In what can be billed as a blindside announcement, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution announced Tuesday the sale of ABC Wednesday night sitcom The Middle to 92 percent of the country for off-network syndication beginning in September 2013, with station groups representing Tribune, Sinclair, Weigel, Raycom, and CBS. The swift announcement – and just as swift clearance of the show […]
Bill Cunningham officially joins the vast wasteland that’s daytime television The home of such young female-skewing series such as Gossip Girl, 90210, The Vampire Diaries, and Hart of Dixie, is now home to… 64-year old Bill Cunningham? In perhaps the oddest pairing ever, the conservative Cincinnati-based radio host is joining a network whose median-age is the youngest of the five […]
Yeah, you’re going to need a lot of liquor when you read this news. Man, you really got to weep for the media business these days. Tuesday was clearly a dark day for those who still care about the integrity of the business as two (more) dark clouds are descending on the horizon. One cloud […]
The National Association of Programming Executives (NATPE, for short) convention is winning again, and what better way to celebrate than have Charlie Sheen show up. Yes, NATPE is now “winning”! A gathering that was once written off for dead several years ago is back with a vengeance – this year’s convention is being held at the Foutainebleau Resort in […]
Grab Bag time: Pan Am closes up shop; Kevin Matthews joins Steve Dahl’s podcast venture; and a former Philadelphian lands a radio gig here in Chicago… while a current Philadelphian loses one: Kev heads to Dahland. Former Chicago radio personality Kevin Matthews – who was part of WLUP-AM/FM back in the day – is joining Steve Dahl in the podcast […]
Due to my behind-the-scenes-work for the relaunch of The T Dog Media Blog, yours truly hasn’t been able to write about some of the items that has been going on. So let’s catch up: – Maybe they should change the call letters to WLLL? WWWN-FM, the new all-news station launched a few weeks ago has not gotten off to a […]
Anderson shows some growth; other new first-run entries struggle The race for freshman off-network sitcom supremacy began yesterday with several new entries. Warner Bros. The Big Bang Theory – which stations paid big bucks for – and the all-barter 30 Rock from NBCUniversal opened to mostly tepid results. According to numbers provided by Broadcasting & Cable (and buried deep within […]
Anderson Cooper’s new syndicated talk show began on Monday. Welcome to Life… After Oprah. Monday marked a new era in syndication as repeats of The Oprah Winfrey Show came to an end on Friday (her last original episode aired on May 25) as the broadcast business is without the queen of talk […]
WCIU clears Rules of Engagement; show now in 75% of country You can always count on your Friends – especially in syndication. Tribune Broadcasting announced a third-cycle syndication renewal for Friends, the Emmy-winning sitcom that was a mainstay on NBC’s “Must-See TV” from 1994-2004. The renewals cover the fifteen Tribune stations currently airing the series, including WGN-TV here in Chicago […]
In a move that is seldom used involving off-network syndicated product, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution is removing Curb Your Enthusiasm and Entourage from broadcast syndication, effective in September. The news broke Friday afternoon on Broadcasting & Cable’s website and Deadline Hollywood. The request is coming from HBO, who asked sibling Warner Bros. (both are owned by Time Warner) to […]
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 […]
He’s not winning now. Warner Bros. fired embattled star Charlie Sheen Monday after nearly eight seasons playing Charlie Harper on CBS’ hit sitcom Two and a Half Men. It was Sheen’s bashing of Warner, CBS, and showrunner Chuck Lorre that led to the decision – not to mention his excessive drinking and drug use. His actions and subsequent rehab stints […]
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 […]
Bagging a renewal: Sheldon and the gang are around for three more years. The Grab Bag is actually living up to its name today by grabbing some baggage and some renewals: – WCIU here in Chicago and nine stations owned by Sinclair Broadcasting quietly began testing an off-cable dating game show this week called Baggage, with a format that combines […]
The CW announced Monday it was launching a new half-hour strip this fall with Dr. Drew Pinsky from Telepictures productions called Dr. Drew’s Lifechangers, a spin-off of a segment of the syndicated magazine series Extra, which is also produced by Telepictures (and syndicated by Warner Bros.) The acquisition marks the first time a spin-off from a syndicated program landed on […]
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