It looks like there's another television show that is going to outlive all of us...
Scooby-Doo, a program that been around in one form or another since 1969, is spurning a live-action movie for Cartoon Network that's being billed as a prequel to the two-live action movies. Titled Scooby-Doo: In The Beginning, it details how the Mystery, Inc. gang met.
The new movie is premiering in 2009 with a DVD release scheduled simultaneously.
Highland Park (IL)-native and former Happy Days writer Brian Levant is directing the made-for-TV flick. However, don't look for Freddie Prinze Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar to reprise their roles. Instead, a new cast is filling the roles for Fred, Velma, Daphne, and Shaggy. Like the previous movies, Scooby is being CGI animated, and is being voiced by longtime voice-over artist Frank Welker (who voiced Fred in the original animated series.)
Meanwhile, a new animated made-for-video movie (Scooby Doo and the Goblin King) hits store shelves next month.
But don't look for new episodes of Scooby-Doo's latest incarnation.
After two ratings-challenged seasons, Shaggy & Scooby-Doo Get A Clue (featuring only Shaggy and Scooby-Doo) has been canceled, swept out along with the rest of the Saturday Morning schedule at The CW, replaced by a lineup programmed by 4KidsTV. Shaggy & Scooby was dropped from the lineup in March, and hasn't returned.
The series broke Shaggy and Scooby out of character (they're usually broke and starving cowards), and the audience wouldn't accept them as brave millionaires. More interesting, the voice of Shaggy (American Top 40's Casey Kasem) was done instead by Scott Menville and Kasem was regulated to a seldom-seen second character, but he did voice Shaggy in the last direct-to-video movie (2007's Chill-Out Scooby-Doo.)
Monday, August 04, 2008
"Dr. Horrible" heads to Hulu
So, what did you do during the writer's strike?
Joss Whedon (there's that name again) of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Firefly fame created and wrote a three-part musical titled Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog for the Internet, featuring Neil Patrick Harris as a supervillain who gets the Rodney Dangerfield treament -no respect.
Now the Internet sensation, with was available free for a limited time on Dr. Horrible.com and available as a paid download on iTunes, is now on Hulu for the next four months, with an explanation on the site by Whedon himself.
How popular was Horrible? According to fans, it certainly wasn't living to its name, as they packed screenings at Comic-Con - so much so, they had to add more.
Will there be a sequel? You can count on it.
Joss Whedon (there's that name again) of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Firefly fame created and wrote a three-part musical titled Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog for the Internet, featuring Neil Patrick Harris as a supervillain who gets the Rodney Dangerfield treament -no respect.
Now the Internet sensation, with was available free for a limited time on Dr. Horrible.com and available as a paid download on iTunes, is now on Hulu for the next four months, with an explanation on the site by Whedon himself.
How popular was Horrible? According to fans, it certainly wasn't living to its name, as they packed screenings at Comic-Con - so much so, they had to add more.
Will there be a sequel? You can count on it.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
R.I.P. Skip Caray
The longtime Atlanta Braves announcer on radio and on WTBS died in his sleep Sunday.
Skip Caray was the son of broadcasting legend Haray Caray (who died in 1998) and was current TBS/WPCH-TV baseball broadcaster Chip Caray's father.
Skip Caray was the son of broadcasting legend Haray Caray (who died in 1998) and was current TBS/WPCH-TV baseball broadcaster Chip Caray's father.
Friday, August 01, 2008
No fix for what's left of "Morning Fix" (updated)
The exodus of personalities and personnel from Chicago media outlets continues.
To no one's surprise, WKQX-FM (Q101.1) has thrown what's left of the Morning Fix under the bus and ran over Alan Cox and Jim Lynam in the process. The duo were axed from Q101.1 after today's show and are being replaced by the afternoon team of Brian Sherman and Steve Tingle.
The Morning Fix debuted on September 18, 2006 (the same day this blog opened for business) to replace Mancow Mueller's show at the alternative rock station, and featured a large cast. It was cut down to just two last Novemeber after anemic ratings and poor reviews. Tingle, who was part of the original Morning Fix cast moved to afternoons with Brian Sherman.
UPDATE: Robert Feder weighs in, and somewhere, Mancow Mueller is laughing. Here is a press release touting Q 101.1's new morning show.
Last year, Q101.1 had a clever billboard campaign featuring Bob Barker telling listeners to "get fixed", as a promotion of The Morning Fix. Ironically, Barker was in Chicago this week in front of the City Council to testify in support of an ordinance that would force owners to spay and neuter their pets.
Thought: Unless you're doing a structured play or a scripted drama or comedy (like they use to do in the 1930's and 1940's - think The Great Gildersleeve and Amos n' Andy), a semi-scripted radio show with a large cast does not work. The format is too confusing for listeners and they are not looking for a Saturday Night Live-type program in morning drive. WKQX recognized this and axed all but two of the cast, but it was too late. It was a format best suited for the tube (if it's funny and more than often it wasn't), and not for radio.
Ironically, I thought The Morning Fix was already canceled when they let most of the cast go.
Updated 10:28 p.m.
To no one's surprise, WKQX-FM (Q101.1) has thrown what's left of the Morning Fix under the bus and ran over Alan Cox and Jim Lynam in the process. The duo were axed from Q101.1 after today's show and are being replaced by the afternoon team of Brian Sherman and Steve Tingle.
The Morning Fix debuted on September 18, 2006 (the same day this blog opened for business) to replace Mancow Mueller's show at the alternative rock station, and featured a large cast. It was cut down to just two last Novemeber after anemic ratings and poor reviews. Tingle, who was part of the original Morning Fix cast moved to afternoons with Brian Sherman.
UPDATE: Robert Feder weighs in, and somewhere, Mancow Mueller is laughing. Here is a press release touting Q 101.1's new morning show.
Last year, Q101.1 had a clever billboard campaign featuring Bob Barker telling listeners to "get fixed", as a promotion of The Morning Fix. Ironically, Barker was in Chicago this week in front of the City Council to testify in support of an ordinance that would force owners to spay and neuter their pets.
