The new version of local TV - you know, the one in which advertisers pay money to have their product or service plugged on the show - has taken a hit with the dissolvement of Kansas City Live, KSHB-TV's low-rated one-hour infotainment program. The Hour Magazine clone, which airs at 10 a.m. on the Scripps-owned NBC affiliate, is being replaced with the fourth hour of Today (which now airs it at 11 a.m.) and the 11 a.m. spot is being filled a newscast.
KSHB ranks fourth overall in the Kansas City market, but at least upgraded its syndicated lineup over the years (by acquiring Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!) The station was a Fox affiliate until September 1994, when the Fox-New World deal sent NBC packing from WDAF-TV (then a New World station) after 45 years and landed at KSHB.
What were KSHB's syndicated programs when it first became an NBC affiliate in 1994? Reruns of Full House and Who's the Boss? in the afternoon and The Simpsons in prime access at 6:30 (Homer & Co. now airs on sister station KMCI-TV.)
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
63 percent of public back striking writers
In a poll conducted by Pepperdine University, 63 percent of the public are backing the writers in their dispute with the studios, who had only 4 percent. 33 percent of the people surveyed in the poll were unsure.
In other strike news:
- NBC has pulled out of the upcoming Television Critics Association tour in January because of the strike (and to save some bucks.)
- In lieu of new episodes of your favorite scripted shows, what do you get? Newsmagazines!
- If you watch the end of Two and a Half Men, you'll notice a vanity card for Chuck Lorre Productions before the Warner Bros. logo, which has a bunch of information to read. At the end of a recent episode, he had just three words from Episode 195: "United We Stand." To read it (and the rest of the vanity cards from other episodes of Two and a Half Men and his other series, Dharma & Greg without the use of Tivo), click here.
- Bill Koenigsberg, who is president and CEO of Horizon Media, is interviewed by Media Life, and he talks about comparisons of this writer's strike and the last one in 1988, and how this strike will hurt the media business even more, given today's vast choices in video programming.
In other strike news:
- NBC has pulled out of the upcoming Television Critics Association tour in January because of the strike (and to save some bucks.)
- In lieu of new episodes of your favorite scripted shows, what do you get? Newsmagazines!
- If you watch the end of Two and a Half Men, you'll notice a vanity card for Chuck Lorre Productions before the Warner Bros. logo, which has a bunch of information to read. At the end of a recent episode, he had just three words from Episode 195: "United We Stand." To read it (and the rest of the vanity cards from other episodes of Two and a Half Men and his other series, Dharma & Greg without the use of Tivo), click here.
- Bill Koenigsberg, who is president and CEO of Horizon Media, is interviewed by Media Life, and he talks about comparisons of this writer's strike and the last one in 1988, and how this strike will hurt the media business even more, given today's vast choices in video programming.
A dark horse in the off-network race
While Two and a Half Men tied the weekly CSI: Miami for top off-network show, there is a surprise strong performer in the race: Warner Bros.' other new off-net sitcom, The George Lopez Show.
The sitcom, which aired on ABC until this past season, averaged a season-high 2.7 household rating in the latest Nielsen report. Lopez's performance is strong thanks to runs on Nick-at-Nite and strong performances in urban markets like Chicago, where WCIU has beaten The Simpsons at 10:30 p.m. on a few occasions with the show.
Meanwhile, Twentieth's Family Guy notched a 3.9 national rating, while CBS' Everybody Loves Raymond averaged a 4.2.
The sitcom, which aired on ABC until this past season, averaged a season-high 2.7 household rating in the latest Nielsen report. Lopez's performance is strong thanks to runs on Nick-at-Nite and strong performances in urban markets like Chicago, where WCIU has beaten The Simpsons at 10:30 p.m. on a few occasions with the show.
Meanwhile, Twentieth's Family Guy notched a 3.9 national rating, while CBS' Everybody Loves Raymond averaged a 4.2.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Happy Trails
My apologies for just getting around to these stories, but a belated happy trails to two notable Chicagoans:
Jimmy P. Stagg, a discjockey who worked at the old WCFL in the 1960's and 1970's, who helped shape Chicago's Top 40 wars with WLS back in the day. He passed away last week from cancer at the age of 72. He was noted for his interviews with The Beatles, as he traveled with the group during their historic 1964 and 1965 tours. Mr. Stagg also interviewed Ray Charles and Frank Sinatra.
A belated happy trails also to Donda West, mother of international superstar Kanye West, who died Sunday at the age of 58. Ms. West was an academic and chairwoman of the English department at my alma mater, Chicago State University (and whom I often saw on campus.) She retired in 2004 and moved to Los Angeles to be closer to her son. Ms. West returned to Chicago recently to promote her new book, "Raising Kanye: Life Lessons from the Mother of a Hip-Hop Star."
Jimmy P. Stagg, a discjockey who worked at the old WCFL in the 1960's and 1970's, who helped shape Chicago's Top 40 wars with WLS back in the day. He passed away last week from cancer at the age of 72. He was noted for his interviews with The Beatles, as he traveled with the group during their historic 1964 and 1965 tours. Mr. Stagg also interviewed Ray Charles and Frank Sinatra.
A belated happy trails also to Donda West, mother of international superstar Kanye West, who died Sunday at the age of 58. Ms. West was an academic and chairwoman of the English department at my alma mater, Chicago State University (and whom I often saw on campus.) She retired in 2004 and moved to Los Angeles to be closer to her son. Ms. West returned to Chicago recently to promote her new book, "Raising Kanye: Life Lessons from the Mother of a Hip-Hop Star."
WLS, WGN clear new weekend shows
New weekend off-network hours that are making the rounds for syndication in 2008 have cleared Chicago stations.
Boston Legal, the Emmy-award series from Twentieth Television, has cleared WLS-TV in Chicago for weekend runs next fall, as well as fellow ABC O&O's in Los Angeles (KABC), San Francisco (KGO), and Houston (KTRK). Other stations clearing the hour include Scripps' WXYZ-TV in Detroit, NBC-owned KXAS-TV in Dallas, and Washington's WJLA-TV.
Meanwhile, a Weather Channel series called Storm Trackers from Litton Syndication has cleared WGN-TV in Chicago. Stations buying the show have the option of incorporating their local meteorologist into the program as hosts. Which means that Tom Skilling, the WGN meteorologist, may be the host of Storm Trackers here in the Chicago area (which is likely the case since his weather reports bring in huge ratings nightly for WGN's newscasts.)
Storm was also picked up by stations in Los Angeles (KCBS/KCAL), Atlanta (WSB), Tampa (WTSP), and Phoenix (KPHO).
Boston Legal, the Emmy-award series from Twentieth Television, has cleared WLS-TV in Chicago for weekend runs next fall, as well as fellow ABC O&O's in Los Angeles (KABC), San Francisco (KGO), and Houston (KTRK). Other stations clearing the hour include Scripps' WXYZ-TV in Detroit, NBC-owned KXAS-TV in Dallas, and Washington's WJLA-TV.
Meanwhile, a Weather Channel series called Storm Trackers from Litton Syndication has cleared WGN-TV in Chicago. Stations buying the show have the option of incorporating their local meteorologist into the program as hosts. Which means that Tom Skilling, the WGN meteorologist, may be the host of Storm Trackers here in the Chicago area (which is likely the case since his weather reports bring in huge ratings nightly for WGN's newscasts.)
Storm was also picked up by stations in Los Angeles (KCBS/KCAL), Atlanta (WSB), Tampa (WTSP), and Phoenix (KPHO).
WGCI drops to 5th in first fall Arbitrend
Usually don't report on trends, but WGCI is continuing to pay for dropping Howard McGee and replacing it with Steve Harvey's morning show.
It was a bad trend for Clear Channel, with just two of its stations showing an increase and WLIT bottoming out to an all-time low. The station recently flipped to Christmas music.
But the unlikely winner was WCKG - which just flipped to Adult Contemporary as Fresh FM. Mistake?
It was a bad trend for Clear Channel, with just two of its stations showing an increase and WLIT bottoming out to an all-time low. The station recently flipped to Christmas music.
But the unlikely winner was WCKG - which just flipped to Adult Contemporary as Fresh FM. Mistake?
FCC proposes to end cross-ownership ban
In the top 20 markets. And as predicted, all hell is breaking loose.
Meanwhile, the Tribune co. may get short-term waivers to keep its TV stations and newspapers in Chicago and other markets.
Meanwhile, the Tribune co. may get short-term waivers to keep its TV stations and newspapers in Chicago and other markets.
A message from yours truly
To: Our Readers
Over the last fourteen months, I have had the pleasure of writing about TV and radio to you, and we've had some fun along the way.
But let me tell you something. When people - notably those who hate the media business (radio and TV) and say I'm wasting my time writing this blog, I say to you:
Get a life. If you don't like TV, or any other faucet of the media business - then get to stepping. I don't want you here. This site is not for you.
I target this blog for media professionals. I noticed how hard it is to find anything related to Chicago media on the web, other than a handful of message boards. That's why I started this blog. It gives me a chance to write about media in Chicago and in other cities, and also dispense my knowledge about the subject.
But every once in awhile, we get people on here who don't have a clue or care about this business, or think I'm overrated. Look, if you want my cred, read the sidebar.
If you like what I have to say, fine. If you disagree with me on a particular subject, that's also fine. I respect your opinion. But don't tell me I'm wasting my time writing a blog about a subject I enjoy writing about and has followed for a long time. I'm a media geek, and I am happy to admit that. Remember, this is a tongue-in-cheek look at the media business, in a satirical way. But I write about serious issues in the business as well.
Blogs do serve some purpose, particularly on issues the mainstream media ignores, like Jena 6 and the battle over royalty rates for internet radio. The people who don't believe in them are usually part of the establishment - you know who I'm talking about. The political hacks who have nothing else better to do other than to tell other people what to do. They are complete losers.
