T Dog’s Grab Bag: “Arsenio” to return for second season

Grab Baggin’- * It’s like good prevailing over evil: CBS Television Distribution announced the renewal of The Arsenio Hall Show for a second season Wednesday evening, with former Tonight Show host Jay Leno delivering the news to Arsenio in person (see above.) This comes as Arsenio has the youngest median age of any late night talk show amid a recent ratings […]

TCA: Plenty on the plate for NBC

NBC and two of its cable networks  took to the stage last weekend at the TCA Winter Press Tour in Pasadena to tout its post-Olympic schedule – which contains a major realignment of its late fringe schedule. While NBC has improved its programming under Entertainment President Bob Greenblatt, there are still many weak spots, including Thursday night. – Executive session: […]

Comcast SportsNet Chicago cuts Susannah Collins

Comcast Sportsnet Chicago sideline reporter Susannah Collins was released from her position Thursday night after just eight months on the job, reports Robert Channick of the Chicago Tribune. In a moment that would’ve made Dick Clark and Ed McMahon proud (and would’ve make TV’s Bloopers and Practical Jokes), Collins made a notable on-air flub during the first intermission of a […]

Fallon to succeed Leno as host of “The Tonight Show”

Here we go again. After weeks of speculation, NBC made it official last week: it was handing the hosting duties of The Tonight Show to Jimmy Fallon, replacing Jay Leno in the role. In addition, NBC is moving production of The Tonight Show to New York City, returning to the Big Apple for the first time in 42 years. Excluding […]

Local ratings box: WLS-TV returns to dominance at 10

– WLS-TV returns to the top of the late news heap – American Idol continues to slide With the Olympics over and done with, normal viewing patterns have resumed – good news for ABC-owned WLS-TV, which saw its 10 p.m. news dominance temporarily usurped by NBC-owned WMAQ. In March, WLS returned to the top spot at 10 with a 9.0 […]

TCA: ABC prepares new dramas to launch

The ABC Portion of the tour kicked off with ABC Family’s Bunheads and Pretty Little Liars, then descended into the executive session, where network president Paul Lee blundred and stumbled explaining why the network didn’t do well (finishing fourth in primetime), admitting defeat and the work ABC needs to do. Lee also admitted this past All-Star cycle of Dancing With […]

TCA: NBC hopes to keep its momentum

After a few lean years, NBC is back in the ratings ballgame, thanks to the success of The Voice, Revolution, Sunday Night Football, and to a lesser extent Go On. With the former two programs out until spring, can NBC keep its momentum going? Can network chief Robert Greenblatt (who I already like more than his predecessors) steer the network […]

Essany pulls plug on “Seven On Ridge”

The dream is over: in a move that didn’t particularly come as a surprise, Michael Essany has shut down his nightly talk show strip Seven On Ridge due to several production disputes, reports Phil Potempa of nwi.com (The Times Of Northwest Indiana), where this was first reported. The show taped at the Gary Convention Center. This past week, independent WJYS […]

Let the late-night fights begin

Jimmy Kimmel Live gets upgraded to 10:35 p.m. Central to take on Leno and Letterman; Nightline to move an hour later It’s on. Jimmy Kimmel – once known for co-hosting a show featuring women jumping up and down on trampolines – has landed the plum post-late local news slot on ABC effective January 8, replacing Nightline, which has held the […]

Conan begins life on basic cable

Conan’s excited to be on TBS. Monday finally marked former NBC late-night host Conan O’Brien venture into basic cable on a network which was once stood as a momument to Ted Turner. Conan’s conquest of the Turner Broadcasting System started in essence with an overnight rating of 2.8 for his Monday premiere. But it gets better: – The program drew […]

T Dog’s Think Tank: Better days ahead for NBC (2000th post)

The party’s over for Doogie and Partyman. Post number 2000. Yes, yours truly is finally written his 2000th post after four years. And what better way to celebrate by writing a Think Tank regarding the departures of biggest boobs to ever grace – or disgrace a media corporation’s executive suite outside of Laurence Tisch. I’m talking about Jeff Zucker and […]

Jeff Zucker exits NBC

Don’t hit your… out the door… In news that will make TV junkies across the land jubilant, NBC Universal Chairman Jeff Zucker exited the network today after 24 years. But just how he left is a matter of what publication you read: Broadcasting & Cable’s headline was Zucker leaves NBC; but on the Deadline Hollywood site, the headline splashed on […]

"Smackdown" moves to SyFy

In a move which illustrates once again the declining clout of broadcasters – and the growingpower of cable, Vince McMahon and the WWE have announced the departure of Friday Night Smackdown from Fox’s My Network TV and is moving it to NBC Universal-owned cable channel SyFy effective October 1. SyFy smacked down Fox with a $30 million offer to WWE, […]