Thought: Unless you're doing a structured play or a scripted drama or comedy (like they use to do in the 1930's and 1940's - think The Great Gildersleeve and Amos n' Andy), a semi-scripted radio show with a large cast does not work. The format is too confusing for listeners and they are not looking for a Saturday Night Live-type program in morning drive. WKQX recognized this and axed all but two of the cast, but it was too late. It was a format best suited for the tube (if it's funny and more than often it wasn't), and not for radio.
Ironically, I thought The Morning Fix was already canceled when they let most of the cast go.
Updated 10:28 p.m.
T Dog vs. The PTC
Ding! Ding! Ding! Step right up for the fight of the century as T Dog takes on The Parents Television Council!
An article at B&C's website today regarding how Hollywood is dealing with the FCC rules in the wake of a lower-court decision throwing out the FCC fines regarding the Super Bowl halftime fiasco in 2004, and one of the stooges from the PTC responded in the article in the comments section of the story and yours truly responded in kind - not so kindly.
Now it you've read this blog since the beginning, you know where I stand on the Parents Television Council. To read past posts regarding my complete, utter hatred of this group of disgusting individuals, click here and here. I'd rather convert to being a Cubs fan than to join this inane organ-i-zation (Ouch!)
To view the article and the throwdown showdown (and what I'm certain is going to be an intense flame war), click here.
An article at B&C's website today regarding how Hollywood is dealing with the FCC rules in the wake of a lower-court decision throwing out the FCC fines regarding the Super Bowl halftime fiasco in 2004, and one of the stooges from the PTC responded in the article in the comments section of the story and yours truly responded in kind - not so kindly.
Now it you've read this blog since the beginning, you know where I stand on the Parents Television Council. To read past posts regarding my complete, utter hatred of this group of disgusting individuals, click here and here. I'd rather convert to being a Cubs fan than to join this inane organ-i-zation (Ouch!)
To view the article and the throwdown showdown (and what I'm certain is going to be an intense flame war), click here.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Now the real fun begins for San Diego
Comic-Con ended on Sunday, but now the next event for San Diego is on the horizon, and it happens this Friday.
For the first time in 31 years, an affiliation switch is set to take place, with founding Fox affiliate XETV heading to CW and Tribune's KSWB-TV moving over to Fox. The deal was struck last March.
Both stations are both gearing up for the big day and looking forward to what their new network partners have to offer.
KSWB is looking forward to higher-rated Fox programming, including American Idol, The Simpsons, Family Guy, and of course, NASCAR races (Daytona 500 among them) and NFL Football. In addition, they get new buzzed-shows Fringe and Joss Whedon's Dollhouse (I thought I mention Joss Whedon's name again.)
Meanwhile, XETV is looking forward to reinventing itself as a CW affiliate, heavily promoting the net's new fall lineup, which features the new 90210 (The original aired on XETV when it was a Fox station) and teen magnet Gossip Girl.
Outside of news, no other changes for XETV and KSWB are expected for the rest of the stations' lineup outside of prime-time (except for KSWB and Fox Saturday Baseball) until September at the earliest, when new syndicated schedules go into effect. XETV and KSWB are also swapping Saturday morning children's lineups, but both are being programmed by the same company: 4KidsTV, so there's no noticeable difference come fall.
While XETV has already revamped its website to showcase its new ties to CW, it's interesting to note at the time of this writing, KSWB hasn't updated theirs - in fact, it still promimently features CW shows with just one day to go before the switch to Fox and has a link to 90210 - a program that'll never air on KSWB. Even their anchor bio site still features Anne State, who's now co-anchoring the news on CBS-owned WBBM-TV here in Chicago.
For the first time in 31 years, an affiliation switch is set to take place, with founding Fox affiliate XETV heading to CW and Tribune's KSWB-TV moving over to Fox. The deal was struck last March.
Both stations are both gearing up for the big day and looking forward to what their new network partners have to offer.
KSWB is looking forward to higher-rated Fox programming, including American Idol, The Simpsons, Family Guy, and of course, NASCAR races (Daytona 500 among them) and NFL Football. In addition, they get new buzzed-shows Fringe and Joss Whedon's Dollhouse (I thought I mention Joss Whedon's name again.)
Meanwhile, XETV is looking forward to reinventing itself as a CW affiliate, heavily promoting the net's new fall lineup, which features the new 90210 (The original aired on XETV when it was a Fox station) and teen magnet Gossip Girl.
Outside of news, no other changes for XETV and KSWB are expected for the rest of the stations' lineup outside of prime-time (except for KSWB and Fox Saturday Baseball) until September at the earliest, when new syndicated schedules go into effect. XETV and KSWB are also swapping Saturday morning children's lineups, but both are being programmed by the same company: 4KidsTV, so there's no noticeable difference come fall.
While XETV has already revamped its website to showcase its new ties to CW, it's interesting to note at the time of this writing, KSWB hasn't updated theirs - in fact, it still promimently features CW shows with just one day to go before the switch to Fox and has a link to 90210 - a program that'll never air on KSWB. Even their anchor bio site still features Anne State, who's now co-anchoring the news on CBS-owned WBBM-TV here in Chicago.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Cubs dominate ratings in Chicago
Anyone watching the new summer fare here in Chicago? You know, shows like I Survived a Japanese Game Show, Celebrity Family Feud, Swingtown, Duel, and Wanna Bet?
Didn't think so (in fact, no one is watching them anywhere else, either.)
What people are watching in the Windy City are the Cubs - and on Monday night, the Cubs-Brewers game dominated with a 8.3 Nielsen household rating, peaking at an 11.2 between 10:15-10:30, defeating the local newscasts on the O&Os.
Not only that, the game defeated all first-run reality shows on the networks locally Monday night, including American Gladiators and Nashville Star.
The Cubs are currently three games up on the Milwaukee Brewers as of this afternoon.
If the Cubs continue into the pennant race through October and make the playoffs, it could give the beleaguered broadcast networks really something to worry about when their fall schedules roll out.
Didn't think so (in fact, no one is watching them anywhere else, either.)