What do you want to me to write about? A stupid political blog? We all know politicians suck, especially in these parts. Another blog about how much Chicago sports suck? Do you really care what I think who should be the Bears' starting quarterback? Why write about something that's out there already? I tried writing about sports on The Sporting News site, and it didn't exactly work out.
I enjoy writing about television and radio, especially the history of it in Chicago and other places, like Detroit and Milwaukee. It fascinates me. I even wrote a play about a Detroit radio station (that I wisely abandoned.)
If you like the blog, thank you, and I appreciate you visiting the site. If you don't, then with all due respect, you can go somewhere else for your Chicago media news (good luck finding it.) You have no obligation to be here. Remember, I don't make a dime off this site. I chose to keep this site ad-free. I write this blog because I am a media fanboy and enjoy writing about it, and it's fun. But when it's stops being fun and becomes an endless chore - and it's becoming dangerously close to that plateau, thanks to covering the recent writer's strike - then yours truly will hang up the pen and find something else to do.
I don't and won't apologize for anything here, unless an error is made, in which it will be corrected. I tell like it is, and if it is too hot for you here, then leave. I'll still speak out on many media issues, but I 'll keep the negativity to a minimum, and won't respond to the haters - and at the same time, return to the original vision I had in mind when I launched this blog on September 18, 2006 - to make this a fun place again, and be the wackiest and zaniest media blog in all of Chicago - while informing people at the same time. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Terence Henderson
Chairman of The T Dog Blog, Inc.
P.S. I have disabled comments on this item, as the message speaks for itself.
Over the last fourteen months, I have had the pleasure of writing about TV and radio to you, and we've had some fun along the way.
But let me tell you something. When people - notably those who hate the media business (radio and TV) and say I'm wasting my time writing this blog, I say to you:
Get a life. If you don't like TV, or any other faucet of the media business - then get to stepping. I don't want you here. This site is not for you.
I target this blog for media professionals. I noticed how hard it is to find anything related to Chicago media on the web, other than a handful of message boards. That's why I started this blog. It gives me a chance to write about media in Chicago and in other cities, and also dispense my knowledge about the subject.
But every once in awhile, we get people on here who don't have a clue or care about this business, or think I'm overrated. Look, if you want my cred, read the sidebar.
If you like what I have to say, fine. If you disagree with me on a particular subject, that's also fine. I respect your opinion. But don't tell me I'm wasting my time writing a blog about a subject I enjoy writing about and has followed for a long time. I'm a media geek, and I am happy to admit that. Remember, this is a tongue-in-cheek look at the media business, in a satirical way. But I write about serious issues in the business as well.
Blogs do serve some purpose, particularly on issues the mainstream media ignores, like Jena 6 and the battle over royalty rates for internet radio. The people who don't believe in them are usually part of the establishment - you know who I'm talking about. The political hacks who have nothing else better to do other than to tell other people what to do. They are complete losers.
What do you want to me to write about? A stupid political blog? We all know politicians suck, especially in these parts. Another blog about how much Chicago sports suck? Do you really care what I think who should be the Bears' starting quarterback? Why write about something that's out there already? I tried writing about sports on The Sporting News site, and it didn't exactly work out.
I enjoy writing about television and radio, especially the history of it in Chicago and other places, like Detroit and Milwaukee. It fascinates me. I even wrote a play about a Detroit radio station (that I wisely abandoned.)
If you like the blog, thank you, and I appreciate you visiting the site. If you don't, then with all due respect, you can go somewhere else for your Chicago media news (good luck finding it.) You have no obligation to be here. Remember, I don't make a dime off this site. I chose to keep this site ad-free. I write this blog because I am a media fanboy and enjoy writing about it, and it's fun. But when it's stops being fun and becomes an endless chore - and it's becoming dangerously close to that plateau, thanks to covering the recent writer's strike - then yours truly will hang up the pen and find something else to do.
I don't and won't apologize for anything here, unless an error is made, in which it will be corrected. I tell like it is, and if it is too hot for you here, then leave. I'll still speak out on many media issues, but I 'll keep the negativity to a minimum, and won't respond to the haters - and at the same time, return to the original vision I had in mind when I launched this blog on September 18, 2006 - to make this a fun place again, and be the wackiest and zaniest media blog in all of Chicago - while informing people at the same time. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Terence Henderson
Chairman of The T Dog Blog, Inc.
P.S. I have disabled comments on this item, as the message speaks for itself.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Hawks win on ice, but lose in the TV ratings
Last night's first Chicago Blackhawks home game against the Detroit Red Wings averaged a household rating of 0.8, according to Nielsen Media Research.
While that number seems disappointing (after all, it's hockey), it was an improvement over the 0.4 rating it has averaged so far this season, it tied an October 31 game against Dallas for the season high (0.8), and among adults 18-49, it earned an 1.1 rating.
The rating was hurt by a Bears overrun (32.9 household rating), and a competitive Sunday Night Football game on NBC (12.1 household rating), not to mention Fox's popular Sunday night animation block, which is always a young male draw.
The next home game to be televised will be November 30 against the Phoenix Coyotes, which is a Friday night, where the competition is not as intense.
By the way, the Hawks won 3-2 over the Red Wings (yes!), and the Bears beat the Oakland Raiders 17-6 on a late fourth quarter touchdown pass by Rex Grossman (yes, that Rex Grossman.)
While that number seems disappointing (after all, it's hockey), it was an improvement over the 0.4 rating it has averaged so far this season, it tied an October 31 game against Dallas for the season high (0.8), and among adults 18-49, it earned an 1.1 rating.
The rating was hurt by a Bears overrun (32.9 household rating), and a competitive Sunday Night Football game on NBC (12.1 household rating), not to mention Fox's popular Sunday night animation block, which is always a young male draw.
The next home game to be televised will be November 30 against the Phoenix Coyotes, which is a Friday night, where the competition is not as intense.
By the way, the Hawks won 3-2 over the Red Wings (yes!), and the Bears beat the Oakland Raiders 17-6 on a late fourth quarter touchdown pass by Rex Grossman (yes, that Rex Grossman.)
They like us... They really, really like us...
An item on James Hibberd's blog on the writer's strike has turned the comments section to a free-for-all, attacking writers and bloggers, and yours truly in particular:
Gee Fred, was that a compliment? Or are you a Cubs fan? (Cubs fan = stupid)
Ah, there's nothing like using the "Cubs" word to show someone's stupidity (and this White Sox fan uses it a lot.) Of course, it works just as well if you use "Republican" to describe the same idiot.
Cubs fans, Republicans, right-wing, Bush, Daley, Blago, Madigan... what's the difference? It all screams 35 I.Q. to me. And that goes for the m-- (WATCH THE HAWKS TAKE ON THE PHOENIX COYOTES LIVE FROM THE UNITED CENTER, NOV. 30 AT 7 PM ON COMCAST SPORTSNET -FAN'S BEST FRIEND.)
Message modified by administrator at 11:41 am on 2007-11-13.
Fred:
Wow, T Dog, is that professional writing? It is so impressive. Question: If a script falls in the forest and no one hears it it does it deserve a residual?
Yours truly shot back:Gee Fred, was that a compliment? Or are you a Cubs fan? (Cubs fan = stupid)
Ah, there's nothing like using the "Cubs" word to show someone's stupidity (and this White Sox fan uses it a lot.) Of course, it works just as well if you use "Republican" to describe the same idiot.
Cubs fans, Republicans, right-wing, Bush, Daley, Blago, Madigan... what's the difference? It all screams 35 I.Q. to me. And that goes for the m-- (WATCH THE HAWKS TAKE ON THE PHOENIX COYOTES LIVE FROM THE UNITED CENTER, NOV. 30 AT 7 PM ON COMCAST SPORTSNET -FAN'S BEST FRIEND.)
Message modified by administrator at 11:41 am on 2007-11-13.
Raycom buys Lincoln TV for $583 million
Lincoln TV, the former Jefferson-Pilot station group, was sold to Raycom for $583 million. The group includes CBS affiliates WBTV in Charlotte and WCSC in Charelston, S.C., and NBC affiliate WWBT in Richmond, Va.
Lincoln's sports production unit was also sold, and will be folded into Raycom Sports. Lincoln (and its predecessor Jefferson-Pilot), was responsible for syndicating a package of ACC and SEC college basketball and college football to broadcast TV stations in the South.
Raycom will have to sell one of its stations in Richmond because it already owns CBS affiliate WTVR because of duopoly restrictions (WWBT is number one in total-day ratings and news; WTVR is number three.)
Lincoln also sold its radio stations in Charlotte (WBT-AM-FM and WLNK-FM) to Greater Media.
Lincoln's sports production unit was also sold, and will be folded into Raycom Sports. Lincoln (and its predecessor Jefferson-Pilot), was responsible for syndicating a package of ACC and SEC college basketball and college football to broadcast TV stations in the South.
Raycom will have to sell one of its stations in Richmond because it already owns CBS affiliate WTVR because of duopoly restrictions (WWBT is number one in total-day ratings and news; WTVR is number three.)
Lincoln also sold its radio stations in Charlotte (WBT-AM-FM and WLNK-FM) to Greater Media.
WTHR GM departs
Rich Pegram has resigned from NBC affiliate WTHR-TV in Indianapolis after 13 years. The move comes as WTHR is trying to fend off rival CBS affiliate WISH-TV for the number one slot.
During his tenure, WTHR went from a fourth-place laughingstock (a stigma it had since it signed on in 1957) to a top-rated news leader, a move that was cemented in 1999, when it dethroned WISH for the city's news crown.
But WISH's ratings have surged lately, thanks to CBS' strong prime-time lineup and is the regular-season home of the Super Bowl Champion Indianapolis Colts (CBS has the contract to AFC games and the Colts are an AFC team.)
WTHR is stuck with a struggling NBC prime-time lineup, which places fourth nationally.
There were reports that Pegram did not take too kindly to new management at Dispatch Broadcast Group, which owns WTHR and top-rated CBS affiliate WBNS-TV in Columbus, Ohio.
Already, WISH and ABC affiliate WRTV are already gaining on WTHR so far in the November sweeps period.
