Also: The Wall off to a decent start; WCIU to showcase local comedians; Drew Barrymore talker on hold; Fox duopoly picks up another show. WGN-TV held its fourteenth annual Drive-Thru Toy Drive on Thursday to benefit needy families in Chicago and the Tribune-owned independent collected nearly 14,000 unwrapped toys at the event held at the station. Award-winning actress and singer […]
Also: WLS-TV is late news winner; Quantico moves to Mondays; Tribune Media moves out of Tribune Tower Harry, the NBCUniversal-distributed talk show hosted by Harry Connick Jr., has shifted from its 4 p.m. time slot to 2 p.m. on Fox-owned WFLD-TV and three other Fox O&O stations on Monday, according to Broadcasting & Cable. In three of the markets, Harry and […]
WGN-AM President and General Manager Jimmy deCastro has decided to step down from the station effective at the end of this month. The decision was made as the radio exec decided to more focus more on his Evanston-based company, The Content Factory. His firm handles syndication for several programs and distributes new media content. “I’ve done everything I can […]
WCIU to air Bears game Monday night MeTV launches Internet stream Chi-Town Rising gets another run Tribune renews Fox affiliations in six markets As first reported by Robert Feder Monday, Weigel’s MeTV is launching a separate Internet stream of its terrestrial radio station at WRME-LP (87.7 FM). “MeTV Music brings back so many of the artists and songs that terrestrial radio has […]
Tribune Media announced Tuesday the historic building housing the company and the Chicago Tribune has been sold to Los Angeles-based developer CIM Inc, for $280 million. The developer is planning to add retail space to the building through a complete renovation. The sale likely forces out the Tribune, which it and parent company Tronc has a lease until 2018. Last year, Tribune split is […]
Affiliation move takes low-key approach Chicago’s first affiliation change in over 20 years takes place this week as CW moves from Tribune-owned WGN-TV to Fox-owned WPWR-TV. The change marks WGN’s return to independent status for the first time since 1995, when the station joined the then-new WB network (which merged with UPN in 2006 to form The CW.) Meanwhile, WPWR becomes […]
Off-network series premieres in syndication in fall 2017 WGN-TV has bolstered its schedule by adding off-network reruns of CBS’ hit comedy Mom, starting next fall. Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution has sold the show in syndication on a cash-plus-barter basis to seventeen Tribune markets, including the newly independent WGN-TV. Many Tribune stations plan to pair Mom with Two And A Half […]
What the Good Lord giveth, can also taketh: In a reversal, HBO has canceled freshman drama Vinyl – despite renewing it for a second season four days after it premiered. Despite a stellar cast in front the camera and behind the scenes, the series never gained traction with viewers or critics (though it seemed Vinyl only registered with the elitist […]
Off-network deals include WGN-TV, WQAD In good news for off-network sitcom-starved stations, Sony Pictures Television announced it has sold ABC Wednesday night sitcom The Goldbergs in syndication starting in the fall of 2017, starting with eighteen Tribune markets. Cash-plus-barter deals include WGN-TV in Chicago and ABC affiliate WQAD-TV in the Quad Cities area, consisting of Davenport, Ia., Rock Island, and Moline, […]
I guess the way we do things in Illinois is this: get into a disagreement, take your ball and go home and inconvenience everyone. Chicago-based Tribune Media Sunday night yanked its signals from Echostar-owned Dish Network, based in Englewood, Colo., a suburb of Denver due to an inability to reach a new agreement. The signals were pulled at 7 p.m. […]
Local news returns to ABC 7 at 11 a.m.; Dr. Oz returns for three more years; WGN-TV needs a new GM; and more. In a victory for local programming (and yet another defeat for syndicators), ABC-owned WLS-TV (ABC 7) announced Tuesday it was bringing back its 11 a.m. newscast after three years and moving current time slot occupant Windy City […]
WLS-TV (ABC 7) sent Ron Magers off in style Wednesday night as viewers tuned in en masse to see him anchor his final newscast, earning a time-period winning 10.0 rating in live-plus-same day households according to Robert Feder. ABC 7 Also won the May sweeps at 10 p.m., but finished behind NBC-owned WMAQ (NBC 5) at 10 in the 25-54 demo. Another […]
WGN-TV to drop CW affiliation in September; moves to Fox-owned WPWR Tribune Broadcasting renews agreement to carry CW programming in twelve markets Tribune Broadcasting finally renewed its CW affiliations this weekend. But in a surprise move, it didn’t renew its affiliation with WGN-TV in Chicago. Where The CW affiliation wound up is a even bigger surprise. As first reported by Robert […]
The CW announces fifteen original shows; affiliation deal with Tribune Broadcasting is close As you know by now, Supergirl is flying to a new network this fall – The CW. The move highlighted CW’s 2016-17 schedule, its eleventh in existence. CW renewed (almost) all of its existing programming, save midseason entry Containment. However, some of those returning shows are being […]
With the upfronts a week away, it’s time to take a look at what was hot and what was not in the 2015-16 television season. This roundup not only is about primetime broadcast TV, but other programming as well from local news to local sports. These are not listed in any particular order. Winners. – Cable dramas. While the news has […]
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