Tribune, Fox headed for a Showdown In Seattle

Could have implications for Chicago’s WPWR  A brewing affiliation fight in Seattle could have implications for a local Chicago TV station. According to a story in Tuesday’s edition of the New York Post, Fox is expected to yank the affiliation from Tribune Media’s KCPQ in Seattle-Tacoma. As it was reported in local media circles over the last few weeks, Fox […]

“Must Watch” Sunday and Monday for WGN-TV

Tribune Broadcasting scores a hat trick of good ratings Sunday and Monday Is no-longer-bankrupt Tribune Broadcasting becoming a “must watch” destination?  Chicago’s WGN-TV lit the ratings lamp twice with a Blackhawks game Sunday night and Monday morning news coverage. Meanwhile, a few Tribune stations outside of Chicago lit the ratings lamp of their own Monday with the premiere of a […]

Tribune buys Local TV LLC for $2.7 billion

    Tribune adds stations from Cleveland, Milwaukee, and Memphis to its stable About a year or so ago, there was speculation on whether or not Tribune Broadcasting, planning to exit Chapter 11, would stay in the broadcast business. Consider this a definite answer. Chicago-based Tribune announced Monday it was acquiring Newport, Ky.-based Local TV LLC for $2.7 billion. The […]

Tribune signs on for new action hour

Station group plotting future without off-network fare in key time periods? Tribune Broadcasting announced last week it has cleared a new weekend scripted hour series from Trifecta Entertainment titled Rescue 3, created by former Baywatch showrunner Gregory J. Bonann. Clearances include WGN-TV Chicago, WPIX New York, KTLA Los Angeles, WPHL Philadelphia and KDAF Dallas. As first reported by Broadcasting & […]

Confirmed: “Queen Latifah” to CBS 2… and WCIU

As reported here and on other trade sites last week, Queen Latifah’s return to daytime TV snared its first major deal with Sony Pictures Television: CBS’ owned and operated TV stations signed on for the show in sixteen markets. According to an article in Broadcasting & Cable last Monday, Latifah’s show will in fact, be shown on WBBM-TV next fall, […]

T Dog’s Grab Bag: “Live With Kelly” shifts to WLS-TV in 2013

The Jeff Probst Show finally clears Chicago, landing at WBBM-TV Due to a busy schedule covering and analyzing Upfront Week, there were a lot of notable media stories mentioned in the past week: – First mentioned in Robert Feder’s Time Out Chicago blog last week, ABC-owned WLS-TV has acquired Live With Kelly beginning in September 2013, falling in line with […]

Bill Cunningham heads to… The CW?

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 […]

WGN-TV, Tribune renew "Friends" through 2017

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 […]

“Live From Darryl’s House” to rock WGN

In a continuing bid to add to their programming slate, Trifecta Entertainment & Media announced Friday it was launching Live From Darryl’s House as a weekly half-hour syndicated series this fall after a successful New Year’s Eve airing on WGN-TV in Chicago and on WGN America. Trifecta has cleared Live From Darryl’s House on WGN and six other Tribune stations, […]

The race to replace Oprah: "Anderson", "Ellen" benefit

Modern Family syndication sales reaches up to 50 percent of the U.S. Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution seems to benefitting the most thus far when it comes to replacing The Oprah Winfrey Show when it leaves this September, with Anderson Cooper and Ellen DeGeneres’ talk shows snapping up time slots soon-to-be formerly held by the queen of talk. Anderson has […]

Lee Abrams: The rise and fall of

The resignation of Tribune executive Lee Abrams on Friday was pretty much expected, and came as no surprise. Abrams sent a company-wide e-mail on Monday featuring Not Safe for Work videos and angering employees company-wide, and was suspended Wednesday for doing so. Some of the videos featured stuff you would normally find on a Girls Gone Wild DVD.  And all […]

WGN-TV gets Nov. 18 Chicago Bears game

For the first time since being affiliated with the DuMont network way back in the 1950’s, WGN-TV will be airing a regular-season NFL football game. Thanks to a deal made with eight of Tribune’s stations, the NFL network will make those games available to those over-the-air outlets involving their home market’s teams.  For Tribune-owned WGN-TV, the station is airing the […]

Tribune wants more of "This"

Chicago-based Tribune Co. actually likes something crosstown rival Weigel Broadcasting Co. has – This. Tribune announced today it has signed a long-term deal to add This TV in several markets (including WPIX in New York) and renewing existing deals in others (KTLA in Los Angeles.) This TV is a joint venture between Weigel Broadcasting (which owns WCIU here, and airs […]

"Legend of the Seeker" seeking new outlets

Disney/ABC’s weekly action-adventure hour Legend of the Seeker is going to have an adventure of its own – trying to find new outlets after a major station group carrying the show declined to renew it. In a memo obtained by TV By The Numbers, Tribune Broadcasting said it would not renew the sci-fi/fantasy action hour after two seasons. Tribune is […]