Trivia: A lot of people knows this already, but it's worth noting - late-night talk show host David Letterman was a weatherman at WTHR (then called WLWI-TV) in the 1970's. WTHR was an ABC affiliate until 1979, when WRTV owner McGraw-Hill switched its WRTV and KGTV in San Diego from a struggling NBC to ABC, leaving WTHR with the NBC affiliation. Then, as it is now, NBC is in the network basement. But don't look for an affiliation switch anytime soon at WTHR.
During his tenure, WTHR went from a fourth-place laughingstock (a stigma it had since it signed on in 1957) to a top-rated news leader, a move that was cemented in 1999, when it dethroned WISH for the city's news crown.
But WISH's ratings have surged lately, thanks to CBS' strong prime-time lineup and is the regular-season home of the Super Bowl Champion Indianapolis Colts (CBS has the contract to AFC games and the Colts are an AFC team.)
WTHR is stuck with a struggling NBC prime-time lineup, which places fourth nationally.
There were reports that Pegram did not take too kindly to new management at Dispatch Broadcast Group, which owns WTHR and top-rated CBS affiliate WBNS-TV in Columbus, Ohio.
Already, WISH and ABC affiliate WRTV are already gaining on WTHR so far in the November sweeps period.
Trivia: A lot of people knows this already, but it's worth noting - late-night talk show host David Letterman was a weatherman at WTHR (then called WLWI-TV) in the 1970's. WTHR was an ABC affiliate until 1979, when WRTV owner McGraw-Hill switched its WRTV and KGTV in San Diego from a struggling NBC to ABC, leaving WTHR with the NBC affiliation. Then, as it is now, NBC is in the network basement. But don't look for an affiliation switch anytime soon at WTHR.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Stewie should've killed this guy instead
Note: If you didn't see this show, don't click on the link, as it contains a major spoiler.
All right, Stewie didn't kill Lois. But somebody did die on another show on Fox's Sunday night animation block.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Worst People in Media This Week - 11/10/2007
Notice how the title changed?
Instead of the the nominees fighting it out for the award (Prince for threating to sue fans' websites for copyright infringement and the studios for threating legal action against its showrunners for walking off the job to join the writers on the picket line), let's call it a tie and give them all the award.
To Prince and the AMPTP - Congratulations, you both win the Worst People in Media This Week award.
WPIMTW Scorecard:
PTC, Tyra Banks, Prince, AMPTP: 1 each
Instead of the the nominees fighting it out for the award (Prince for threating to sue fans' websites for copyright infringement and the studios for threating legal action against its showrunners for walking off the job to join the writers on the picket line), let's call it a tie and give them all the award.
To Prince and the AMPTP - Congratulations, you both win the Worst People in Media This Week award.
WPIMTW Scorecard:
PTC, Tyra Banks, Prince, AMPTP: 1 each
Strike may affect local stations' bottom lines
The current writer's strike in Hollywood may further hurt TV stations' bottom lines, which are already reeling from a soft ad market and tight spot ad inventory.
Stations, especially network affiliates, need fresh programming in the last hour of prime time to lead into their late local newscasts. With network programming likely to go into reruns the longer the strike progresses, ratings will decrease and may hurt stations' late newscasts.
Local news makes up as much as 40 percent of a station's revenues.
The strike might not hurt longtime news leaders who have loyal viewers (like WLS in Chicago or WSB in Atlanta), but may wind up hurting stations who are in last place in news and need the prime-time lead ins the most (WBBM in Chicago or KPRC in Houston.)
Moreover, stations in smaller markets (particularly below the top 50) are the most likely to be hit the hardest. Those stations still rely on the old diary system for ratings, where audience is measured only four times a year (November, February, May and July.) It may be hard to estimate the local ratings based on national numbers because of the strike and the constant fluctuation of network schedules.
With the economies reeling here in Illinois and in other states such as Michigan, stations in small markets in these places will be hit particularly hard.
updated at 10:47 am on 2007-11-10 to add link from Broadcasting & Cable ("Stations feel glut of reruns").
Stations, especially network affiliates, need fresh programming in the last hour of prime time to lead into their late local newscasts. With network programming likely to go into reruns the longer the strike progresses, ratings will decrease and may hurt stations' late newscasts.
Local news makes up as much as 40 percent of a station's revenues.
The strike might not hurt longtime news leaders who have loyal viewers (like WLS in Chicago or WSB in Atlanta), but may wind up hurting stations who are in last place in news and need the prime-time lead ins the most (WBBM in Chicago or KPRC in Houston.)
Moreover, stations in smaller markets (particularly below the top 50) are the most likely to be hit the hardest. Those stations still rely on the old diary system for ratings, where audience is measured only four times a year (November, February, May and July.) It may be hard to estimate the local ratings based on national numbers because of the strike and the constant fluctuation of network schedules.
With the economies reeling here in Illinois and in other states such as Michigan, stations in small markets in these places will be hit particularly hard.
updated at 10:47 am on 2007-11-10 to add link from Broadcasting & Cable ("Stations feel glut of reruns").
Friday, November 09, 2007
Martha's back for season four
And they said it wouldn't last... Martha Stewart's syndicated daytime show has been renewed in 60 percent of the country, according to NBC Universal. The tally includes all the NBC-owned stations (WMAQ in Chicago) and station groups belonging to Hearst-Argyle, Belo, Fox, Fisher, Allbritton, and Clear Channel.
Writer's Guild Strike Roundup - 11/9/07
Writers Held Hostage: Day 5
- NBC is planning to lay off its Tonight Show and Late Night staff next week, but may rely on guests hosts on those shows beginning Nov. 19. Meanwhile, The Late Show with David Letterman will be in repeats next week.
- Ellen DeGeneres is under fire for crossing the picket line to work on her daytime talk show.
- Picketers staged a huge rally at Fox's L. A. headquarters on Friday, with the most shocking revelation: The network fired all Family Guy assistants on the third day of the strike. Picketers also hit News Corp. headquarters in New York.
- Meanwhile, 102 staffers on NBC's The Office lost their jobs this week, according to a grip who works on the show.
- California Governor Arnold Schwarznegger and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa are turning up the heat to get the two parties back to the bargaining table.
- CBS and 20th Century Fox are sending are sending letters to show runners stating the following: "Either return to work or we will take legal action."
- Isn't it odd that TV Week's Strike Roundup is linking from rival publications Broadcasting & Cable and Variety? This strike is creating some kind of bizarro world.
- NBC is planning to lay off its Tonight Show and Late Night staff next week, but may rely on guests hosts on those shows beginning Nov. 19. Meanwhile, The Late Show with David Letterman will be in repeats next week.
- Ellen DeGeneres is under fire for crossing the picket line to work on her daytime talk show.
- Picketers staged a huge rally at Fox's L. A. headquarters on Friday, with the most shocking revelation: The network fired all Family Guy assistants on the third day of the strike. Picketers also hit News Corp. headquarters in New York.
- Meanwhile, 102 staffers on NBC's The Office lost their jobs this week, according to a grip who works on the show.
- California Governor Arnold Schwarznegger and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa are turning up the heat to get the two parties back to the bargaining table.
- CBS and 20th Century Fox are sending are sending letters to show runners stating the following: "Either return to work or we will take legal action."
- Isn't it odd that TV Week's Strike Roundup is linking from rival publications Broadcasting & Cable and Variety? This strike is creating some kind of bizarro world.
Q101 dumps Morning Fix
After fourteen months on the air (and maybe a moral victory for Mancow), Alternative outlet WKQX (or Q101) has deep-sixed the The Morning Fix.
The station is dumping comedy elements from its morning show and is keeping a skeleton staff on hand to do traffic, weather, and sports and re-foucsing its efforts on music in the daypart.
The move comes after WJMK-FM hired Steve Dahl to do morning after the station he was on in the afternoons, WCKG-FM, flipped to Adult Contemporary on Monday. The move took the music element out of WJMK (Jack FM) in morning drive.
Alan Cox continues to host while Jim Lynam handles news, sports, and weather. Being let go from the morning show are Dave Ball, James Engel, Ginger Jordan, Michael McCarthy, and Aemilia Scott.
Ratings for Q101 morning show have been mediocre at best. The Morning Fix was created to replace Mancow Mueller, whose contract at the station was not renewed in July 2006.
Note: Driving home on the Calumet (or Bishop Ford, or Dodge, or Toyota or whatever the hell it's called) Expressway yesterday afternoon, yours truly noticed a billboard for Q101's Morning Fix featuring Bob Barker still up near 154th Street in South Holland. Since he retired last June, and the Morning Fix was retired today, it's time for that billboard to be retired too.
Um... That's Drew's job now...
The station is dumping comedy elements from its morning show and is keeping a skeleton staff on hand to do traffic, weather, and sports and re-foucsing its efforts on music in the daypart.
The move comes after WJMK-FM hired Steve Dahl to do morning after the station he was on in the afternoons, WCKG-FM, flipped to Adult Contemporary on Monday. The move took the music element out of WJMK (Jack FM) in morning drive.
Alan Cox continues to host while Jim Lynam handles news, sports, and weather. Being let go from the morning show are Dave Ball, James Engel, Ginger Jordan, Michael McCarthy, and Aemilia Scott.
Ratings for Q101 morning show have been mediocre at best. The Morning Fix was created to replace Mancow Mueller, whose contract at the station was not renewed in July 2006.
Note: Driving home on the Calumet (or Bishop Ford, or Dodge, or Toyota or whatever the hell it's called) Expressway yesterday afternoon, yours truly noticed a billboard for Q101's Morning Fix featuring Bob Barker still up near 154th Street in South Holland. Since he retired last June, and the Morning Fix was retired today, it's time for that billboard to be retired too.
Um... That's Drew's job now...
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Writer's Guild Strike Roundup - 11/8/07
Writer's Held Hostage: Day 4
- The Office will air its final completed episode on November 15.
- Another casualty of the strike: The Television Critics Association tour may be scrapped, to the delight of the networks.