What people are watching in the Windy City are the Cubs - and on Monday night, the Cubs-Brewers game dominated with a 8.3 Nielsen household rating, peaking at an 11.2 between 10:15-10:30, defeating the local newscasts on the O&Os.
Not only that, the game defeated all first-run reality shows on the networks locally Monday night, including American Gladiators and Nashville Star.
The Cubs are currently three games up on the Milwaukee Brewers as of this afternoon.
If the Cubs continue into the pennant race through October and make the playoffs, it could give the beleaguered broadcast networks really something to worry about when their fall schedules roll out.
Pat Cassidy leaves WBBM-AM
One thing yours truly has learned about this business in recent years: There's no summer vacation when it comes to media news (particularly in July), especially when it pertains to comings and goings. Today, yet another big name has left a media outlet.
Pat Cassidy, who was co-anchor at WBBM-AM with Felicia Middlebrooks for the last eight years, has left his position for a desire to do talk radio. Reportedly, he may surface at WLS-AM, or another talk outlet.
Watch this space and stay tuned.
UPDATE: It is indeed official: Pat Cassidy is going to WLS. Cassidy's contract expired today, and he declined to renew, preferring to re-invent himself as a talk-show host. More details here.
Updated 12:14 p.m.
Pat Cassidy, who was co-anchor at WBBM-AM with Felicia Middlebrooks for the last eight years, has left his position for a desire to do talk radio. Reportedly, he may surface at WLS-AM, or another talk outlet.
Watch this space and stay tuned.
UPDATE: It is indeed official: Pat Cassidy is going to WLS. Cassidy's contract expired today, and he declined to renew, preferring to re-invent himself as a talk-show host. More details here.
Updated 12:14 p.m.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
The Comic-Con post game show
Putting the wraps on another year of Comic-Con:
Geek Nation thanks you for your support
Never underestimate the marketing power of Comic-Con. Producers, writers, and the studios know this all too well, and to reach their loyal fans, they came to San Diego in droves to show off their wares.
Lost and Heroes panels played to crowds larger than you find at most Padres games nowadays. People were camped out overnight to get the best seats. It's that big. Even non Sci-fi shows like 24 and The Office were represented at the Con.
And positive buzz about a project, such as the season three premiere of Heroes, and the new Star Wars: The Clone Wars can carry you a long way (then again, this happened to The New Bionic Woman last year and look where that ended up.)
Many believe Comic-Con is replacing those old standbys, NATPE and TCA as the big media thing of the year. Maybe. But all three can co-exist. While NATPE attracts television execs to Vegas every January and TCA brings TV critics to Beverly Hills twice a year, Comic-Con is the only venue that let fans interact with the people behind the television shows they watch, the movies they go to, and the comic books they read.
Even the TV trade magazines had special sections devoted space on their websites to Comic-Con, as TV Week, Hollywood Reporter, and Variety had people blogging right from the floor.
But yours truly fears Comic-Con may be in for a shark jump as the festival continues to grow in popularity. The Gossip Girl crowd was in attendance for a Twilight screening. And yours truly knows gossip mongers TMZ, E!, Entertainment Tonight and its evil sister The Insider are now lurking around every corner.
But Comic-Con is still a blast. Who ever thought a comic book festival started in a hotel basement in 1970 would become a force to be reckoned with in the entertainment world. With over 100,000 in attendance last week for four days of fun, this festival of geek is here to stay.
Now if yours truly can get to go... it would be better than going to the Super Bowl (except on the rare occasion the Bears are in the big game.)
What was hot at Comic-Con
Lost, Heroes, Joss Whedon, Family Guy, The Cleveland Show, Dr. Horrible, Firefly (still?), Joss Whedon, Battlestar Galactica, Stargate, Dollhouse, The Dark Knight, Joss Whedon, The Simpsons, Futurama, Chuck, Fringe, Clone Wars (can't wait for that), and especially Eliza Dushku. Did I mention Joss Whedon?
What was not
X-Files' I Want To Believe. I believe I want my money back for this tripe... speaking of which, isn't money the reason these two has-been "stars" did this movie to begin with?
Adult Swim. What happened? Where was the buzz? Guess you can't get far with talking fast-food characters and a talking behind.
The Twilight. OMG! Screaming teenage girls at Comic-Con? This isn't Miley Cyrus fest.
Geek Nation thanks you for your support
Never underestimate the marketing power of Comic-Con. Producers, writers, and the studios know this all too well, and to reach their loyal fans, they came to San Diego in droves to show off their wares.
Lost and Heroes panels played to crowds larger than you find at most Padres games nowadays. People were camped out overnight to get the best seats. It's that big. Even non Sci-fi shows like 24 and The Office were represented at the Con.
And positive buzz about a project, such as the season three premiere of Heroes, and the new Star Wars: The Clone Wars can carry you a long way (then again, this happened to The New Bionic Woman last year and look where that ended up.)
Many believe Comic-Con is replacing those old standbys, NATPE and TCA as the big media thing of the year. Maybe. But all three can co-exist. While NATPE attracts television execs to Vegas every January and TCA brings TV critics to Beverly Hills twice a year, Comic-Con is the only venue that let fans interact with the people behind the television shows they watch, the movies they go to, and the comic books they read.
Even the TV trade magazines had special sections devoted space on their websites to Comic-Con, as TV Week, Hollywood Reporter, and Variety had people blogging right from the floor.
But yours truly fears Comic-Con may be in for a shark jump as the festival continues to grow in popularity. The Gossip Girl crowd was in attendance for a Twilight screening. And yours truly knows gossip mongers TMZ, E!, Entertainment Tonight and its evil sister The Insider are now lurking around every corner.
But Comic-Con is still a blast. Who ever thought a comic book festival started in a hotel basement in 1970 would become a force to be reckoned with in the entertainment world. With over 100,000 in attendance last week for four days of fun, this festival of geek is here to stay.
Now if yours truly can get to go... it would be better than going to the Super Bowl (except on the rare occasion the Bears are in the big game.)
