Year marked by scandals, futility, and other things 2018 wasn’t exactly a repeat of the last two horrendous years in the media world, but scandals and deceit still ruled the roost. Though not topping 2017’s Disney-Fox deal, 2018 had some mega transactions – though the second-biggest merger of 2017 went bust as Sinclair Broadcasting’s $4 billion deal to buy Tribune […]
Break out the leg warmers and Rubik’s Cubes : WDRV, WLS-FM score record ratings There must be gold in retro music – because it is paying dividends for several Chicago radio stations. And it is for two stations in particular: Hubbard’s Classic Rock WDRV-FM (The Drive) and Cumulus’ Classic Hits WLS-FM both scored their highest rankings ever and their highest […]
Plus: ABC 7 dominates in ratings AND social media; Minneapolis station latest to drop “My” branding That’s a wrap…for now: Mike North went on television Tuesday night and announced he was “retiring” from sports media, including radio, television, writing, podcasts… you name it. On WTTW’s Chicago Tonight, North told host Phil Ponce talking sports today was just too complicated. He […]
(Editor’s Note: This is T Dog Media’s 3,000th post!) Welcome to the 11th annual T Dog Media Turkey Awards – celebrating the worst in media, sports, and life in general. There were many nominees this year, but I don’t think you want to be here all day. Thus, yours truly whittled it down to nineteen recipients this year. Let’s get gobblin’! […]
Pete McMurray & Co. out As first reported by Radio Insight, Hubbard-owned WDRV-FM, “The Drive” announced Tuesday the hiring of Brian Sherman and Steve Tingle for mornings. Though the site stated “Monday, October 21” (actually a Friday), the actual start date is October 31. The move reunites the duo at the Classic Rock outlet – the duo were at the […]
McMornings at The Drive are McDone. Hubbard-owned WDRV-FM – better known as classic rock-oriented The Drive, announced Thursday afternoon the release of Morning Show participant Dan McNeil after sixteen months. The official press release on McNeil leaving the station can be found here. The announcement was made by Hubbard Radio Chicago VP/Market Manager John Gallagher and WDRV PD Rob Cressman. The move came […]
Battle between McNeil, Hubbard management latest sign of Chicago radio’s dysfunction You’re probably asking, how’s the new McMornings show on The Drive working out? As you probably guessed, it’s about as flat as a Diet Coke. According to an article by Robert Feder Monday, the gamble made by Hubbard-owned WDRV-FM pairing up former sports talker Dan McNeil and former WGN-AM […]
Radio is experiencing a renaissance and television in the dumps? Welcome to the summer of the bizarro world. You’ve probably read several articles lately proclaiming radio’s resurgence, with Nielsen reporting a record reach of 245 million listeners and usage up from years past, with more reach than any other medium. Great news, indeed. But what the corporate spinmeisters won’t tell you […]
McNeil, McMurray to provide WDRV listeners with a morning Happy Meal Rise and shine, everyone! The McMorning Show is on its way, providing you with Drive-Thru fun, hoping You’re Lovin’ It. According to RobertFeder.com, former sports talk show host Dan McNeil and WGN radio host Pete McMurray are close to singing a deal to co-host morning drive at Hubbard’s WDRV-FM, […]
A lot of stuff in this grab bag this week: – What’s this? A historic low for WGN Radio? The Tribune-owned talker . Even with Cubs baseball (and the you know the team sucks this year), WGN finished behind WVAZ (V103) and WTMX (The Mix) and also behind WBBM-AM and WDRV (The Drive). Other May PPM highlights include WGCI’s return […]
I guess this is what happens when you use winning call letters without Charlie Sheen? The first full Arbitron PPM survey for September is out for Merlin Media all-news station WWWN shows the station is clearly not “winning”. In fact – it’s losing. Big. According to the PPM report, WWWN finished an astonishing low 48th place with […]
The Voice finds… its “voice”… Looney Tunes returns… and other news of note – It’s official: the sale of Bonneville’s radio stations in Chicago and a few other cities is now complete: Twin Cities (Minneapolis-St. Paul) -based Hubbard Broadcasting has officially taken over The Mix (WTMX), The Drive (WDRV), and WILV-FM on May 2. The formats and management who served […]
Emmis-owned WLUP-FM (The Loop, 97.9) announced Saturday it was making a format adjustment to its playlist, dropping all current and most recent rock titles and playing classic rock from the 1970’s and 1980’s exclusively. The adjustment puts the station in direct competition with Bonneville-owned WDRV/WWDV-FM (The Drive, 97.1), which it and two other stations were sold this week to Minneapolis-based […]
Bonneville also sells Cincinnati, St. Louis, and Washington D.C. stations In the first major shocker move of 2011 involving local media, Salt Lake City-based Bonneville International has sold its Chicago cluster of radio stations to Minneapolis-St. Paul-based Hubbard Broadcasting for $505 million. The deal also includes thirteen others: six stations in Washington D.C., and four stations each in Cincinnati and […]
This is based on 6+ numbers; the 18-34 numbers; the 25-54 numbers: Male, Female, and Adults. Winners: WOJO-FM, WGCI-FM, V103 (WVAZ), The Mix (WTMX), The Drive (WDRV) , WBBM-FM, WKSC-FM (Kiss) Honorable Mention: US 99 (WUSN-FM), In the Top 5 overall, but very old skewing: WGN-AM Loser: WNUA-FM, ESPN 1000 (WMVP-AM) Results: All-news WBBM-AM may have been number one overall, […]
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