- Bionic Woman, Reaper, and Men in Trees are on the verge of shutting down, perhaps for good, as all three are struggling in the ratings.
- And soap operas aren't going into reruns. At least not yet.
- The Office will air its final completed episode on November 15.
- Another casualty of the strike: The Television Critics Association tour may be scrapped, to the delight of the networks.
- Bionic Woman, Reaper, and Men in Trees are on the verge of shutting down, perhaps for good, as all three are struggling in the ratings.
- And soap operas aren't going into reruns. At least not yet.
Hearst-Argyle not happy with NBC's performance
Hearst-Argyle (and probably a lot of station groups) aren't happy with NBC's primetime performance.
David Barrett, the CEO of the station group, says he's "disappointed" in the performance of the network, and its been a earnings drag on the company's ten NBC affiliates.
But don't look too much into this. It's not likely Hearst-Argyle will break with NBC anytime soon. This is not 1980, when affiliates were leaving NBC in droves because of weak ratings for weak primetime shows. Many Hearst-Argyle stations are still strong in news (like WBAL in Baltimore), and the stations are expected to reap a huge windfall thanks to the upcoming political season.
Plus, other factors have hit both television and radio hard, including decreases in spending in the auto category, plus the mortgage prime lending crisis and falling home sales have hit the economy hard, particularly in Chicago.
Keep in mind that CBS got hit hard in 1994 when eight New World stations switched to Fox. And CBS was the number one network in the 1993-94 season when that announcement came down.
David Barrett, the CEO of the station group, says he's "disappointed" in the performance of the network, and its been a earnings drag on the company's ten NBC affiliates.
But don't look too much into this. It's not likely Hearst-Argyle will break with NBC anytime soon. This is not 1980, when affiliates were leaving NBC in droves because of weak ratings for weak primetime shows. Many Hearst-Argyle stations are still strong in news (like WBAL in Baltimore), and the stations are expected to reap a huge windfall thanks to the upcoming political season.
Plus, other factors have hit both television and radio hard, including decreases in spending in the auto category, plus the mortgage prime lending crisis and falling home sales have hit the economy hard, particularly in Chicago.
Keep in mind that CBS got hit hard in 1994 when eight New World stations switched to Fox. And CBS was the number one network in the 1993-94 season when that announcement came down.
Local station roundup
Let's see what's going on in local markets around the country:
-According to Nielsen, KETC-TV in St. Louis was the nation's highest-rated public TV station in October, even outperforming WTTW in Chicago. The station's total-day ratings were up 8 percent from a year ago and up 39 percent in primetime.
It's same to assume that this station outdraws Sinclair's weak-kneed KDNL-TV, which has been a ratings disaster since it became an ABC affiliate in 1995 in the New World-Fox affiliate deal, which shifted Fox from KDNL to KTVI. The station ended its low-rated newscasts in 2001.
- Fox-owned WFXT has gotten off to a good start with its new 11 p.m. newscast in Boston. Thanks to tons of promotion from the World Series (which the Red Sox won in 4), The new newscast scored with 89,000 viewers on its first night on the air Monday, which grew to 111,000 viewers on Tuesday. It's 10 p.m. newscast drew 223,000 viewers on the same night. Not bad for a former part-time religious TV station, which was once owned by Pat Roberston (and often drew hash marks for ratings.) It's signature program at one time was The 700 Club.
- And the network lead-in are determining the race for No. 1 in Houston's late-night news wars, which has Belo's CBS affiliate KHOU-TV in a heated race with ABC-owned KTRK-TV. The market has become even more competitive, since Local People Meters were introduced this month.
KTRK traditionally has been Houston's most-watched station, since at least the 1970's, but has been challenged in the last 15 years by KHOU, which has been a very strong second in that time frame, and has even knocked off KTRK in a few books.
Meanwhile, Post-Newsweek's NBC affiliate KPRC-TV lags behind both competitors, and is actually tied with Fox-owned KRIV for third place in households at 10 p.m. KPRC also trailed in key demos. KPRC is at a disadvantage, given NBC's lead-ins aren't as strong as the ABC and CBS stations.
Since weak NBC lead-ins are not a factor in many markets (NBC affiliates in Boston, Detroit, Washington, Seattle, Denver, Baltimore, and Milwaukee still win their late news), it is a factor in Houston.
At one time, KPRC was the market's second-watched station behind KTRK, but fell behind KHOU in the early 1990's, and with a few exceptions, hasn't rebounded since. At one time, its' 5 p.m. newscast not only finished behind its news competitors, but also behind Simpsons reruns and even a Spanish-language newscast (and I thought WBBM-TV's news operation was bad.)
And this just in: Anna Nicole Smith's mother (Virgie Arthur) is suing KPRC, Entertainment Tonight, and Howard K. Stern (not the Sirius jock) for libel. The suit alleges that Stern arranged for Smith to appear in an ET interview where the model stated that Ms. Arthur was complicit in Smith's childhood physical and sexual abuse.
Anna Nicole Smith died on Feb. 8, 2007 at the age of 39 from a accidental drug overdose.
KPRC airs Entertainment Tonight weeknights at 6:30 p.m. ET is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution, which was also named in the suit.
It keeps getting worse for this station. Oy Vey.
updated 9:20 pm on 2007-11-08
-According to Nielsen, KETC-TV in St. Louis was the nation's highest-rated public TV station in October, even outperforming WTTW in Chicago. The station's total-day ratings were up 8 percent from a year ago and up 39 percent in primetime.
It's same to assume that this station outdraws Sinclair's weak-kneed KDNL-TV, which has been a ratings disaster since it became an ABC affiliate in 1995 in the New World-Fox affiliate deal, which shifted Fox from KDNL to KTVI. The station ended its low-rated newscasts in 2001.
- Fox-owned WFXT has gotten off to a good start with its new 11 p.m. newscast in Boston. Thanks to tons of promotion from the World Series (which the Red Sox won in 4), The new newscast scored with 89,000 viewers on its first night on the air Monday, which grew to 111,000 viewers on Tuesday. It's 10 p.m. newscast drew 223,000 viewers on the same night. Not bad for a former part-time religious TV station, which was once owned by Pat Roberston (and often drew hash marks for ratings.) It's signature program at one time was The 700 Club.
- And the network lead-in are determining the race for No. 1 in Houston's late-night news wars, which has Belo's CBS affiliate KHOU-TV in a heated race with ABC-owned KTRK-TV. The market has become even more competitive, since Local People Meters were introduced this month.
KTRK traditionally has been Houston's most-watched station, since at least the 1970's, but has been challenged in the last 15 years by KHOU, which has been a very strong second in that time frame, and has even knocked off KTRK in a few books.
Meanwhile, Post-Newsweek's NBC affiliate KPRC-TV lags behind both competitors, and is actually tied with Fox-owned KRIV for third place in households at 10 p.m. KPRC also trailed in key demos. KPRC is at a disadvantage, given NBC's lead-ins aren't as strong as the ABC and CBS stations.
Since weak NBC lead-ins are not a factor in many markets (NBC affiliates in Boston, Detroit, Washington, Seattle, Denver, Baltimore, and Milwaukee still win their late news), it is a factor in Houston.
At one time, KPRC was the market's second-watched station behind KTRK, but fell behind KHOU in the early 1990's, and with a few exceptions, hasn't rebounded since. At one time, its' 5 p.m. newscast not only finished behind its news competitors, but also behind Simpsons reruns and even a Spanish-language newscast (and I thought WBBM-TV's news operation was bad.)
And this just in: Anna Nicole Smith's mother (Virgie Arthur) is suing KPRC, Entertainment Tonight, and Howard K. Stern (not the Sirius jock) for libel. The suit alleges that Stern arranged for Smith to appear in an ET interview where the model stated that Ms. Arthur was complicit in Smith's childhood physical and sexual abuse.
Anna Nicole Smith died on Feb. 8, 2007 at the age of 39 from a accidental drug overdose.
KPRC airs Entertainment Tonight weeknights at 6:30 p.m. ET is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution, which was also named in the suit.
It keeps getting worse for this station. Oy Vey.
updated 9:20 pm on 2007-11-08
The sad part about this is... it makes Britney look good
(All right, I said a few months ago that I would never read or link to this guy's blog again... But the commentary about the latest Prince faux pas he wrote is straight on... Hey, even yours truly can make a misjudgement once in a while... Sorry, J.D.C. BTW, Mariotti still sucks...)
We have our first (and probably only) Worst Person In Media of the Week award nominee, in the non-WGA strike category. It's Prince, and he is suing his fans - yes, you read right - ordering fan websites to remove all pictures, images, lyrics, album covers, and anything related to his likeness. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you.
Who does Prince thinks he is? The Governor of Illinois?
We have our first (and probably only) Worst Person In Media of the Week award nominee, in the non-WGA strike category. It's Prince, and he is suing his fans - yes, you read right - ordering fan websites to remove all pictures, images, lyrics, album covers, and anything related to his likeness. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you.
Who does Prince thinks he is? The Governor of Illinois?
Another honor for Jerry
Here's another award The Jerry Springer Show can proudly put on its trophy case: People in a Chicago Tribune poll voted the rabid show the worst show on TV with 19.8 percent of the vote.
Gee, what a surprise!
A few years ago if you recall, Jerry Springer was voted The worst show in history by TV Guide - and proudly paraded the quote on the opening credits.
Here are the rest of the top ten:
2. Cavemen - 15.6
3. Mama's Family - 7.3
4. Cop Rock - 6.9
5. Small Wonder -6.6
6. Joanie Loves Chachi - 5.8
7. Ernest Angley Hour -4.0 (Ernest Angley? Who?)
8. Homeboys in Outer Space 3.9
9. My Mother, the Car - 3.6
10. XFL 3.4
For the rest of the list, click here.
Gee, what a surprise!
A few years ago if you recall, Jerry Springer was voted The worst show in history by TV Guide - and proudly paraded the quote on the opening credits.