What was hot at Comic-Con
Lost, Heroes, Joss Whedon, Family Guy, The Cleveland Show, Dr. Horrible, Firefly (still?), Joss Whedon, Battlestar Galactica, Stargate, Dollhouse, The Dark Knight, Joss Whedon, The Simpsons, Futurama, Chuck, Fringe, Clone Wars (can't wait for that), and especially Eliza Dushku. Did I mention Joss Whedon?
What was not
X-Files' I Want To Believe. I believe I want my money back for this tripe... speaking of which, isn't money the reason these two has-been "stars" did this movie to begin with?
Adult Swim. What happened? Where was the buzz? Guess you can't get far with talking fast-food characters and a talking behind.
The Twilight. OMG! Screaming teenage girls at Comic-Con? This isn't Miley Cyrus fest.
Layoffs hit WGN-TV (updated)
Also: Tom Ehlmann out at WGN-TV
Vice President and General Manager Tom Ehlmann has resigned at WGN-TV after a four-year run at the station to take a job at the same capacity at NBC-owned KXAS-TV in Dallas-Fort Worth, Tex. The move comes after WGN laid off eight staffers, including his secretary.
However, his resignation and those layoffs are not directly related.
Ehlmann succeeds former GM Tom O'Brien, who was transferred to KXAS' sister station in New York, WNBC-TV. He will report to Larry Wert, who oversees several NBC-owned television stations, including WMAQ-TV in Chicago.
Marty Wilke, who is the sales director of Chicago's CW affiliate, becomes the station's new general manager on an interim basis.
The layoffs occurred in several departments, including programming, finance, and engineering.
Layoffs also hit sister station WGN-AM last month, when three people were let go.
Updated 6:18 p.m.
Vice President and General Manager Tom Ehlmann has resigned at WGN-TV after a four-year run at the station to take a job at the same capacity at NBC-owned KXAS-TV in Dallas-Fort Worth, Tex. The move comes after WGN laid off eight staffers, including his secretary.
However, his resignation and those layoffs are not directly related.
Ehlmann succeeds former GM Tom O'Brien, who was transferred to KXAS' sister station in New York, WNBC-TV. He will report to Larry Wert, who oversees several NBC-owned television stations, including WMAQ-TV in Chicago.
Marty Wilke, who is the sales director of Chicago's CW affiliate, becomes the station's new general manager on an interim basis.
The layoffs occurred in several departments, including programming, finance, and engineering.
Layoffs also hit sister station WGN-AM last month, when three people were let go.
Updated 6:18 p.m.
XM-Sirius is now official
The merger between XM and Sirius is now official - the deal closed earlier today, with the new company being titled SiriusXM Radio (of course the Sirius name goes first...)
The company will trade on Nasdaq under the name SIRI. With the two companies combining forces, the new entity has 18.5 million subscribers to start.
The new company also plans to launch operations in Puerto Rico.
The company will trade on Nasdaq under the name SIRI. With the two companies combining forces, the new entity has 18.5 million subscribers to start.
The new company also plans to launch operations in Puerto Rico.
Monday, July 28, 2008
More Comic-Con news
Recapping Day 3 and Day 4:
- More panels: The two shows that are promoted the least (because they have nothing to do with rich teens) on CW had back-to-back panels at the Con: Smallville and Supernatural. To read more on what's on tap for their new seasons, click here.
- A trio of Fox dramas had panels over the weekend as well. Bones, as well Sarah Connor Chronicles and the new Joss Whedon drama Dollhouse (they should rename this Whedon-Con) satisfied fans of each, and got the answers they were looking for (and to look at the hot Eliza Dushku)
- NBC's Chuck had a six-minute preview of the second season at their jam-packed panel, and featured actor Adam Baldwin in character saying he'll hunt anyone down if the video showed up anywhere else (too late - it showed up on YouTube.) Watch out...
- The Office being at Comic-Con is much like a displaced Bears fan in Green Bay - a fish out of water. Still, the Emmy-winning comedy had a panel at the convention, and a question about a robot invansion was asked to one member of the cast. Welcome to the Con, guys.
- More panels: The two shows that are promoted the least (because they have nothing to do with rich teens) on CW had back-to-back panels at the Con: Smallville and Supernatural. To read more on what's on tap for their new seasons, click here.
- A trio of Fox dramas had panels over the weekend as well. Bones, as well Sarah Connor Chronicles and the new Joss Whedon drama Dollhouse (they should rename this Whedon-Con) satisfied fans of each, and got the answers they were looking for (and to look at the hot Eliza Dushku)
- NBC's Chuck had a six-minute preview of the second season at their jam-packed panel, and featured actor Adam Baldwin in character saying he'll hunt anyone down if the video showed up anywhere else (too late - it showed up on YouTube.) Watch out...
- The Office being at Comic-Con is much like a displaced Bears fan in Green Bay - a fish out of water. Still, the Emmy-winning comedy had a panel at the convention, and a question about a robot invansion was asked to one member of the cast. Welcome to the Con, guys.
MGM, Weigel team up for new digital channel
Also: RTN loses CBS programming
Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting and Los Angeles-based MGM are teaming up to launch this.
Yes, this.
As in "This TV".
Beginning in October, MGM and Weigel plan to launch the new-digital channel, featuring classic movies and television shows from the MGM library (material that wasn't bought by Ted Turner in the 1980's, so no Chips, Gone With the Wind or The Wizard of Oz.)
To meet FCC-mandated educational children's programming, Weigel and MGM also struck a deal with Cookie Jar Entertainment.
Weigel plans to program "This" on one of its digital channels in the Chicago, Milwaukee and South Bend, Ind. markets, where Weigel owns television stations.
Already, Weigel's low-powered classic TV stations WWME-TV (ME-TV) and WMEU-TV (Me-Too) are on digital subchannels 26.2 and 26.3, respectively.
With the digital switchover due to take place in February, many local broadcasters are going to be scrambling to find programming to fill their digital channels, and executives at both parties feel "This" fills the bill. Plus, it gives viewers who don't have cable or satellite another viewing option. The network also plans not to use paid programming.
Neal Sabin, who runs all three of Weigel's television stations in Chicago, is running the new outfit.
