Betty White dies at 99

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. […]

ViacomCBS’ cable networks snares “Young Sheldon” syndication rights

Starts November 30 on Nick at Nite; rights are non-exclusive Signaling the sign of the times in the television business, ViacomCBS’ cable networks acquired the linear syndication rights to Young Sheldon from Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution for an unknown sum, announced in August. But to show you how far recent off-network sitcoms have fallen in the marketplace, the news […]

“Roseanne” canceled by ABC after star sends racist, anti-Semitic tweets

Decision stuns industry – but it had to be done In a stunning and unprecedented move , ABC pulled the plug on the revival of the 1988-97 sitcom Roseanne – because of tweets sent by the namesake’s star, making racist and anti-Semitic statements. The series was to return this fall for its eleventh season. The tweet Roseanne Barr wrote Tuesday […]

T Dog’s Media Notepad: Chicago radio stations to carry Mayor Emanuel interview

Also: Conviction canceled, becomes first casualty; NFL ratings continue to decline; WLIT to flip to Christmas music Thursday; PlaysttionVue drops Viacom channels Fresh after a bruising election season, Chicago radio listeners are going to subjected to a half-hour with Mayor Rahm Emanuel – whether they like it or not. On Monday, over 40 radio stations in the Chicago area are airing a half-hour interview […]

T Dog’s Media Notepad: Tribune Tower sold to L.A. developer

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 […]

WCIU, CBS O&Os acquire “Hot in Cleveland”

The CBS-Weigel collation has struck again. CBS Television Distribution cleared TV Land’s off-cable Hot In Cleveland in 65 percent of the country for fall 2014, including WCIU in Chicago and several CBS-owned stations in the nation’s largest markets. This is the same collation that acquired Warner Bros.’ Mike & Molly and 2 Broke Girls for off-network syndication in 2014 and […]

Andy Griffith dies

Fans are mourning the loss of television legend Andy Griffith, who died in his North Carolina home on Tuesday at the age of 86. His career spans multiple decades, several movies, and two long-running TV shows. Griffith was born in Mount Airy, N.C. – the town that provided the inspiration for fictional Mayberry on The Andy Griffith Show. Griffith got […]

TCA: Cable Time

The Winter TCA Press Tour concluded last weekend with many panels dedicated to cable. Here is a brief roundup of what went on, grouped in alphabetical order: AMC To the delight of critics (and fans), AMC announced it was extending the third season order of hit series The Walking Dead from thirteen to sixteen as the second season with thirteen […]

CBS to syndicate “Hot In Cleveland”

CBS Television Distribution has picked up the syndication rights of TV Land’s original sitcom Hot In Cleveland to sell to broadcast stations, eying a launch in either 2013 or 2014. The multi-camera shot series, which stars Betty White, has been a surprise hit for TV Land, averaging 3-to-4 million viewers during its two-season run.  TV Land has been branching out […]

TCA report: Part 1

It’s the Winter Television Critics Association tour where TV critics and bloggers escape the cold to come out to somewhat warmer Pasadena, Calif., a suburb of Los Angeles known for the wonderful Rose Parade, the Rose Bowl, and where Sheldon Cooper lives. Over the next few days, networks will trot out stars and execs to hawk their new shows and […]

T Dog’s Six Pack: The Emmys, "Hot In Cleveland", LeBron, and more

Three up, three down: The best and worst in media during the past week: What’s Hot. The Final Answer: Pay up, Mickey Mouse. A grand jury ruled in favor of Celador after The Walt Disney Co. skimmed the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire producer out of millions of dollars, thanks to “Hollywood Accounting.”  The jury awarded Celador $269 million, […]

T Dog’s Groovy Grab Bag – The TCA edition

For the next nine or so days, television critics (or those who are left) will be at the Television Critics Association Press Tour in Pasadena, Calif. for Q&A sessions on the new fall shows, countless press releases, and sharp exchanges with network execs (sorry, no more Ben Silverman.) Here are some of the early highlights of the tour: – TBS […]

TCA Notes

More from The TCA tour in La-La Land: Viacom/MTV Networks: (CMT, MTV, VH-1, Comedy Central, TVLand) – Comedy Central introduced a slew of projects, including a new version of camp classic The Gong Show with new host and alleged comedian Dave Attell. He’s about as funny as Olivia Munn (hey, I used up my Jim Belushi jokes…) The last time […]

Now a word from a total douche

Oh no they didn’t! An “interstitial ad” for the unfunny The Bill Engvall Show on TBS popped up during a Family Guy episode on Monday night. Engvall simply walked up to the screen, paused it, and plugged his useless sitcom – then unpaused it and was back to Family Guy. Three seconds later, a real commercial popped up (and in […]