Here are the rest of the top ten:
2. Cavemen - 15.6
3. Mama's Family - 7.3
4. Cop Rock - 6.9
5. Small Wonder -6.6
6. Joanie Loves Chachi - 5.8
7. Ernest Angley Hour -4.0 (Ernest Angley? Who?)
8. Homeboys in Outer Space 3.9
9. My Mother, the Car - 3.6
10. XFL 3.4
For the rest of the list, click here.
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
The moving game
Look for more late-afternoon Bears games - like it or not.
No, the Chicago Bears did not relocate to L.A. (the way they played this season, they could've joined the writers, who are also out on strike.) But the NFL and CBS moved the Denver Broncos-Chicago Bears game to 3:15 p.m. (CT) from its original noon time slot. This comes after NBC "flexed" the scheduled Bears-Seahawks game out of prime-time to air a New England Patriots-Buffalo Bills game on Nov. 18, with Bears-Seahawks moved to 3:15 on Fox.
In fact, the Bears are on the late doubleheader slot for the next four weeks with two of those games - Oakland (Nov. 11) and Seattle - on the West Coast, where start times for NFL games are at 1:00 (PT). On Dec. 2, they have a 3:15 home game with the New York Giants.
This comes despite the fact the Bears are having a less-than-stellar season this year.
The reason is simple: The Bears are in the nation's third-largest market, have a national following, and other games on the docket those afternoons are even lamer. Plus, the Bears are not out of it yet - they still have a shot at a wild-card berth.
Plus, both CBS and Fox want stronger lead-ins to their Sunday night lineups, particularly in the largest markets, where the most viewers reside.
The teams that are doing well - New England, Indianapolis, Green Bay, and Dallas - have games airing on different days and different networks (namely NBC, ESPN and the NFL network.) For example, the Packers, Cowboys, and Colts all play on Thanksgiving this year.
The Bears have only five early (12:00 noon) starts on their 2007 schedule - the fewest in recent memory.
Also: In that same linked article, Dan Patrick's new syndicated radio show has landed the 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. time slot on WSCR-AM, "The Score".
updated 11:35 am on 2007-11-08
No, the Chicago Bears did not relocate to L.A. (the way they played this season, they could've joined the writers, who are also out on strike.) But the NFL and CBS moved the Denver Broncos-Chicago Bears game to 3:15 p.m. (CT) from its original noon time slot. This comes after NBC "flexed" the scheduled Bears-Seahawks game out of prime-time to air a New England Patriots-Buffalo Bills game on Nov. 18, with Bears-Seahawks moved to 3:15 on Fox.
In fact, the Bears are on the late doubleheader slot for the next four weeks with two of those games - Oakland (Nov. 11) and Seattle - on the West Coast, where start times for NFL games are at 1:00 (PT). On Dec. 2, they have a 3:15 home game with the New York Giants.
This comes despite the fact the Bears are having a less-than-stellar season this year.
The reason is simple: The Bears are in the nation's third-largest market, have a national following, and other games on the docket those afternoons are even lamer. Plus, the Bears are not out of it yet - they still have a shot at a wild-card berth.
Plus, both CBS and Fox want stronger lead-ins to their Sunday night lineups, particularly in the largest markets, where the most viewers reside.
The teams that are doing well - New England, Indianapolis, Green Bay, and Dallas - have games airing on different days and different networks (namely NBC, ESPN and the NFL network.) For example, the Packers, Cowboys, and Colts all play on Thanksgiving this year.
The Bears have only five early (12:00 noon) starts on their 2007 schedule - the fewest in recent memory.
Also: In that same linked article, Dan Patrick's new syndicated radio show has landed the 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. time slot on WSCR-AM, "The Score".
updated 11:35 am on 2007-11-08
Writer's Guild Strike Roundup
Writers Held Hostage: Day 3
Note: We will only do one post per day on the strike. That way, all the strike news that breaks can be in one place, not all over the blog. Look for the roundup every evening around 9 p.m. (CT) or so.
- Was the WGA dumped by Hollywood executives to drop the DVD demands? Nikke Fine of LA Weekly has the details here.
-Fox has postponed the season premiere of 24 indefinitely, citing the strike as a reason. You can access the official press release and the rest of Fox's 2007-08 season plans on this guy's blog by clicking here.
- The cast of Grey's Anatomy walked off the set today, joining the writers on the picket line. Meanwhile, another ABC show, Big Shots, was interrupted by picketers while shooting on location.
- More causalities of the strike - ABC's Desperate Housewives (which wrapped today) and Pushing Daisies, NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and CBS' Rules of Engagement. Meanwhile, Eva Longoria Parker served pizza to striking writers, but they were not impressed (actually, they were pissed off.)
- And Fox's Family Guy may become an unexpected victim of the strike - creator Seth MacFarlane told Variety that this Sunday's episode is the last original one available to air. Meanwhile, South Park, rumored to be shut down because of the strike, aired a new episode tonight. The creators of that show - Matt Stone and Trey Parker, are known to make last minute changes to the script right before airtime.
- If the strike continues, scores to jobs -from writer's assistants to production managers - may be soon out of work.
- And viewers don't seem to care about the strike - thanks to ton of entertainment options and the ability to fill the schedule with reality shows, which doesn't use writers (union writers anyway.) The writer's strike is ranking right up there with a Florida Panthers-Carolina Hurricanes hockey game, which is not a good sign.
- And according to this Wall Street Journal article, advertisers don't seem to be concerned about the strike - yet anyway, thanks to the tight ad market and the all-important Christmas season coming up. But they might be concerned the longer this goes on.
Note: We will only do one post per day on the strike. That way, all the strike news that breaks can be in one place, not all over the blog. Look for the roundup every evening around 9 p.m. (CT) or so.
- Was the WGA dumped by Hollywood executives to drop the DVD demands? Nikke Fine of LA Weekly has the details here.
-Fox has postponed the season premiere of 24 indefinitely, citing the strike as a reason. You can access the official press release and the rest of Fox's 2007-08 season plans on this guy's blog by clicking here.
- The cast of Grey's Anatomy walked off the set today, joining the writers on the picket line. Meanwhile, another ABC show, Big Shots, was interrupted by picketers while shooting on location.
- More causalities of the strike - ABC's Desperate Housewives (which wrapped today) and Pushing Daisies, NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and CBS' Rules of Engagement. Meanwhile, Eva Longoria Parker served pizza to striking writers, but they were not impressed (actually, they were pissed off.)
- And Fox's Family Guy may become an unexpected victim of the strike - creator Seth MacFarlane told Variety that this Sunday's episode is the last original one available to air. Meanwhile, South Park, rumored to be shut down because of the strike, aired a new episode tonight. The creators of that show - Matt Stone and Trey Parker, are known to make last minute changes to the script right before airtime.
- If the strike continues, scores to jobs -from writer's assistants to production managers - may be soon out of work.
- And viewers don't seem to care about the strike - thanks to ton of entertainment options and the ability to fill the schedule with reality shows, which doesn't use writers (union writers anyway.) The writer's strike is ranking right up there with a Florida Panthers-Carolina Hurricanes hockey game, which is not a good sign.
- And according to this Wall Street Journal article, advertisers don't seem to be concerned about the strike - yet anyway, thanks to the tight ad market and the all-important Christmas season coming up. But they might be concerned the longer this goes on.
Delilah out at the Lite (na na na na, na na na na, hey, hey, hey...)
Syndicated radio personality Delilah is out at WLIT-FM after seven years at the station. Her last show was on Monday.
Only one thing to say....
Excuse me.
YEAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!
Okay, where was I?
Oh, right. Her replacement is John Symons, late of WILV-FM and its predecessor, WNND-FM. He is bringing his Love Notes show to the station beginning on Thursday. Love Notes originated on WNND in 1997.
Symons will host Love Notes live Monday through Friday from 7 p.m. to midnight and on recorded voice tracks on the weekends (this move also mercifulfully brings the curtains down on the inane Saturday Night flashback party show, hosted by "The Girls".)
This comes after WCKG-FM flipped to Adult Contemporary on Monday, making WCKG and WLIT head-to-head competitors.
With these moves, particularly the removal of the inane Delilah from our airwaves, Chicago radio immediately just got better.
"Hey there, Delilah, get your dumb ass out the door..."
updated 8:41 am on 2007-11-07 to add information
Only one thing to say....
Excuse me.
YEAAAHHHHH!!!!!!!!
Okay, where was I?
Oh, right. Her replacement is John Symons, late of WILV-FM and its predecessor, WNND-FM. He is bringing his Love Notes show to the station beginning on Thursday. Love Notes originated on WNND in 1997.
Symons will host Love Notes live Monday through Friday from 7 p.m. to midnight and on recorded voice tracks on the weekends (this move also mercifulfully brings the curtains down on the inane Saturday Night flashback party show, hosted by "The Girls".)
This comes after WCKG-FM flipped to Adult Contemporary on Monday, making WCKG and WLIT head-to-head competitors.
With these moves, particularly the removal of the inane Delilah from our airwaves, Chicago radio immediately just got better.
"Hey there, Delilah, get your dumb ass out the door..."
updated 8:41 am on 2007-11-07 to add information
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
The ultimate season of loneliness
With the Bears and Bulls going down the drain and a writer's strike that seems to be getting worse by the minute, it's going to be a long, cold winter in Chicago. Only thing I can say is...
Go Hawks!
I can't believe I just said that. But it may be the only thing worth watching on TV (thanks to added home games) the rest of the season.
Go Hawks!
I can't believe I just said that. But it may be the only thing worth watching on TV (thanks to added home games) the rest of the season.
Writer's Guild Strike Roundup
Writers Held Hostage: Day 2
The latest:
- The walkout has shut down numerous shows in Hollywood until notice, notably sitcoms shot in front of studio audiences. Back to You, Two and a Half Men, 'Til Death and The Big Bang Theory have gone dark (however, CW sitcoms Girlfriends and The Game are reportedly still in production.)
- The Writer's Strike is fast becoming a political issue. Democratic presidential nominees Hilary Clinton and John Edwards joined Barack Obama in denouncing the strike.
