Tribune signs on for new action hour

Station group plotting future without off-network fare in key time periods? Tribune Broadcasting announced last week it has cleared a new weekend scripted hour series from Trifecta Entertainment titled Rescue 3, created by former Baywatch showrunner Gregory J. Bonann. Clearances include WGN-TV Chicago, WPIX New York, KTLA Los Angeles, WPHL Philadelphia and KDAF Dallas. As first reported by Broadcasting & […]

Chicago syndie schedules get dramatic makeover

Local stations, syndicators shuffle the deck As we enter year two in the post-Oprah era, things are finally changing in the syndication marketplace, as five new syndicated talk shows – the most in 17 years – make their debut. As for off-network sitcoms, the pickings are rather slim – just two new entries this year, compared to five in 2011. […]

T Dog’s Grab Bag: “Live With Kelly” shifts to WLS-TV in 2013

The Jeff Probst Show finally clears Chicago, landing at WBBM-TV Due to a busy schedule covering and analyzing Upfront Week, there were a lot of notable media stories mentioned in the past week: – First mentioned in Robert Feder’s Time Out Chicago blog last week, ABC-owned WLS-TV has acquired Live With Kelly beginning in September 2013, falling in line with […]

The Upfronts Selection Show

The week before the upfronts are always crazy: you have networks canceling shows and picking up pilots to series for either this fall or for midseason. Welcome to The Upfronts Selection Show, where choices are made and bubbles are burst. Call this the television business’ version of March Madness. All of this hubbub this place before the big show kicks […]

Grab Bag: NATPE edition

The National Association of Television Programming Executive – or NATPE convention begins Monday in Miami and as always, there’s syndication news to report on. Here’s the latest: – CBS-owned WBBM-TV in Chicago and twelve other CBS markets have cleared TNT’s Leverage for weekend off-network syndication beginning next fall from Trifecta Entertainment, which acquires the syndication rights from executive producer Dean […]