Primetime specials also coming to ABC With the worst kept secret in Hollywood, Jeopardy! producers named Mike Richards as host of the long-running game show as expected. But in a bit of a curveball, actress Mayim Bialik was named host of several prime-time special editions starting next year, with the Jeopardy! National College Tournament first on tap. The news was […]
Comes after months of guest hosts News leaked Wednesday on who would be the successor of the late Alex Trebek as host of one of television’s most popular and iconic game shows. Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune executive producer Mike Richards (not the Kramer guy from Seinfeld) is now the front runner to take over the long-running game show starting […]
Pandemic, expiring contract forces end of show [Editor’s Note: This post was updated on November 21 as Muller’s replacement was named on Friday.] The last time Mancow Muller found himself out of a job was two and a half years ago when the station he worked for was sold and flipped to a Contemporary Christian music format. This time, it’s […]
[Editor’s Note: This story has been updated Sept. 6 with more information.] In a surprise move Thursday morning, iHeartMedia-owned WEBG-FM – known as Big 95.5 pulled the plug on its country format after five underperforming years. The change came at 11 a.m., followed by hours of stunting, including numerous rock songs – which basically pointed to the next direction the […]
Nexstar makes footprint known As first reported by Robert Feder Wednesday night, WGN-AM made significant changes to its schedule, seeing several realignments and the exit of one of Chicago’s longest-running radio duos. The Nexstar-owned radio station parted ways with Bill Leff and Wendy Snyder even though Leff was on vacation, depraving their fans of at least one final goodbye. Their […]
Milwaukee area-based broadcaster to take over WMVP In news that surprised numerous media observers Wednesday, Milwaukee area-based Good Karma Brands announced it is taking over The Walt Disney Co’s. ESPN 1000, aka WMVP-AM in a long-term local marketing agreement beginning September 29. The move means Disney/ESPN would continue to own the station but is ceding day-to-day operations to Good Karma, […]
Also: No Blackhawks games on free TV next season; WCIU launches new “CW 26” website and fall schedule; CBS 2 returns to DirecTV. For the first time in its history, The Drive sits on top of the Chicago radio world. The Hubbard-owned station also known as WDRV-FM finished first in the latest Chicago radio PPM rankings spanning from mid-June to […]
Also: Extra doubles up on name and gets a new host; New York’s WPLJ ends run May 31; and more In a bizarre incident captured on live TV Tuesday night during a Miami Marlins-Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field, a fan displayed what is known as a “white supremacist hand sign” during a live shot. It occurred while Doug Glanville […]
Also: Sun-Times sees ownership shift; AAF ends its run quickly; Pickler & Ben to exit The bible thumpers strike again: Beginning Monday, Fox Valley-based WFXF-FM – better known as The Fox 103.9 – will turn the keys over to the Educational Media Foundation (EMF) as the station flips from Classic Rock to Christian Music. As a result, the station’s on-air […]
Year marked by scandals, futility, and other things 2018 wasn’t exactly a repeat of the last two horrendous years in the media world, but scandals and deceit still ruled the roost. Though not topping 2017’s Disney-Fox deal, 2018 had some mega transactions – though the second-biggest merger of 2017 went bust as Sinclair Broadcasting’s $4 billion deal to buy Tribune […]
What’s traditional media’s response to a changing market? Hire the same people over and over again. Currently, broadcast network television is relying on reboots of shows no one wants to see, junk reality competition programming, paint-by-numbers procedurals (mainly on CBS) and long-running programs that never seem to end to sustain their declining ratings. But apparently, broadcast network execs must’ve gotten […]
Plus: Classic Hip-Hop loses ground as Soft AC makes a comeback; Tribune Media bidding heats up; another cable channel is in the works In a move widely anticipated, conservative talk show host and podcaster Ben Shapiro is joining WLS-AM’s weekday afternoon lineup. Beginning January 7, Shapiro has been slotted in the 2 to 5 p.m. slot replacing Steve Dahl, who […]
Also: WLUP to return? While Arrested Development might not. Plus, WGN-TV’s newscasts does well in July sweeps It’s official: Robert Feder is reporting Chicago Tribune sports columnist David Haugh has joined Entercom’s The Score (WSCR) as Mike Mulligan’s new morning drive co-host. As speculated during the last few weeks, Haugh joined Mulligan on Monday morning’s show, replacing longtime Score veteran […]
Bible thumpers strike again as 99.9 FM sold The former home of both WBUS and Nine FM was sold Tuesday to a non-profit educational foundation specializing in religious programming – the second deal made by such an entity in the Chicago market this year. Newsweb announced Tuesday it sold WCPQ-FM (99.9) in south suburban Park Forest to Bible Broadcasting, Inc. […]
Classic rocker WLUP-FM (The Loop) signed off Friday evening at approximately 11:59 p.m. and went out with a blast. As you know by now, WLUP was sold on Tuesday to the Educational Media Foundation, who are buying up stations across the country to air their Christian Contemporary music format known as K-Love with a switch set for Saturday. On Friday, […]