- And advertisers are starting to getting a little p.o'ed about this whole thing - with reruns in the not-too distant future, it will put a squeeze on already tight ad inventory, and scatter buys could be yanked, which could lead to a rise in prices (which, no doubt they will pass on to you and me at the store. Which Chicago and Cook County set to raise taxes, those factors will make goods a hell of a lot more expensive.)
- And here's an item on the effects of an prolonged strike, and it is not pretty. In other words, if you think TV is a wasteland now...
The latest:
- The walkout has shut down numerous shows in Hollywood until notice, notably sitcoms shot in front of studio audiences. Back to You, Two and a Half Men, 'Til Death and The Big Bang Theory have gone dark (however, CW sitcoms Girlfriends and The Game are reportedly still in production.)
- The Writer's Strike is fast becoming a political issue. Democratic presidential nominees Hilary Clinton and John Edwards joined Barack Obama in denouncing the strike.
- And advertisers are starting to getting a little p.o'ed about this whole thing - with reruns in the not-too distant future, it will put a squeeze on already tight ad inventory, and scatter buys could be yanked, which could lead to a rise in prices (which, no doubt they will pass on to you and me at the store. Which Chicago and Cook County set to raise taxes, those factors will make goods a hell of a lot more expensive.)
- And here's an item on the effects of an prolonged strike, and it is not pretty. In other words, if you think TV is a wasteland now...
Home games on for Hawks
Hawks also looking for over-the-air broadcast partner
The Chicago Blackhawks and Comcast SportsNet held a press conference yesterday to announce the home-game schedule that will air on the regional sports net. Click here to view the official press release and the schedule.
The first of these games airs this Sunday, with the Hawks hosting the Detroit Red Wings at 6 p.m.
As you recall, new chairman Rocky Wirtz - son of late owner Bill Wirtz, reversed the long-time policy his father instituted in the 1950's on not televising home games.
Meanwhile, it is being reported that the Blackhawks are looking for an over-the-air broadcast partner to air a small package of games. If the Hawks can land a deal, it will mark the first time since 1980 that the Hawks air their games on a local broadcast TV outlet on a regular basis.
WGN-TV aired road games in the 1970's, and were briefly in discussions to carry the team's games during their Stanley Cup run in 1992. WSNS-TV (now a Telemundo affiliate) then took a shot at carrying those Hawks games, from 1978-80.
The package is reportedly being pitched to Fox-owned My Network TV affiliate WPWR-TV and Weigel-owned independent WCIU-TV.
WCIU already airs Bulls, Cubs, and White Sox games produced by WGN, which holds the local over-the-air broadcast rights. WCIU also carried Chicago Wolves minor-league hockey games on Saturday nights from 1994-96.
However, WPWR has been more aggressive acquiring sports product by carrying two Chicago Fire soccer games, airing IHSA football and basketball playoff games (and will do so again this season), and acquiring the local broadcast rights to air the Chicago Bears-Washington Redskins game that's airing on the barely-distributed NFL Network on Dec. 6.
This would actually buck a trend going on with many NHL teams, who left local broadcasters behind and have moved their games to cable exclusively. Teams that have done this in the past decade include the Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, San Jose Sharks, and Los Angeles Kings.
There are still some teams that have a broadcast/cable hybrid, including the Dallas Stars, who have games on both Fox Sports Net Southwest and My Network TV affiliate KDFI-TV, which are owned by Fox. The Minnesota Wild has games on FSN North and Hubbard's Minneapolis station, KSTC-TV.
updated 12:57 a.m. on 2007-12-15 (to add information that was recently discovered. Yeah, I know it's been a month since this was posted...)
Monday, November 05, 2007
It's Fresh
Anyone who had WCKG become Fresh 105.9 in the format pool - you win! The new Adult Contemporary format launched at 5 p.m. today.
The station's target audience is women 25-54 (or somewhere in between), the same as crosstown competitor WLIT, who switched to Christmas music on Friday.
According to yes.com, here are the first five songs played on the station:
5:00 p Beatiful Day - U2
5:04 p Because of You - Kelly Clarkson
5:08 p Street Corner Symphony - Rob Thomas
5:12 p Makes Me Wonder - Maroon 5
5:16 p Hero - Enrique Iglesias
And the station is attacking "The Lite" on the air. Cool! (Only in that sense.)
- Official station website (the station is streaming live)
- WCKG's Wikipedia entry
- Missed the format change as it happened? Click here to find out how it went down (thanks to Lance at RadioInsight.com)
By the Way: I didn't know today's kids listened to Kris Kross' "Jump", a song that came out - in 1992. Boy, the research department was way off on this one!
updated 7:32pm on 2007-11-05
Writer's Guild Strike Roundup
Writers Held Hostage: Day 1
Here's the latest:
- The first fallout from the strike - the late-night talk shows have gone dark. There will be no more fresh episodes of Jay Leno, David Letterman, The Daily Show, or Stephen Colbert until further notice. Ellen DeGeneres did not tape her show today, showing support for the strikers.
- Noted people on the picket line: Tina Fey (30 Rock) in New York and Greg Daniels (The Office) in Los Angeles.
- Presidential canadiate Barack Obama (D-Ill.) shows his support for the writers.
- The first casualty of the strike may have happened: The remainder of Scrubs' final season may be scrubbed out.
- Production of CBS' Cane was shut down temporarily because of the invasion of striking writers.
- Can a strike save TV? Ben Grossman from B&C on why the TV industry - like radio - is in serious trouble.
Here's the latest:
- The first fallout from the strike - the late-night talk shows have gone dark. There will be no more fresh episodes of Jay Leno, David Letterman, The Daily Show, or Stephen Colbert until further notice. Ellen DeGeneres did not tape her show today, showing support for the strikers.
- Noted people on the picket line: Tina Fey (30 Rock) in New York and Greg Daniels (The Office) in Los Angeles.
- Presidential canadiate Barack Obama (D-Ill.) shows his support for the writers.
- The first casualty of the strike may have happened: The remainder of Scrubs' final season may be scrubbed out.
- Production of CBS' Cane was shut down temporarily because of the invasion of striking writers.
- Can a strike save TV? Ben Grossman from B&C on why the TV industry - like radio - is in serious trouble.
Bears out, Patriots in
As expected, NBC has dumped the Bears-Seahawks game from Sunday Night Football on November 18 for what else? The undefeated New England Patriots against some team that will lose against them.
I guess NBC doesn't want another sinking ship on its schedule (it already has Heroes.)
Bears-Seahawks has been rescheduled for 3:15 p.m. (CT) on Fox.
I guess NBC doesn't want another sinking ship on its schedule (it already has Heroes.)
Bears-Seahawks has been rescheduled for 3:15 p.m. (CT) on Fox.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Worst Person in Media This Week - 11/02/2007
The T Dog Media Blog is about to hand out the second-ever Worst Person in Media This Week award, and we have many nominees.
First, we have Bill O'Reilly, with this inane blog entry on black firefighters. Then we have the AMPTP for continuing to screw over Hollywood writers, who are headed to the picket lines in the very near future. Another nominee is the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who decided to protest the XM-Sirius merger, never mind that most minority groups (and this blog) actually endorsed the merger, believing it would provide more services to minority communities. And a late entry: Adam Buckman of the New York Post giving fans of Family Guy the middle finger by revealing spoilers to the 100th episode (and right back at you, buddy!)
And there's more... WCKG management's for the botched flip to Christmas music, Duane "Dog" Chapman for his racial slur, the FCC's Kevin Martin, and Jay Mariotti for being... Jay Mariotti.
Whew! That's a long list!
But this week, yours truly decided to award the Worst Person in Media - well, make that the Worst People in Media award this week to the conservative group The Parents Television Council, who came out this week with yet another pointless list on kids' prime-time favorites, never mind some of those shows on that list - in the "red light district", are not for kids. These guys are about as bad as Jesse Jackson when it comes to grabbing attention for self-interest.
Congratulations, Parents Television Council for what I am sure is the first of many Worst People in Media awards for you guys.
WPIMTW award scoreboard:
Parents Television Council: 1
Tyra Banks:1
First, we have Bill O'Reilly, with this inane blog entry on black firefighters. Then we have the AMPTP for continuing to screw over Hollywood writers, who are headed to the picket lines in the very near future. Another nominee is the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who decided to protest the XM-Sirius merger, never mind that most minority groups (and this blog) actually endorsed the merger, believing it would provide more services to minority communities. And a late entry: Adam Buckman of the New York Post giving fans of Family Guy the middle finger by revealing spoilers to the 100th episode (and right back at you, buddy!)
And there's more... WCKG management's for the botched flip to Christmas music, Duane "Dog" Chapman for his racial slur, the FCC's Kevin Martin, and Jay Mariotti for being... Jay Mariotti.
Whew! That's a long list!
But this week, yours truly decided to award the Worst Person in Media - well, make that the Worst People in Media award this week to the conservative group The Parents Television Council, who came out this week with yet another pointless list on kids' prime-time favorites, never mind some of those shows on that list - in the "red light district", are not for kids. These guys are about as bad as Jesse Jackson when it comes to grabbing attention for self-interest.
Congratulations, Parents Television Council for what I am sure is the first of many Worst People in Media awards for you guys.
WPIMTW award scoreboard:
Parents Television Council: 1
Tyra Banks:1
"Heroes" and the Writer's Strike
James Hibberd of TV Week talks about both, and how they relate to each other. Of course, the recent shelving of the Heroes spin-off may have something to do with the program's lackluster second season more than anything else.
Entertainment Weekly said Heroes is struggling because of sloppy writing and “myriad worldwide locales that all look like the backlot of ‘M*A*S*H” and “mediocre special effects, plus, Urlacher isn't covering his opponents and the offense is giving up too many points and is turning the ball over too much. ”
Wait a minute... How did this become a conversation about the Bears?
