In a move which illustrates once again the declining clout of broadcasters – and the growingpower of cable, Vince McMahon and the WWE have announced the departure of Friday Night Smackdown from Fox’s My Network TV and is moving it to NBC Universal-owned cable channel SyFy effective October 1. SyFy smacked down Fox with a $30 million offer to WWE, […]
Are these guys worth $4 million per episode? You bet your behind it is. Is the high-priced off-network sitcom on its way back? With the upcoming sale of The Big Bang Theory, we may soon find out. Not since the days of Friends, Seinfeld, The Simpsons, and The Cosby Show have we seen a sitcom come close to the $4 […]
A lot of television news and notes for a Monday: – Fox’s duopoly in Chicago (WFLD and WPWR) has acquired Meredith’s Better for airing this fall. The acquisition of the lifestlyle magazine show was a part of a deal that also included Fox duopolies in Orlando (WOFL/WRBW) and Houston (KRIV/KTXH). The program was also renewed at NBC affiliate WTMJ-TV in […]
While the Tribune Co. is struggling with the antics of CEO Randy Michaels and Chapter 11 bankruptcy, its TV division is actually taking care of its own business – despite the struggles of The CW – the network which thirteen of its stations (including WPIX in New York, KTLA in Los Angeles and WGN-TV in Chicago) are aligned with, in […]
It’s been a little while since yours truly has done a Grab Bag of news and notes – so here’s what’s going on in the world of media today: – Was yours truly wrong on Undercover Boss? People are still tuning in, and Ben Grossman of B&C offers up a great defense of the show and reality TV in general […]
Move likely ends Deal’s run ; Debmar-Mercury clears True Hollywood Story in 65 percent of the country; Nancy Grace’s format revealed Today is the first day of the NATPE convention, a three day extravagnza being held in Las Vegas where buyers and sellers meet up. Originally, this was a large syndication convention where shows were sold, but over time, it […]
Nancy Grace’s court show clears 90% ; “No Deal!” for a third season? Twentieth Television has renewed game show strip Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader for a second season in syndication with renewals from Fox and Tribune stations, including WPIX-TV in New York and WPWR-TV in Chicago, who airs the show at 4 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. 5th […]
Soon, “Family Guy” will have TWO places to call home in Chicago. In a rather odd twist to a renewal deal, Tribune-owned WGN-TV has renewed syndicated repeats of Family Guy for a second cycle in a new four-year deal through 2015, which kicks in on September 12, 2011. But as a part of the deal, Weigel-owned independent station WCIU-TV […]
In a move that comes as quite surprising, Tyra Banks announced today she is ending her talk show after five seasons on the air, despite doing respectable numbers in key demos. The Tyra Show was traded to The CW last September from first-run syndication, where it spent the last four years – for Judge Jeanne Pirro, which aired on the […]
NBC Universal’s Jerry Springer, the wild and willy daytime talk show that hasn’t met a taboo it can smash (or a chair), is moving in the Chicago market to WCIU-TV in September 2010. No time slot has been determined yet, but the program is expected to be paired up with The Steve Wilkos Show, a show spun-off from Springer in […]
No decision on the future of Oprah’s show A report surfaced on Deadline Hollywood Thursday regarding the future of The Oprah Winfrey Show, which may or may not leave broadcast syndication for Oprah Winfrey’s new cable network, which is being launched by Discovery Networks. Oprah distributor CBS Television Distribution said the news caught them off guard. But a spokesperson from […]
In the latest of a slew of off-cable programs hitting the broadcast syndication marketplace, Twentieth Television has cleared FX sitcom It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia for Fall 2011 in 45 percent of the country. Clearing the show are a wide variety of stations, meaning no over-the-board group deals (which is good.) The clearences include WPSG-TV in Philadelphia, the CBS-owned CW […]
For the first time in awhile, it’s time for T Dog’s Groovy Grab Bag: – Congratulations to legendary Chicago radio personality Herb Kent on a new world record he set: The Guinness Book Of World Records recently honored him for having the longest career by a deejay in radio history – which spans 65 years! His achievement will be celebrated […]
A post I wrote last Tuesday received some negative feedback, as yours truly painted a too-rosy picture of Comcast SportsNet’s ratings regarding the Cubs and White Sox – particularly the latter team. According to an article appearing in Sports Business Journal ranking Major League Baseball’s thirty teams in terms of television ratings on games aired by their regional sports networks […]
For the first time in twelve years, Chicago Wolves hockey has landed on a local broadcast outlet. Fox-owned WPWR-TV acquired the rights to air fifteen Wolves games starting this fall, with ten of those games on Saturday nights, starting with a game with the Milwaukee Admirals on October 3. Five other games are scheduled for Sunday afternoons later in the […]
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