"Gossip Girl", "Deal" tank

Despite all the hoopla – for Gossip Girl and its racy ads and pulling the program from the Internet, and for Deal for having President Bush appear – neither did well with Girl pulling in only 2.5 million viewers (even pulling in fewer viewers than MTV’s The Hills, which drew a little over 4 million) and Deal matching a season […]

Sports off broadcast TV in Detroit

Local broadcasts of Detroit Tigers, Pistons, and Red Wings games have been locked up by cable channel FSN Detroit for the next 10 years, keeping the games off of broadcast TV in the Motor City (unless their respective broadcast network partners – i.e. Fox with MLB, NBC with the NHL, etc. carries a game.) It also erases the possibility of […]

Real or rumor: New San Diego Fox affiliate?

This Sam Zell video posted on Trib-owned Baltimore Sun’s website (click on “Sam 5” to see video) may hint at a possible affiliation switch for KSWB, going from CW to Fox (why are they still called KSWB to begin with?) So what happens to current Fox affiliate XETV based in nearby Tijuana, Mexico? It could be deja vu all over […]

Feder analyzes WLS firings

Robert Feder of the Sun-Times wrote a pretty good article today, analyzing WLS-AM and WZZN-FM’s firing spree on Friday, in which fourteen people lost their jobs – a dead-on piece that pretty much sums up the state of the media business today, especially radio. And that’s not all: On top of that, Feder reported that four employees at CBS-owned WBBM-TV […]

CW picks up six shows

If you’re a fan of America’s Next Top Model, Everybody Hates Chris, Gossip Girl, One Tree Hill, Smallville, and Supernatural – good news – your show has been picked up for next season, though Top Model and Chris were renewed ahead of time. Left off the list (for now) are Reaper, The Game, and Aliens in America. Gone are WWE […]

"WWE Smackdown" bodyslams its way to My Network TV

It’s My Smackdown now. The WWE and News Corp.’s My Network TV have entered into an exclusive agreement to carry the two-hour WWE Smackdown, beginning in September. The program will enter season 10 on the mini-net. Many former UPN affiliates (including WPWR in Chicago and WCGV in Milwaukee) aired Smackdown but when UPN merged with the WB to form CW […]

WWE Smackdown to… WGN ?

Yes, that’s one of two options the WWE under consideration with the other outlet being My Network TV. If the WWE goes with with WGN Superstation, most Chicagoans would not have access to the show, since the cable version of WGN is only carried on satellite (Direct TV and Dish Network) and not on any cable systems, unless the WWE […]

"Girlfriends" to end long run

As CW prepares its post-strike future, many of its popular shows (and I’m stretching “popular” quite a bit here) are returning with new episodes this spring, including Smallville, Supernatural, One Tree Hill, and Reaper, while others including Gossip Girl and Everybody Hates Chris will return with new episodes in the fall. But two shows won’t return at all: The ultra […]

CW cancels "Smackdown"

The CW has pulled the plug on WWE Smackdown after nine seasons, after failing to come to an agreement on renewal. The program’s final CW airing is scheduled for September 12. The program began on April 29, 1999 as a one-shot special on UPN, and joined that network’s lineup on August 26, 1999. Smackdown originally aired on Thursday nights, but […]

Super Bowl Ratings Box

– The Giants-Patriots tilt was seen by 97.5 million viewers, making it the highest-rated Super Bowl of all-time, and only second to the 1983 finale of M*A*S*H. The game was up 5 percent from last year’s Colts-Bears Super Bowl. – Super Bowl XLII earned a 43.2 household rating and 65 share, and averaged a 37.6 among adults 18-49. – Fox-owned […]

CW reshuffles the deck

The CW is finally out with its midseason schedule, which you can access here. Among the changes: – Gossip Girl moves to Monday at 7 (CT) with the Pussycat Dolls’ reality show at 8. – The CW comedies move to Sunday (good luck, they’ll need it) – Supernatural is being replaced by Reaper on Thursdays at 8, beginning February 28

Deconstructing Feder

Picking apart Feder from the Sun-Times today: – While other CBS-owned stations saw ratings increases in the just concluded November sweeps (I’ll have a post on November sweeps figures shortly), the free fall continues at WBBM-TV, whose ratings were flat in households and down 15 percent in adults 25-54. And this comes after one of the best investigative reports in […]

Network notes

News and notes from the world of network TV: – NBC has picked up the back nine episodes of Chuck (good move!) and Life, ensuring them with a full season each, assuming the writers’ strike ends soon. – Twiggy is out and Paula Porikzova is in as one of the judges when America’s Next Top Model returns to the air […]

The 2007 T Dog Media Blog Turkey Awards

With the Pumpkin Pie Awards for Excellence Welcome to the second annual T Dog Media Blog Turkey Awards. Once again, we’re here to serve up the disasters in media in 2007. I have nineteen turkeys to hand out… so let’s get gobbling! And this year’s awards go to… – The Chicago Bears. A Super Bowl hangover this year. And especially Rex […]