Entertainment Weekly said Heroes is struggling because of sloppy writing and “myriad worldwide locales that all look like the backlot of ‘M*A*S*H” and “mediocre special effects, plus, Urlacher isn't covering his opponents and the offense is giving up too many points and is turning the ball over too much. ”
Wait a minute... How did this become a conversation about the Bears?
Friday, November 02, 2007
WCKG backs out of Christmas format
WCKG planned to switch to Christmas music at 7 p.m. tonight. That is, until WLIT launched its all-Christmas format at 8:30 this morning.
Speculation centered on two Christmas formats competing for listenership.
But late this afternoon, WCKG abandoned that plan at the last minute. Instead, they are running Dahl clips, as they have been doing all week long, until at least Monday.
WCKG hasn't decided on what format they will launch on Monday.
Rant: I don't know about you, but this is ridiculous. CBS Radio is playing games with the public and we're getting burned by it. But you have to admit, it's a great way to build buzz.
On the other hand, with WLIT flipping to Jingle Bells and many who hate the whole concept have already found alternatives, WCKG missed a great opportunity to corral that type of audience. If they decided to ditch Jingle Bells and go Adult Contemporary, it should have been done at 7 p.m. tonight. Instead, it's an all Dahl clips show.
Is it Fresh? Is it Spanish? Is it something else? I don't know about you, but this failed stunt is one of the reasons why yours truly doesn't listen to radio much anymore. CBS management clearly doesn't know what they're doing. It's just more proof that radio executives are idiots.
I was going to award The Worst Person in Media award for this week, but with this and other crap that went on today in the media world (just see the posts below and you'll know what I mean), the nominees just keep on coming. Yours truly will have to think about it. The award will be handed out tomorrow.
By the way, WMYX flipped yesterday to the Jingle Bells format in Milwaukee. Merry Christmas. Sigh.
UPDATE: On Chicago radio message boards, it looks like some are disagreeing with me over my views over the situation. Some say it was brilliant for WCKG to crap out to force WLIT to switch to all Christmas early. I respectfully say no. That wasn't even the case here. Look, this isn't some plot outline from Survivor or some WWE program. Or is that all the radio business has become? A dumb ass reality show? Yours truly stands by his statement.
updated 10:47 am on 2007-11-02
Speculation centered on two Christmas formats competing for listenership.
But late this afternoon, WCKG abandoned that plan at the last minute. Instead, they are running Dahl clips, as they have been doing all week long, until at least Monday.
WCKG hasn't decided on what format they will launch on Monday.
Rant: I don't know about you, but this is ridiculous. CBS Radio is playing games with the public and we're getting burned by it. But you have to admit, it's a great way to build buzz.
On the other hand, with WLIT flipping to Jingle Bells and many who hate the whole concept have already found alternatives, WCKG missed a great opportunity to corral that type of audience. If they decided to ditch Jingle Bells and go Adult Contemporary, it should have been done at 7 p.m. tonight. Instead, it's an all Dahl clips show.
Is it Fresh? Is it Spanish? Is it something else? I don't know about you, but this failed stunt is one of the reasons why yours truly doesn't listen to radio much anymore. CBS management clearly doesn't know what they're doing. It's just more proof that radio executives are idiots.
I was going to award The Worst Person in Media award for this week, but with this and other crap that went on today in the media world (just see the posts below and you'll know what I mean), the nominees just keep on coming. Yours truly will have to think about it. The award will be handed out tomorrow.
By the way, WMYX flipped yesterday to the Jingle Bells format in Milwaukee. Merry Christmas. Sigh.
UPDATE: On Chicago radio message boards, it looks like some are disagreeing with me over my views over the situation. Some say it was brilliant for WCKG to crap out to force WLIT to switch to all Christmas early. I respectfully say no. That wasn't even the case here. Look, this isn't some plot outline from Survivor or some WWE program. Or is that all the radio business has become? A dumb ass reality show? Yours truly stands by his statement.
updated 10:47 am on 2007-11-02
Talks to resume on Sunday
The AMPTP and the WGA will return to the bargaining table Sunday at 10 a.m. Pacific Time in hopes to avert a Writer's Strike that will kick off Monday at 12:01 a.m. Pacific.
Note: I have added "WGA Strike Central" to the sidebar for the latest info on the strike. The three links added were from the LA Times, Nikki Fine's blog from L.A. Weekly, and the WGA's official website.
If I find more links, I'll post them on the sidebar under WGA Strike Central.
Note: I have added "WGA Strike Central" to the sidebar for the latest info on the strike. The three links added were from the LA Times, Nikki Fine's blog from L.A. Weekly, and the WGA's official website.
If I find more links, I'll post them on the sidebar under WGA Strike Central.
Pencils down 12:01 a.m. Monday morning.
Or make that 2:01 a.m. Central Time as the Writer's Guild has set a deadline to come to a settlement with Hollywood producers.
Bears may not be good enough for prime-time
The Chicago Bears-Seattle Seahawks game scheduled for NBC on Nov. 18, may be switched out to accomedate a more competitive football game under the league's "flexible scheduling arrangement" with the Peacock network. Both teams, who met in the playoffs last year, are struggling this season - the Bears are 3-5 and the Seahawks are 4-3.
NBC has an agreement with the NFL to move potentially weak games (between two teams late in the season) out of the prime Sunday slot and replace it with a more competitive matchup.
Ratings for the Bears have fallen locally in the Chicago area, and that too may influence a decision to pull the game from prime-time.
NBC also has to compete with Fox for the male audience on Sunday nights. Fox's animated block, which is anchored by The Simpsons and Family Guy, looks better than ever despite going up against football.
If the Bears-Seahawks game is moved, it will be to Fox and scheduled for 3:15 p.m. Central Time, since the game is played in Seattle.
NBC has an agreement with the NFL to move potentially weak games (between two teams late in the season) out of the prime Sunday slot and replace it with a more competitive matchup.
Ratings for the Bears have fallen locally in the Chicago area, and that too may influence a decision to pull the game from prime-time.
NBC also has to compete with Fox for the male audience on Sunday nights. Fox's animated block, which is anchored by The Simpsons and Family Guy, looks better than ever despite going up against football.
If the Bears-Seahawks game is moved, it will be to Fox and scheduled for 3:15 p.m. Central Time, since the game is played in Seattle.
"Family Guy" celebrates 100th episode
Note: The link provided contains spoilers.
Of course the "critics" hate it, especially this idiot, who writes for The Daily Rupert (a.k.a The Sun-Times, New York edition.) But it just goes to show you that what matters is what shows up in the Nielsens, not from brain-dead "critics" who keep saying the overrated Samantha Who? is the best sitcom of all time and hung 24 out to dry last season. That is what's appalling, Mr. Buckman. We all know you're the mouthpiece for Rupert, your boss.
And how dare you provide spoilers for the episode? Mr. Buckman, you are a total ass.
Why is it those who write for tabloid-size newspapers, whether in New York or Chicago and whose last name is either Mariotti or Buckman, are idiots?
Sidenotes:
-Here is a more neutral view of the show, from New York Newsday's Diane Werts.
-By the way, in case you're wondering - yes, this is the same Adam Buckman who wrote solid articles for Electronic Media (now TV Week) back in the late 1980's. Not so much now with the Post, which his reviews are quite Jay Mariotti-like. Let's hope Ozzie Guillen doesn't headline a TV show anytime soon.
updated 7:58 pm on 2007-11-02
Of course the "critics" hate it, especially this idiot, who writes for The Daily Rupert (a.k.a The Sun-Times, New York edition.) But it just goes to show you that what matters is what shows up in the Nielsens, not from brain-dead "critics" who keep saying the overrated Samantha Who? is the best sitcom of all time and hung 24 out to dry last season. That is what's appalling, Mr. Buckman. We all know you're the mouthpiece for Rupert, your boss.
And how dare you provide spoilers for the episode? Mr. Buckman, you are a total ass.
Why is it those who write for tabloid-size newspapers, whether in New York or Chicago and whose last name is either Mariotti or Buckman, are idiots?
Sidenotes:
-Here is a more neutral view of the show, from New York Newsday's Diane Werts.
-By the way, in case you're wondering - yes, this is the same Adam Buckman who wrote solid articles for Electronic Media (now TV Week) back in the late 1980's. Not so much now with the Post, which his reviews are quite Jay Mariotti-like. Let's hope Ozzie Guillen doesn't headline a TV show anytime soon.
updated 7:58 pm on 2007-11-02
BREAKING NEWS: WLIT FLIPS TO XMAS MUSIC
As of 8:30 this morning, WLIT is now your Jingle Bells all the time station, ahead of WCKG, which is switching to all-Christmas tonight at 7 p.m.
Fran Preston out at Channel 2
In a cost-cutting move, Fran Preston - who was vice president, station manager, and program director of CBS-owned WBBM-TV, was let go yesterday when her position was eliminated by CBS management. Preston worked with boss Joe Ahern at ABC-owned WLS-TV during their heyday and was a 24-year veteran of the station, has been at WBBM since 2002.
Rosenthal: WCKG to flip to Xmas msic
Contradicting a earlier report that WCKG was going to flip to Adult Contemporary on Friday, Phil Rosenthal in the Chicago Tribune is reporting that WCKG will flip to an all-Christmas music format instead, beating WLIT to the punch. WLIT has aired the Jingle Bells format for years during the Christmas season.
In fact, WLIT had a countdown clock on it website stating when it will flip to Christmas music.
After Christmas, WCKG is expected to flip to an adult-contemporary format named Fresh FM, which would make WCKG and WLIT competitors.
Most Adult Contemporary stations air Christmas Music during November and December, resulting in a ratings boost in the always-profitable fourth quarter. Launching an AC format in November wouldn't have done any good for WCKG since Christmas music is all the AC audience wants to hear at this time of year.
This is not the first time WLIT has had competition for the Jingle Bells format. A few years ago, the former WNND-FM (now WILV, "Love FM") flipped to an all-Christmas music format to compete with WLIT.
In fact, WLIT had a countdown clock on it website stating when it will flip to Christmas music.
