CW unveils 2009-10 schedule

Call it The Drama Channel. CW announced new dramas for the 2009-10 television campaign at its upfront presentation with a lineup with no comedies and just one reality show. Mondays remain status quo, Tuesday is retro night with new episodes of 90210 and Melrose Place, Wednesdays has Top Model and the new scripted drama Beautiful Life, featuring models trying to […]

T Dog’s Think Tank – Follow Up: Hawks got with the program

The very first Think Tank yours truly wrote back on November 28, 2006 dealt with the follies of the National Hockey League and its Chicago franchise, and those of broadcasters (over-the-air TV stations and networks), sharing the same tale of missteps and woe. After the Chicago Blackhawks fired head coach Trent Yawney, yours truly wrote this on a comment board […]

"Reaper" headed to syndication?

Reaper, the quirky dramedy currently airing on Tuesday on CW, may be headed for first-run syndication. The series – now in its second season – would be sold to CW affiliates for airing on Sunday nights at either 7 or 8 p.m. However, Disney-ABC Television Distribution could sell the show to a My Network TV affiliate, independent station, or even […]

CW gives up on Sundays

After initially denying they were giving Sunday back to the affiliates, The CW announced yesterday it was – finally waiving the white flag after getting pummeled in the ratings over the last few years. The CW’s ratings – and its predecessor The WB – ratings were so bad, the network decided last year to lease the Sunday night time slots […]

Animation Domination

A ton of news on the animation beat this week: – Cartoon Network held its upfront in New York on Wednesday, and revealed a bunch of new programming. Renewals include Star Wars: Clone Wars, Ben 10, and Total Drama Island. New additions include some live-action programming (including original movies) and yet another Scooby-Doo television series, titled Scooby-Doo Mystery Inc. plus […]

"Teenager" whips "Gossip Girl"

Does TV Week still think Gossip Girl is a hot show? Well, here’s an even hotter show. ABC Family’s Secret Diary Of An American Teenager blew Gossip Girl out of the water last night in total viewers (4.5 vs. 2.2 million), in adults 18-34 (by 50%), adults 18-49 (by 43%) and viewers 12-34 (by 123%). It was the second half […]

Judge Jeanne Pirro sold to Fox O&Os

Warner Bros’ move of Judge Jeanne Pirro from The CW to syndication is now complete, with a group deal with the Fox Television Group. The all-barter deal, which includes Fox’s duopoly of WFLD and WPWR, gives Pirro a clearance rate of 75 percent of the United States. Pirro may have benefited from the cancellation of Cristina’s Court on Friday, which […]

"Ugly Betty" to be yanked

It looks like Ugly Betty may be down for the count. ABC has decided to replace the low-rated one-hour dramedy with two half-hour comedies: The new In The Motherhood and the returning Samantha Who? in its’ Thursday night (7 p.m. CT) time slot. The move is effective March 26, but the plan is to put Ugly Betty on hiatus and […]

TCA News

From the Winter Press Tour: – BET isn’t going to pass up a history-making event as this one. The network is going to be there front and center for President-elect Barack Obama’s Inauguration. BET will air special programming beginning this Saturday, including extended coverage of Obama’s Inauguration on Jan. 20. Click here to read more. – HBO is launching a […]

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 […]

WPWR scores big with Bears

Fox-owned WPWR-TV and the NFL Network scored big with Thursday night’s telecast of the New Orleans Saints-Chicago Bears game. Locally, the game scored a combined 25.2 rating on both outlets. In October, WPWR (as a My Network TV affiliate), finished seventh among English-language households in prime-time, behind WCIU-TV’s House of Payne and The Bernie Mac Show and CW programming on […]

"The Tyra Banks Show" moves to CW

In a move that comes as a bit of a surprise, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution announced Thursday the move of The Tyra Banks Show to CW from first-run syndication – giving the network two hours to fill in its daytime lineup starting next September. CW, home already to Ms. Banks’ America’s Next Top Model, acquired the program to run […]

CW, MRC part ways

It was a idea that was bad as the shows themselves… Independent studio Media Rights capital and The CW have agreed to part ways after the Sunday night lineup the company programmed tanked in the ratings. The CW has took back the night and plans to program it with reruns of Everybody Hates Chris and The Game, off-network repeats of […]

Your election night guide

So how local TV and radio plan to cover tomorrow night’s historic election? Like the Super Bowl, of course. Here’s how the Chicago media plan to cover the big night on both the television and radio sides. One interest of note is WGN-TV’s decision to pre-empt new episodes of The CW’s 90210 and Privileged for expanded election coverage. Ouch! WFLD […]

MRC pulls plug on "Valentine" and "Easy Money"

Media Rights Capital, who is buying time to program CW’s Sunday night lineup, has canceled Valentine and Easy Money. Both programs had achieved numbers usually seen for late-night infomercials and religious programming – really bad. And I mean WJYS-TV, Channel 62 bad. Yep, you know you failed when your show can’t even outdraw Joel Osteen and Paula White Today. No […]