 8 p.m.]  The future of Sony Pictures Television’s Dr. Oz is in serious question after the host of said show announced Tuesday he was running for a U.S. Senate seat in Pennsylvania.  Mehmet Oz – who is a cardiac […]

“South Park” snares blockbuster ViacomCBS deal

Veteran animated series renewed for at least sixty more episodes over six years AND fourteen movies With South Park airing on another streaming service, there had to be some kind of way to get the show’s content on ViacomCBS’ Paramount Plus. After all, the show has been home to Comedy Central since 1997, also owned by ViacomCBS. Well, how about […]

CBS Television Distribution rebrands as CBS Media Ventures

New name reflects additional responsibilities in addition to selling to TV stations After fourteen years as CBS Television Distribution, ViacomCBS’ syndication arm announced Monday it was rebranding as CBS Media Ventures. The decision to rebrand comes as the company feels it’s more than just a syndicator serving traditional TV outlets but also to streamers and creating digital content and running […]

Spin the Wheel: “Wheel of Fortune” comes to prime-time for first time

Wheel gets first prime-time exposure  Another syndicated game show is taking a spin in primetime.  Wheel of Fortune is heading to primetime with a first-ever celebrity edition where it’ll air on Thursday nights starting January 7 on ABC. Those celebrity contestants have a chance to win a million dollars for their favorite charity.  Sony Pictures Television produces Wheel of Fortune […]

The state of syndication in 2021 (three months early)

  Pandemic, shifting audiences makes it challenging for stations and syndicators Generally, I write these state of syndication articles in January before the NATPE gathering in Miami. But as we know, there has been nothing normal about the current times we live in, the television business included (and of course, NATPE isn’t likely happening as a traditional gathering in 2021.)  […]

Update: The tough marketplace for weekend programming continues

But one syndicator is making an actual investment Back last July, this blog detailed how tough it is to launch a weekly show as the weekend landscape outside of sports programming has become dominated by reruns, paid religion, infomercials, and fourth-rate programming. The tough marketplace led to the demise of WGN’s Man Of The People with WGN morning sports anchor […]