The network plans to air a lot of films, including 12 Angry Men and the 1968 version of The Producers. TV shows scheduled to air include The Addams Family, Fame, Rat Patrol, and The Outer Limits. Stations can customize the look so it can have a local feel.
- With the announcement of "This", it could spell trouble for financially troubled Retro Television Network, which recently saw its deal with CBS Television Distribution come to an end. Last Monday, all CBS-owned programming was yanked from the digital subchannel net, including Andy Griffith, I Love Lucy, Hogan's Heroes, and Happy Days.
RTN is now relying almost exclusively on the NBC Universal library, which in some markets is airing Leave it to Beaver as much as four times a day to replace the CBS programming (they might as well rename it the Universal Classic TV Channel.)
RTN was sold recently to Henry Luken, the largest shareholder of former owner Equity Media Holdings.
Chicago-based Weigel Broadcasting and Los Angeles-based MGM are teaming up to launch this.
Yes, this.
As in "This TV".
Beginning in October, MGM and Weigel plan to launch the new-digital channel, featuring classic movies and television shows from the MGM library (material that wasn't bought by Ted Turner in the 1980's, so no Chips, Gone With the Wind or The Wizard of Oz.)
To meet FCC-mandated educational children's programming, Weigel and MGM also struck a deal with Cookie Jar Entertainment.
Weigel plans to program "This" on one of its digital channels in the Chicago, Milwaukee and South Bend, Ind. markets, where Weigel owns television stations.
Already, Weigel's low-powered classic TV stations WWME-TV (ME-TV) and WMEU-TV (Me-Too) are on digital subchannels 26.2 and 26.3, respectively.
With the digital switchover due to take place in February, many local broadcasters are going to be scrambling to find programming to fill their digital channels, and executives at both parties feel "This" fills the bill. Plus, it gives viewers who don't have cable or satellite another viewing option. The network also plans not to use paid programming.
Neal Sabin, who runs all three of Weigel's television stations in Chicago, is running the new outfit.
The network plans to air a lot of films, including 12 Angry Men and the 1968 version of The Producers. TV shows scheduled to air include The Addams Family, Fame, Rat Patrol, and The Outer Limits. Stations can customize the look so it can have a local feel.
- With the announcement of "This", it could spell trouble for financially troubled Retro Television Network, which recently saw its deal with CBS Television Distribution come to an end. Last Monday, all CBS-owned programming was yanked from the digital subchannel net, including Andy Griffith, I Love Lucy, Hogan's Heroes, and Happy Days.
RTN is now relying almost exclusively on the NBC Universal library, which in some markets is airing Leave it to Beaver as much as four times a day to replace the CBS programming (they might as well rename it the Universal Classic TV Channel.)
RTN was sold recently to Henry Luken, the largest shareholder of former owner Equity Media Holdings.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
More news is never enough at WTMJ
Now the Favre watch never ends.
Journal Communications' WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee is adding a 3 p.m. newscast to its lineup beginning Sept. 8, as well as adding a 6:30 p.m. newscast at the end of August, which displaces the Warner Bros.-syndicated Extra from the time slot.
The move brings the total number of local news hours at the NBC affiliate to seven hours a day.
WTMJ is also scrapping syndicated programming from its daily schedule, with the exception of Better TV, which is on in only a handful of markets. The opportunity comes as Montel Williams' talk show is out of production and declined to renew Extra. The entire NBC daytime schedule (including Days of Our Lives) continues to be cleared.
The station is mainly relying on local programming and news to grab viewers throughout the day instead of forking money and commercial time over to a syndicator. At one time, WTMJ carried high-rated syndicated fare such as The Oprah Winfrey Show, Wheel of Fortune, Jepoardy!, Jerry Springer, Family Feud (the Ray Combs-hosted version), and Little House on the Prarie.
This isn't an entirely new concept - in the 1980's and 1990's, KCNC-TV in Denver aired no syndicated programming during the week and aired more news and local programming instead. This came to an end for the most part in September 1995 when then-owner NBC swapped KCNC over to CBS as part of a complicated deal to gain an O&O in Philadelphia (WCAU-TV.) KCNC started airing syndicated fare such as Oprah in early fringe and Hollywood Squares in prime access (until 2004, when the show was canceled and replaced by a returning local newscast.)
From 1970 to 1992, ABC-owned KTRK-TV in Houston also relived heavily on local programming and movies to fill out its daily schedule and shunned all syndicated daily strip programming, with the execption of Donahue.
Ironically, the news expansion in Milwaukee comes as another Journal station in Green Bay (WGBA-TV) is cutting newscasts.
Journal Communications' WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee is adding a 3 p.m. newscast to its lineup beginning Sept. 8, as well as adding a 6:30 p.m. newscast at the end of August, which displaces the Warner Bros.-syndicated Extra from the time slot.
The move brings the total number of local news hours at the NBC affiliate to seven hours a day.
WTMJ is also scrapping syndicated programming from its daily schedule, with the exception of Better TV, which is on in only a handful of markets. The opportunity comes as Montel Williams' talk show is out of production and declined to renew Extra. The entire NBC daytime schedule (including Days of Our Lives) continues to be cleared.
The station is mainly relying on local programming and news to grab viewers throughout the day instead of forking money and commercial time over to a syndicator. At one time, WTMJ carried high-rated syndicated fare such as The Oprah Winfrey Show, Wheel of Fortune, Jepoardy!, Jerry Springer, Family Feud (the Ray Combs-hosted version), and Little House on the Prarie.
This isn't an entirely new concept - in the 1980's and 1990's, KCNC-TV in Denver aired no syndicated programming during the week and aired more news and local programming instead. This came to an end for the most part in September 1995 when then-owner NBC swapped KCNC over to CBS as part of a complicated deal to gain an O&O in Philadelphia (WCAU-TV.) KCNC started airing syndicated fare such as Oprah in early fringe and Hollywood Squares in prime access (until 2004, when the show was canceled and replaced by a returning local newscast.)
From 1970 to 1992, ABC-owned KTRK-TV in Houston also relived heavily on local programming and movies to fill out its daily schedule and shunned all syndicated daily strip programming, with the execption of Donahue.
