Local stations nationwide are wasting little time when The Oprah Winfrey Show signs off on Wednesday. And ABC-owned WLS-TV isn’t the only Chicago station making changes Beginning this Thursday (yes, this Thursday), WLS is replacing Oprah at 9 a.m.with a local effort, Windy City Live. Oprah reruns will air on WLS at 11:05 p.m. until September 9. But WCIU (26.1) […]
A lot of news and notes this week’s Grab Bag: -Management changes at Weigel. Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting announced management changes on Monday, with Neal Sabin now president of content and networks. Sabin is now responsible for all programming on Weigel stations and owned and affiliated networks; development of multiplatform content on local and national levels; strategic planning; marketing of content; […]
Goodbye Chicago Code. Many will miss you – but others won’t. Welcome to upfront season. In what can be described as a television version of a massacre, Fox deep-sixed five shows late Tuesday, including the shot-in-the-Windy City cop drama The Chicago Code. Despite strong ratings locally (the series usually finished behind ABC’s Dancing With The Stars in its Monday night […]
Nearly two weeks ago, Judge Judy join an elite club of programs that did the impossible: knock off perennial ratings champ Wheel of Fortune. According to Nielsen Media Research, Judy topped Wheel for the week ending April 24, with a 3% advantage over the long-running game show to become the top-rated show in syndication. Judy also passed over Jeopardy!, The […]
Erica Kane is being shown the door. In a move rumored for weeks, ABC pulled the plug today on two of its longest-running soap operas: All My Children and One Life to Live. Both series have been longtime staples of ABC’s daytime lineup, each of them being on the air for over four decades. Children is scheduled to end this […]
Ah, lucky Providence, R.I. They get to see women in bras in the prime access hour. We Chicagoans get Bill Kurtis and Walter Jacobson. You know, it’s hard to be a bra salesman these days in Providence when you have the Internet… and now you have infomercials running as early as 7 p.m.! Is it no surprise that 25% of […]
Officials at ABC-owned WLS-TV has decided on a title for its new morning talk show not named Oprah, and it’s blowing into town. The generic-like name of Windy City Live was chosen as the title of WLS’ new local morning show which replaces The Oprah Winfrey Show. Two weeks ago, Robert Feder of Time Out Chicago reported that WLS sports […]
There are many reasons why shows get canceled or end their runs: the star dies or retires, declining ratings, getting too expensive to produce, etc. But because of a rant against his boss? That’s a new one to me! As you’ve heard by now, CBS and Warner Bros. has suspended production on Two And A Half Men again – this […]
WABC-TV in New York City reveals Oprah replacement – a newscast. ABC-owned WLS-TV has finally chosen its hosts for its new morning show to succeed The Oprah Winfrey Show at 9 a.m. – WLS weekend sports anchor Ryan Chiaverini and WGN-TV morning news reporter Valerie Warner. The series’ working title is Morning Rush and is expected to debut sometime around […]
Modern Family syndication sales reaches up to 50 percent of the U.S. Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution seems to benefitting the most thus far when it comes to replacing The Oprah Winfrey Show when it leaves this September, with Anderson Cooper and Ellen DeGeneres’ talk shows snapping up time slots soon-to-be formerly held by the queen of talk. Anderson has […]
Hoffin’ around in TV Hell. Notes and notables from the past week: – One of Chicago’s best media columnists has a new home: Robert Feder has joined Time Out Chicago as the magazine’s media blogger. Beginning next month, Feder will have a blog (just like the one he had at WBEZ under the Vocalo name) on the Time Out website. […]
ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars” was Chicago’s top entertainment (non-sports) program in November. November sweeps came and went and as usual, ABC- owned WLS-TV won the 10pm news race, and also dominated the market overall (thank you Oprah and Dancing With The Stars.) While household numbers were only available at this time, look for WLS to dominate in all key […]
With the second cycle sale of Two and a Half Men to the Tribune and Sinclair station groups for seven – count ‘em – seven years, and mega deals by Fox O&Os for The Big Bang Theory and Modern Family, you think syndicators would celebrate the return of the big pay day they reaped back in the day. Right? Think […]
Jim Laski and Kevin Metheny: Their immortalized testament to their time together at WGN Radio. Guess which one is Metheny… The winners and losers for the past week in local and national media. On we go: The Winning Attitude WGN Radio listeners. With Moo & Oink (Kevin “Pig Virus” Metheny and evening host James “Don’t Drop the Soap” […]
Stations are hoping to strike it rich with “The Nate Berkus Show”. While the official start of the 2010-11 television season is only a week away, syndicators rolled out their new programs this week per tradition, with several new faces. One is interior designer Nate Berkus, who hosts his own talk show courtesy of Sony Pictures Television. A lot of […]
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