Analysis: The real winners and losers in the CoCo lottery

The drawing in the Conan O’Brien lottery took place Monday, and it was Turner Broadcasting who turned up the lucky winner. So what does TBS actually win? Young demos. A proven name. An increased profile. And a new car – advertiser or two. But it seems a lot of players in this saga appear to winners – TBS, Conan O’Brien, […]

The Grab Bag: "Sex" has a new home, Hawks news, and more

– It appears CoCo has caused a casualty on TBS’ schedule, and its Comcastic! E! and the Style network have acquired all 94 (yes, count ’em – 94) episodes of Sex And the City, beginning in the fall of 2011. Both E! and Style are both owned by Comcast. The former HBO series currently runs on TBS at midnight, but […]

CoCo heads to TBS

It’s something Ted Turner would be proud of – if he still owned TBS. In a move that shocks a lot of people in the industry, former NBC late-night talk show Conan O’Brien has signed a deal with TBS to do a late night program. O’Brien broke the news on Twitter earlier today. Details were sketchy, but O’Brien will begin […]

"Big Bang Theory" headed for big payday

Are these guys worth $4 million per episode? You bet your behind it is. Is the high-priced off-network sitcom on its way back? With the upcoming sale of The Big Bang Theory, we may soon find out. Not since the days of Friends, Seinfeld, The Simpsons, and The Cosby Show have we seen a sitcom come close to the $4 […]

What’s next for Conan O’Brien

So now that Conan O’Brien has wrapped up his tenure at NBC in late night after sixteen years, what’s next for the once low-key talk show host? Mr. O’Brien could have offers from other competing networks from several cable networks  and at least one broadcast network. And he may have helped his cause on Friday night: Ratings for his final […]

T Dog’s Grab Bag: The syndication edition

It’s a syndication edition of T Dog’s Grab Bag. Reach in! Is this a sign Oprah’s relationship with CBS Television Distribution is over? Ms. Winfrey’s production company is developing a new talk show with designing expert Nate Berkus –  and Sony Pictures Television, the company that’s syndicating Dr. Oz. with Harpo Productions. Berkus has been on The Oprah Winfrey Show […]

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 […]

Bears-Falcons game beats the NLCS – in Los Angeles

While it was a given the Chicago Bears-Atlanta Falcons game would win Sunday Night’s local rating race, one place where it also wound up winning in the ratings was unexpected – in Los Angeles opposite a National League Championship Series playoff game – involving the Dodgers. The Bears-Falcons game on KNBC-TV in Los Angeles from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. […]

T Dog’s Four Pack

This week’s Four Pack contains the baseball playoffs, some dancing, and Rachael Ray – oh my! Winners – Postseason baseball. Ratings for the divisional baseball  playoffs on TBS were up from last year…. maybe because the Cubs and White Sox weren’t in it? – Rachael Ray. Her talk show is renewed until 2011-12 in 90 percent of the country, including […]

Chicago’s baseball teams did better on the tube than on the field

While Chicago’ baseball teams did not have a successful season on the field, they had some success on the tube. Sports Business Journal ranked the 2009 regular season of thirty teams, and the Chicago Cubs finished ninth among regional sports networks, with a 4.1 household rating – but this number was down 16% from 2008 numbers. Meanwhile, the Chicago White […]

T Dog’s Groovy Grab Bag – The TCA edition

For the next nine or so days, television critics (or those who are left) will be at the Television Critics Association Press Tour in Pasadena, Calif. for Q&A sessions on the new fall shows, countless press releases, and sharp exchanges with network execs (sorry, no more Ben Silverman.) Here are some of the early highlights of the tour: – TBS […]

Turner gets aggressive with broadcast networks

CW is turning into the All-Drama Channel. Another is already there. Only difference is they actually know drama. Turner networks unveiled their new programs at the network upfronts with TNT’s focus on dramas and TBS’ focus on comedies and sitcoms – and a new weeknight talk show hosted by George Lopez. TNT, one of the top-rated cable networks, trotted out […]

T Dog’s Groovy Grab Bag – The NATPE edition

This version of the Groovy Grab Bag comes to you from the National Association of Television Program Executives convention going on in Las Vegas. Before we start on a barrage of news and notes, let’s talk about the convention itself: things are not going so well. Attendance at the convention is way down, as station managers and others have decided […]

And the number one show in African-American households is…

No surprise here, it’s Tyler Perry’s House of Payne. But there is a surprise when compared to other programs in the viewer’s landscape: When you take the rating from its’ syndication airings and its cable runs on TBS, Payne tops everything else among African-Americans in all of television among adults 18-34, 18-49, and 25-54, including network prime-time, beating Grey’s Anatomy […]