Ironically, the news expansion in Milwaukee comes as another Journal station in Green Bay (WGBA-TV) is cutting newscasts.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Comic-Con, Day 3: "Lost" and "Heroes" takes center stage
Media news-related items from the third day of Comic-Con:
Time to get Lost with some Heroes
Two of television's most discussed shows on the Internet took center change at Comic-Con today:
- Lost had a panel in front of thousands of people today, and while few surprises were revealed - there was an appearance by cast Matthew Fox, which sent the crowd into a tizzy. Among the things revealed for the show's upcoming season (due early next year) is less reliance on cutaways and flashbacks (maybe), and a faster series progression than they've seen in previous seasons.
You wonder how many in the crowd actually took the Dharma Initiative (which basically meant you pledge to act all loopy and a free spirit like Jenna Elfman...) Yours truly plans to take the Greg Initiative instead.
G4 strips Lost this fall and is also appearing in weekend broadcast syndication.
- The other TV series wild with web users screened where the long-awaited third season premiere was screened. Derailed by the writer's strike last year, Heroes hasn't aired a first-run episode since December and the approximately 6,500 fans in attendance were more than ready to gobble up new material.
Creator Tim Kring said the strike actually helped the series - a lot of fans (including yours truly) were disappointed with last season, which featured disjointed storylines, new, unappealing characters introduced out of nowhere (I'm looking at you, Kristen Bell), and the inconsistent play of Rex Grossman (see, there I go again...)
To read more (spoiler alert), click here.
Other TV related news at the Con:
-Simpsons, Futurama: Matt Groening is a fixture at Comic-Con for thirty years, since the days he was selling his comic strip Life In Hell. Now, he here's helming panels on two of his TV shows. Groening really revealed nothing new regarding The Simpsons upcoming season, since he did that already at TCA. On Futurama, questions were asked the Fry-Leela relationship, and what the palns are for the show. Also revealed were the idenites of who would doing guest appearences in upcoming DVDs: Rich Little and Snoop Dogg.
- Stargate: Not much information coming out of the panel for Stargate and Stargate: Atlantis, but you can check out the panels here and here (a direct-to-DVD movie titled Stargate Contimuum comes out Tuesday.)
- Dr. Horrible: Yes, even a sing-along blog can have a panel at Comic-Con - especially if it's a blog created by Joss Whedon. This panel actually took place yesterday, where Whedon (along with cast members) fielded questions about the show. Whedon talked about his other projects, including his Serenity comcis franchise.
- Battlestar Galactica: And of course, Comic-Con 2008 isn't complete with a Battlestar Galactica panel. According to the show's producers, if the writers' strike continued, the season-finale you saw this year could have been the series finale. The good news for Battlestar fans is, it did end, and they're getting ten new episodes, which begin airing early next year. Click here for more.
Time to get Lost with some Heroes
Two of television's most discussed shows on the Internet took center change at Comic-Con today:
- Lost had a panel in front of thousands of people today, and while few surprises were revealed - there was an appearance by cast Matthew Fox, which sent the crowd into a tizzy. Among the things revealed for the show's upcoming season (due early next year) is less reliance on cutaways and flashbacks (maybe), and a faster series progression than they've seen in previous seasons.
You wonder how many in the crowd actually took the Dharma Initiative (which basically meant you pledge to act all loopy and a free spirit like Jenna Elfman...) Yours truly plans to take the Greg Initiative instead.
G4 strips Lost this fall and is also appearing in weekend broadcast syndication.
- The other TV series wild with web users screened where the long-awaited third season premiere was screened. Derailed by the writer's strike last year, Heroes hasn't aired a first-run episode since December and the approximately 6,500 fans in attendance were more than ready to gobble up new material.
Creator Tim Kring said the strike actually helped the series - a lot of fans (including yours truly) were disappointed with last season, which featured disjointed storylines, new, unappealing characters introduced out of nowhere (I'm looking at you, Kristen Bell), and the inconsistent play of Rex Grossman (see, there I go again...)
To read more (spoiler alert), click here.
Other TV related news at the Con:
-Simpsons, Futurama: Matt Groening is a fixture at Comic-Con for thirty years, since the days he was selling his comic strip Life In Hell. Now, he here's helming panels on two of his TV shows. Groening really revealed nothing new regarding The Simpsons upcoming season, since he did that already at TCA. On Futurama, questions were asked the Fry-Leela relationship, and what the palns are for the show. Also revealed were the idenites of who would doing guest appearences in upcoming DVDs: Rich Little and Snoop Dogg.
- Stargate: Not much information coming out of the panel for Stargate and Stargate: Atlantis, but you can check out the panels here and here (a direct-to-DVD movie titled Stargate Contimuum comes out Tuesday.)
- Dr. Horrible: Yes, even a sing-along blog can have a panel at Comic-Con - especially if it's a blog created by Joss Whedon. This panel actually took place yesterday, where Whedon (along with cast members) fielded questions about the show. Whedon talked about his other projects, including his Serenity comcis franchise.
- Battlestar Galactica: And of course, Comic-Con 2008 isn't complete with a Battlestar Galactica panel. According to the show's producers, if the writers' strike continued, the season-finale you saw this year could have been the series finale. The good news for Battlestar fans is, it did end, and they're getting ten new episodes, which begin airing early next year. Click here for more.
Friday, July 25, 2008
FCC approves XM-Sirius deal
Much like what the New York Mets did in the cover of darkness (canning manager Willie Randolph after hours), those class acts at the FCC approved the XM-Sirius merger by a margin of 3-2 this evening when commissioner Deborah Tate and chairman Kevin Martin agreed on another of principles, including a $19.7 million fine for past FCC violations.
The merger was approved with conditions, including a three-year price cap (only three?) and 8 percent of their channel capacity to minority and non-commercial broadcasters.
Thought: While this merger doesn't really bother me since I don't subscribe to satellite, what does bother me is the unintended consequences. Since the NAB opposed the merger, my guess is the organization will now demand the ownership rules be thrown out. If McCain gets elected, there is more than a likelihood media consolidation will continue unabated.
