Longtime cultural icon passes just two and a half weeks before she turned 100 In a week filled with devasting deaths, here’s another one: Betty White – a beloved television icon and wonderful all-around person, died Friday, December 31 at the age of 99 – just two and a half weeks before she was to turn 100 on January 17. […]
The latest news and um…notes: Todd Cavanah, sticking to….stuff not related to politics, a lackluster MTM tribute, and correction to make and more Todd Cavanah takes over programming duties at US99 WBBM-FM and WJMK-FM program director Todd Cavanah is adding another new position in his arsenal – program director of sister station WUSN-FM, according to Robert Feder. He succeeds Jeff […]
Iconic actress passes away at 80, was a trailblazer for women in Hollywood The television community is mourning the loss of Mary Tyler Moore who died Wednesday at the age of 80. She was known for playing two iconic characters: Lauria Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show and Mary Richards on The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Born in Brooklyn’s […]
The television world is remembering Grant Tinker and the legacy he left as he passed away at the age of 90 on November 28 in his Los Angeles home. While network executives were known for meddling into the creative process, Grant Tinker would be best known for his hands-off approach – which made sense given he headed one of the most […]
The second day of NATPE: – It’s a Friends reunion… but only with the creators of the show. Friends co-creator Marta Kaufmann and David Crane reunited Tuesday for a NATPE panel, reflecting on their success and talked about the future of the network sitcom. The duo didn’t exactly wax praise on the current state of the genre, saying they wouldn’t […]
Brenly becomes new Arizona Diamondbacks color analyst The latest Grab Bag is here with a possible new classic TV channel on the way, two primetime network series renewed, and more: – Bob Brenly, who has been the color analyst for Chicago Cubs broadcasts alongside Len Kasper over WGN-TV broadcasts and Comcast SportsNet since 2005 announced he’s leaving the team to […]
Charlotte’s WCCB added MeTV last month. Now nearly half of the country will hear the word “Berwyn”. Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting Co. and MGM announced today its MeTV digital subchannel network has now cleared 45 percent of U.S. households after three and a half months on the air. Station groups who have cleared MeTV on their digital subchannels include Bahakel Communications, […]
Fox’s 2010 TCA Presentation won’t be remembered for its three new shows (in fact, they’re quite forgettable), but for the questions it didn’t answer… Fox execs Kevin Reilly and Peter Rice talked about a lot of things pertaining to their network, but disappointed many at the press tour by refusing to answer any questions related to American Idol, especially on […]
Ugly Betty may be gone from the airwaves (did anyone notice?) but Beautiful Betty is blossoming! Betty White’s much ballyhooed hosting gig on Saturday Night Live – inspired by a Facebook campaign, won its time period with a 8.8 overnight metered-market household rating, according to Nielsen. Among adults 18-49 in the 25 Local People Meter markets, the program averaged a […]
The best and the worst in media for the week ending May 9: Winners: – Perfect. The City of Oakland and the word “perfect” often goes together as Playboy models and science-fiction conventions. But the city gets to celebrate for one day as Dallas Breaden pitched a perfect game Sunday for the hometown Athletics against the Tampa Bay Rays. Now […]
– SciFi orders new Caprica: The SciFi Channel has greenlighted a new prequel for Battlestar Galactica titled Caprica. The prequel is set fifty years before Galactica‘s Cylon attack, with two rival families dealing with life on Caprica, including an emerging artifical intelligence sector on the planet. – The Big three networks have announced their new mid-season prime-time schedules, if you […]