WMAQ-TV marks 75th Anniversary

Joins ABC 7 and WGN in doing so with special segments So far, 2023 saw ABC’s WLS-TV and Nexstar’s WGN-TV mark their 75th anniversaries, the latter with a two-hour special. And now NBC-owned WMAQ-TV (branded as NBC 5 and NBC Chicago locally) is also joining the party.  Several WMAQ alumnus will be joining the station for special segments during the […]

Reunification: CBS and Viacom get back together

Split in 2005, both companies re-merge in order to compete with other entertainment giants In news that was expected for several months, it is now official: CBS Corporation and Viacom, Inc. are re-merging after nearly fifteen years apart. The company will be known as ViacomCBS. The reunification returns several well-known properties to one roof: CBS, with its top-rated broadcast network, […]

“Roseanne” revival hits a home run

Premiere is highest-rated of the season A few weeks ago, a writer from Mediapost said the return of American Idol on ABC “saved” the television industry. He might want to revise his article. In stunning news, the revival of Roseanne won big time in the ratings for ABC – averaging a 5.2 rating in the adults 18-49 demo for ABC […]

End of the line for Bill Cosby

It what may likely be the end of Bill Cosby’s TV career, two networks have yanked his television series due to a new round of rape allegations. Diginet Bounce TV announced Tuesday it was pulling the plug on Cosby reruns, effective immediately. Hours later, Centric – a Viacom-owned cable network targeting African-Americans in the 25-54 demo and a competitor to […]

Can Steve Dahl do it again?

We’ll find out for sure soon enough as one of Chicago’s radio legends returns to the airwaves Monday for the first time in five years. The last time Steve Dahl was regularly employed at WLS-AM, the artists the station had in rotation were Whitney Houston, Tears For Fears, Mr. Mister, Prince, and Pat Benetar. The Cosby Show was the top-rated […]

TCA Summer Tour 2014: Crash course in cable

The Television Critics Association’s Press Tour got underway last week at the Beverly Hills Hilton in Beverly Hills, Ca. For the next two weeks, TV and media critics will be listening to executives talk a lot of BS, see actors whining, and asking tough questions while tweeting away. But there is also the potential for some fun moments (remember a Downton […]

Cubs, White Sox bleed viewers

Disastrous season on both sides of town had fans fleeing for the exits – but at least they’re not the Astros After the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup June 24, most local sports fans checked out for the summer, thanks to the inept play of both the Chicago Cubs (66-96) and Chicago White Sox (63-99), each finishing last in […]

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, […]

A look back at The Great Talk Show Rush Of 1995

  The few, the proud: the fallen heroes of The Great Talk Show Rush Of 1995. The video above explains it all.  On Monday, three new syndicated talk shows debut in syndication, with new hosts Katie Couric, Jeff Probst, and the return of Ricki Lake. Along with Steve Harvey (whose show debuted Sept. 4) and Trisha Goddard (debuting Sept. 17), […]

Retro Friday Time Machine: Al Franken returns to “SNL”

http://www.hulu.com/watch/271485 (Editor’s Note: Advertising may appear before video. T Dog Media does not endorse any service or product. If you don’t see the above video on your screen, you can view it by clicking here. – T.H.) If you think NBC got grief for its fall 2012 lineup and its recent Olympic coverage, let me take you back to the […]

“Dallas” looking to ride high in the saddle again

Look who’s riding back into town after 21 years… and look who’s he brought back from the gutter with him… J.R. Ewing – whose seedy antics made even superhero villains look good by comparison, is coming back to television this Wednesday night in a revival of the popular 1978-91 CBS primetime serial Dallas for TNT, which features the dealings of […]

TCA: NBCUniversal unveils many big projects

The Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour kicked off last week from Pasadena, Calif. and up first among the Big Media companies were the networks of Comcast/NBCUniversal, which includes Bravo, E!, and NBC itself. This portion covers two days (Friday and Saturday), and what’s listed here is not listed chronologically, but by order of network: NBC – The fourth-place network’s […]

TCA report: Part 1

It’s the Winter Television Critics Association tour where TV critics and bloggers escape the cold to come out to somewhat warmer Pasadena, Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles known for the wonderful Rose Parade, the Rose Bowl, and where Sheldon Cooper lives. Over the next few days, networks will trot out stars and execs to hawk their new shows and […]

Two and a Half Times the second cycle

Want more Two and a Half Men in syndication? You got it. But if  you want more crazy Charlie Sheen going ape in a hotel room moments, you’ll have to wait – those come at random. In a story Broadcasting & Cable broke Wednesday, Tribune Broadcasting and Sinclair Broadcasting announced they has renewed Two and a Half Men for a […]