For example, CBS Radio may ask "If XM and Sirius can merge, why can't we merge with Cumulus?" Other smaller radio chains (which were already fading away even before the satellite radio merger) may cease to exist because bigger companies now want to expand their reach.
And yes, the possibility of satellite TV companies Direct TV and Dish Network merging has come up again, thanks to the XM-Sirius marriage.
You think it is too far fetched? Wait until the economy gets better.
The merger was approved with conditions, including a three-year price cap (only three?) and 8 percent of their channel capacity to minority and non-commercial broadcasters.
Thought: While this merger doesn't really bother me since I don't subscribe to satellite, what does bother me is the unintended consequences. Since the NAB opposed the merger, my guess is the organization will now demand the ownership rules be thrown out. If McCain gets elected, there is more than a likelihood media consolidation will continue unabated.
For example, CBS Radio may ask "If XM and Sirius can merge, why can't we merge with Cumulus?" Other smaller radio chains (which were already fading away even before the satellite radio merger) may cease to exist because bigger companies now want to expand their reach.
And yes, the possibility of satellite TV companies Direct TV and Dish Network merging has come up again, thanks to the XM-Sirius marriage.
You think it is too far fetched? Wait until the economy gets better.
Comic-Con: Day 2
Media-related news and notes from Comic-Con Day 2:
- It isn't Comic-Con without manatees: Seth McFarlane had a panel featuring Family Guy and its new spinoff, The Cleveland Show.
MacFarlane talked about Family Guy's upcoming season - a Sliders take off, another episode where Brian and Stewie travel back to 1939 Poland - and accidentally drag Mort Goldman with them - and one where Peter repeatedly sings the 1950's hit "Surfin' Bird" - and Brian and Stewie snatch the single smash it up - parodying the printer scene in Office Space (a movie I saw first in theaters by the way), complete with hip-hop music.
The Cleveland Show was also screened at the panel, and it's confirnmed Cleveland leaves Quahog, and moves back to his hometown of Stoll Bend, Virginia.
- Showtime's controversial Dexter had a preview of its' third season opener, which airs on Sept. 28, and the serial killer has a new best friend played by Jimmy Smits. Watch out, Jimmy!
- CBS' Big Bang Theory is having a returning guest star: former Roseanne star Sara Gilbert is returning for "multiple episodes" according to creator Chuck Lorre, who had a panel at Comic-Con.
- Gamers' paradise: More and more videogame makers are making their presence known at Comic-Con, with Electronic Arts, Sony, Capcom, and Microsoft's Xbox 360 at the convention. Sony, in fact is using the show to promote DC Universe Online with DC Comics.
- The hottest thing at Comic-Con seems to be Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog, with current How I Met Your Mother and Old Spice commercial star Neil Patrick Harris. So much so, a screening at one of the ballrooms was overbooked. Yeah, you got to pay four bucks to see it online, but that's still better than watching I Survived A Japanese Game Show on TV for free.
More coming up tomorrow, with Simpsons and Futurama panels scheduled. Look for an update late tomorrow evening.
- It isn't Comic-Con without manatees: Seth McFarlane had a panel featuring Family Guy and its new spinoff, The Cleveland Show.
MacFarlane talked about Family Guy's upcoming season - a Sliders take off, another episode where Brian and Stewie travel back to 1939 Poland - and accidentally drag Mort Goldman with them - and one where Peter repeatedly sings the 1950's hit "Surfin' Bird" - and Brian and Stewie snatch the single smash it up - parodying the printer scene in Office Space (a movie I saw first in theaters by the way), complete with hip-hop music.
The Cleveland Show was also screened at the panel, and it's confirnmed Cleveland leaves Quahog, and moves back to his hometown of Stoll Bend, Virginia.
- Showtime's controversial Dexter had a preview of its' third season opener, which airs on Sept. 28, and the serial killer has a new best friend played by Jimmy Smits. Watch out, Jimmy!
- CBS' Big Bang Theory is having a returning guest star: former Roseanne star Sara Gilbert is returning for "multiple episodes" according to creator Chuck Lorre, who had a panel at Comic-Con.
- Gamers' paradise: More and more videogame makers are making their presence known at Comic-Con, with Electronic Arts, Sony, Capcom, and Microsoft's Xbox 360 at the convention. Sony, in fact is using the show to promote DC Universe Online with DC Comics.
- The hottest thing at Comic-Con seems to be Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog, with current How I Met Your Mother and Old Spice commercial star Neil Patrick Harris. So much so, a screening at one of the ballrooms was overbooked. Yeah, you got to pay four bucks to see it online, but that's still better than watching I Survived A Japanese Game Show on TV for free.
More coming up tomorrow, with Simpsons and Futurama panels scheduled. Look for an update late tomorrow evening.
More Chicago PPM results
All Access interviewed Radio Crunch's Anthony Acampora about the pre-currency results from Arbitron's new Portable People Meter, which is intended to replace the diaries the company has been using for decades. Keep in mind this is based on only one month of findings. Among the findings:
- Bonneville seems to be the big winner, with WDRV-FM (The Drive) surging in the ratings and in key demos, while WTMX (The Mix) continued to maintain its dominance. WILV-FM (Love FM) also showed gains.
- A bad showing for most Crawford and Clear Channel urban-formatted outlets: WGCI, WVAZ (V103), WPWX-FM (Power 92), and Smooth Jazz WNUA all showed steep declines. In fact, no station with a mostly African-American audience posted any gains. Rhythmic WBBM-FM (B96) also took a hit, but not as bad as the urbans (B96 has a significant African-American audience.) This basically mirrored what happened when the PPMs were rolled out in Houston and Philadelphia and black-targeted stations slid down.
- Jack FM (WJMK-FM) bombed big time with Steve Dahl, however - the station's shares increased throughout the day.
- Spanish language stations' shares remained fairly strong.
- Suburban stations also fared better with the new meteorology. Hope for Nine-FM?
- From Radio & Records: A chart showing the listening habits of Chicago minority groups, and it shows African-Americans ranked much lower. (except English-speaking Hispanics), which is a huge blow for the area's black radio stations. African-American listeners also didn't spend as much time listening to the radio than other minority groups.
- The same chart also breaks down the cumes for each format, comparing the diary numbers from Spring 2007 to the PPM numbers for June 2008. It shows an increase for every format except for classical.
My analysis is these PPMs may in fact save Chicago radio - unless you're an urban-formatted station. Have black-oriented stations been over-reported for years? While the numbers listen to the urban format is up, the stations may have been hurt due to the low time spent listening.
The next couple of months will be interesting, as many stations whose fates were borderline may stick around after all. The results? Fewer format changes and stability, which is good for everybody and Chicago radio in general. The quality of the medium in the Windy City may be another matter, though.
- Bonneville seems to be the big winner, with WDRV-FM (The Drive) surging in the ratings and in key demos, while WTMX (The Mix) continued to maintain its dominance. WILV-FM (Love FM) also showed gains.
- A bad showing for most Crawford and Clear Channel urban-formatted outlets: WGCI, WVAZ (V103), WPWX-FM (Power 92), and Smooth Jazz WNUA all showed steep declines. In fact, no station with a mostly African-American audience posted any gains. Rhythmic WBBM-FM (B96) also took a hit, but not as bad as the urbans (B96 has a significant African-American audience.) This basically mirrored what happened when the PPMs were rolled out in Houston and Philadelphia and black-targeted stations slid down.
- Jack FM (WJMK-FM) bombed big time with Steve Dahl, however - the station's shares increased throughout the day.
- Spanish language stations' shares remained fairly strong.
- Suburban stations also fared better with the new meteorology. Hope for Nine-FM?
- From Radio & Records: A chart showing the listening habits of Chicago minority groups, and it shows African-Americans ranked much lower. (except English-speaking Hispanics), which is a huge blow for the area's black radio stations. African-American listeners also didn't spend as much time listening to the radio than other minority groups.
- The same chart also breaks down the cumes for each format, comparing the diary numbers from Spring 2007 to the PPM numbers for June 2008. It shows an increase for every format except for classical.
My analysis is these PPMs may in fact save Chicago radio - unless you're an urban-formatted station. Have black-oriented stations been over-reported for years? While the numbers listen to the urban format is up, the stations may have been hurt due to the low time spent listening.
The next couple of months will be interesting, as many stations whose fates were borderline may stick around after all. The results? Fewer format changes and stability, which is good for everybody and Chicago radio in general. The quality of the medium in the Windy City may be another matter, though.
Unity conference in Chicago
While Comic-Con is going on in San Diego, there is a more important convention going on right here in Chicago which features journalists of color.
Titled UNITY: Journalists of Color , the gathering takes place at McCormick Place West and seeks dialogue and the exchange of ideas among minority reporters. The convention kicked off Wednesday and continues until Sunday, when Presidential candidate Barack Obama is scheduled to address the conference.
Participating organizations include the National Association of Black Journalists, the Native American Journalists Association, the Asian Americans Journalists Association, and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.
One of the panels taking place today is Jeremiah Wright and Jena: Who reported it and who got it right? Featured on the panel include St. Petersburg Times TV Critic Eric Deggans, nationally syndicated radio personality (and former WGCI jock) Tom Joyner, and Rev. Michael Pflager of St. Sabina Catholic Church. NPR's All Things Considered host Michele Norris moderates.
This should be quite interesting, given how the media has reran clips of Rev. Jeremiah Wright's 9/11 speech repeatedly (wonder if they'll talk about ESPN rerunning White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen's rants over and over and the constant disrespect he gets from some members of the local media. Seriously.)
Deggans also recorded a special edition of NPR's Tell Me More at Navy Pier, talking about whether or not the fight at a WNBA game in suburban Detroit should be called a catfight, among other things (has he ever seen America's Next Top Model or Jerry Springer? )
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Comic-Con, Day 1
All right, fanboys and fangirls, Comic-Con from San Diego is here! And it's not just for comic book fans anymore... There's a lot of television-related stuff here as well! A lot of news at Comic-Con for its first day (covered the T Dog Media Blog way - sarcastically), so let's get to it...
- Name change for Wizard's First Rule: The upcoming syndicated sci-fi/action series from Disney-ABC Television Distribution has been changed to Legend of the Seeker. The program premieres Nov.1 locally over WGN-TV.
- A panel for NBC's upcoming Knight Rider took place, and fans of the original grilled the producer about whether or not any features from the original KITT will be in the new model for the new series. Wait a minute, there were fans of the original?
- BBC America announced they will carry the third season of Torchwood.
- A panel on the new movie Twilight (sans the Zone).
- Stan Lee and Disney are launching Time Jumper, a digital comic book that will play out on multiple platforms. It's about a cell phone that enables going back in history. Maybe it can send Disney back in time so they couldn't tinker with At the Movies.
- There was a panel on HBO's new un-Moonlight like True Blood, which is based on Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire novels. The program was discussed at great length by Ms. Harris and Alan Ball, who created the series after he was hooked on one of Ms. Harris' novels. Should be some good watchin'. The premise is creepy (sex with vampires?) but still...
More coming tomorrow...
- Name change for Wizard's First Rule: The upcoming syndicated sci-fi/action series from Disney-ABC Television Distribution has been changed to Legend of the Seeker. The program premieres Nov.1 locally over WGN-TV.
- A panel for NBC's upcoming Knight Rider took place, and fans of the original grilled the producer about whether or not any features from the original KITT will be in the new model for the new series. Wait a minute, there were fans of the original?
- BBC America announced they will carry the third season of Torchwood.
- A panel on the new movie Twilight (sans the Zone).
- Stan Lee and Disney are launching Time Jumper, a digital comic book that will play out on multiple platforms. It's about a cell phone that enables going back in history. Maybe it can send Disney back in time so they couldn't tinker with At the Movies.
- There was a panel on HBO's new un-Moonlight like True Blood, which is based on Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire novels. The program was discussed at great length by Ms. Harris and Alan Ball, who created the series after he was hooked on one of Ms. Harris' novels. Should be some good watchin'. The premise is creepy (sex with vampires?) but still...
More coming tomorrow...
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