After Christmas, WCKG is expected to flip to an adult-contemporary format named Fresh FM, which would make WCKG and WLIT competitors.
Most Adult Contemporary stations air Christmas Music during November and December, resulting in a ratings boost in the always-profitable fourth quarter. Launching an AC format in November wouldn't have done any good for WCKG since Christmas music is all the AC audience wants to hear at this time of year.
This is not the first time WLIT has had competition for the Jingle Bells format. A few years ago, the former WNND-FM (now WILV, "Love FM") flipped to an all-Christmas music format to compete with WLIT.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
Report: Screen Actor's Guild to join WGA on picket line
Between all what's going on at WCKG with the format change and what's going on out in Hollywood, this blog is going to be jumpin' for the next couple of weeks. You can bet your bottom dollar on that. So keep it here for the latest on both.
With that in mind, it looks like we may have a major Hollywood shutdown looming with the Screen Actors Guild joining the Writer's Guild on the picket line, according to Nikki Fine's blog.
With that in mind, it looks like we may have a major Hollywood shutdown looming with the Screen Actors Guild joining the Writer's Guild on the picket line, according to Nikki Fine's blog.
2007 World Series second-lowest ever
Hold the celebration Fox - the 2007 World Series between the Red Sox and the Rockies turned out to be the second-lowest rated World Series ever, only above last year's World Series between Detroit and St. Louis.
Earlier this year, the NBA Finals and the Stanley Cup Finals recorded record-low numbers.
Still, the World Series was up 5 percent from last year.
Earlier this year, the NBA Finals and the Stanley Cup Finals recorded record-low numbers.
Still, the World Series was up 5 percent from last year.
The writer's strike and media consolidation
What does one have to do with the other? The writers (and actors) aren't the only ones getting screwed over by the big studios. Click here for details.
Keep in mind the same people who run Hollywood and are screwing over the writers are also big supporters of media consolidation.
And anyone who thinks the writers is just greedy, doesn't know the facts. Or is stupid. Or is a Republican. Or all three (now, there's a connection.) It's just that simple.
Keep in mind the same people who run Hollywood and are screwing over the writers are also big supporters of media consolidation.
And anyone who thinks the writers is just greedy, doesn't know the facts. Or is stupid. Or is a Republican. Or all three (now, there's a connection.) It's just that simple.
Deadline passes for Writer's Guild, Hollywood
Get your pickets ready, because it looks like there's going to be no show - particularly for late-night talkers Jay Leno, Jon Stewart, and Stephen Colbert, who are going to be the first affected by a strike.
A&E suspends production on "Dog"
After tapes of Duane "Dog" Chapman using a racial epithet surfaced on National Enquirer's website. On the tape, he is heard talking to his son, urging him to break up with his African-American girlfriend.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
The Great Pumpkin Rocks
ABC's seventh airing of former CBS classic It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown rocked the ratings last night, notching a second-place 7.2 household rating and a first-place 3.8 adults 18-49 rating, which is up 46 percent from last year's airing, which landed on a Friday, and posted significant ratings improvement over the sagging time period averages of Cavemen and Carpoolers.
Meanwhile, fans of Peanuts fare (like yours truly) will be pleased to know that Warner Home Video has struck a deal with United Media to distribute the entire Peanuts library on home video. This includes classic specials (A Charlie Brown Christmas), the Saturday Morning cartoon series The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show (1983-86) and new media distribution (The home video rights of the four theatrical releases are remaining with CBS/Paramount.) The re-release of titles are being digitally re-mastered and will be accompanied by brand new bonus features.
The first title to be released in the new deal is Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown (1975), which will be out in stores January 15.
"Peanuts" home video properties were previously held by Paramount Home Video. In the split that separated CBS from Viacom in 2006, the home video division went to the Paramount side. "Peanuts" specials of course, originated at CBS in 1965 with A Charlie Brown Christmas.
"Heroes" spin-off shelved; "Samantha Who?" picked up for full season
- NBC has shelved plans to launch a spin-off of the TV series Heroes indefinitely. The move comes as a looming writers' strike plans to wreak havoc with the networks' schedules.
The toast of the 2006-07 season, both Heroes and Ugly Betty are not having great sophomore seasons, with both programs down in the ratings from last year and both are coming under fire from fans and critics for lackluster creative direction (This just in: Mo Ryan from the Trib has joined the anti-Heroes bandwagon.)
In other words, both shows are like the Chicago Bears - and all three have been painful to watch this season. With the strike coming, both scripted shows will run out of episodes soon, and when they do, both are unlikely to be missed. Too bad the Bears aren't members of the Writer's Guild.
- It looks like we have found the next Seinfeld: Samantha Who?, which has beaten Heroes in the ratings in its first few episodes, has been picked up for a full season by ABC. The program moves into the 8 p.m. (CT) time slot beginning on November 26. Samantha's big test now is up against CBS' popular Two and a Half Men.
Samantha has been a critical and ratings hit, holding its numbers week-to-week in total viewers and key demos. Many believe this program filled the void left by sitcoms such as Seinfeld, Malcolm in the Middle, and Everybody Loves Raymond - the last ones to be christened both critical and ratings hits.
Congratulations to ABC on finding a hit sitcom. Now don't screw it up like you did with Mork & Mindy.
updated at 8:06 p.m. on 2007-11-01
The toast of the 2006-07 season, both Heroes and Ugly Betty are not having great sophomore seasons, with both programs down in the ratings from last year and both are coming under fire from fans and critics for lackluster creative direction (This just in: Mo Ryan from the Trib has joined the anti-Heroes bandwagon.)
In other words, both shows are like the Chicago Bears - and all three have been painful to watch this season. With the strike coming, both scripted shows will run out of episodes soon, and when they do, both are unlikely to be missed. Too bad the Bears aren't members of the Writer's Guild.
- It looks like we have found the next Seinfeld: Samantha Who?, which has beaten Heroes in the ratings in its first few episodes, has been picked up for a full season by ABC. The program moves into the 8 p.m. (CT) time slot beginning on November 26. Samantha's big test now is up against CBS' popular Two and a Half Men.
Samantha has been a critical and ratings hit, holding its numbers week-to-week in total viewers and key demos. Many believe this program filled the void left by sitcoms such as Seinfeld, Malcolm in the Middle, and Everybody Loves Raymond - the last ones to be christened both critical and ratings hits.
Congratulations to ABC on finding a hit sitcom. Now don't screw it up like you did with Mork & Mindy.
updated at 8:06 p.m. on 2007-11-01
Get the fudge out (mmmm... fudge....)
Robert Feder of the Chicago Sun-Times took the hatchet on this Halloween to WBBM-TV boss Joe Ahern. In his article, he says it's time for him to make like Michael Jackson and beat it. Ouch!
I'm not going to make hay over this article, since yours truly pointed out the problems WBBM has in previous posts. But this is the harshest assessment of any media outlet I have ever read.
The story was even mentioned on Broadcasting & Cable's Station to Station blog.
Happy Halloween, Joe Ahern.
I'm not going to make hay over this article, since yours truly pointed out the problems WBBM has in previous posts. But this is the harshest assessment of any media outlet I have ever read.
The story was even mentioned on Broadcasting & Cable's Station to Station blog.
Happy Halloween, Joe Ahern.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Syndication notes
- As reported here last week, CBS Television Distribution's new hour-long medical talk show The Doctors (working title) has cleared 50 percent of the country, and has been declared a firm go for next fall. It has been confirmed that Weigel's WCIU-TV has picked up the show, but in a surprise move, the program will air in Chicago at 5 p.m. The program is being targeted for morning time-periods.
WCIU is currently airing The Insider and Half & Half at 5 and 5:30, respectively.
- Speaking of CBS Television Distribution, the massive entity announced today it will not be at the NATPE convention in Las Vegas at all in January. This is a blow for NATPE, who has been trying to keep its convention afloat for several years with the absence of major syndicators and their booths at the show. In recent years, many syndicators made their presence in luxury suites. This comes one day after Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution announced that it would return to the NATPE convention floor.
- Tyra Banks has signed a multi-year deal with Warner Bros. to not only continue hosting her talk show, but also to develop scripted and reality fare for the studio, as well as a series-development deal with the CW though her Bankable Productions. The America's Next Top Model host is now based in New York, where her talk show and the 10th cycle and future cycles of Top Model now shoot.
The move of Top Model back to New York will hopefully improve the product and look of the show, which it has sorely lacked since it left the Big Apple after the first cycle. Since then, early episodes of each cycle has shot in Los Angeles. Hopefully, Ms. Banks will appear on Top Model more often than she is now.
If you have read this blog lately, then you know that yours truly gave Tyra Banks the first ever The Worst Person (or People) in Media This Week award, due to last week's episode of Top Model, where she railroaded a contestant. Hopefully, she doesn't win this again. You don't want to be in the same company with louts Bill O'Reilly, the FCC's Kevin Martin, and the Parents Television Council. Already, all three are nominees for this week's award, and it's just Tuesday.
WCIU is currently airing The Insider and Half & Half at 5 and 5:30, respectively.
- Speaking of CBS Television Distribution, the massive entity announced today it will not be at the NATPE convention in Las Vegas at all in January. This is a blow for NATPE, who has been trying to keep its convention afloat for several years with the absence of major syndicators and their booths at the show. In recent years, many syndicators made their presence in luxury suites. This comes one day after Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution announced that it would return to the NATPE convention floor.
- Tyra Banks has signed a multi-year deal with Warner Bros. to not only continue hosting her talk show, but also to develop scripted and reality fare for the studio, as well as a series-development deal with the CW though her Bankable Productions. The America's Next Top Model host is now based in New York, where her talk show and the 10th cycle and future cycles of Top Model now shoot.
The move of Top Model back to New York will hopefully improve the product and look of the show, which it has sorely lacked since it left the Big Apple after the first cycle. Since then, early episodes of each cycle has shot in Los Angeles. Hopefully, Ms. Banks will appear on Top Model more often than she is now.
If you have read this blog lately, then you know that yours truly gave Tyra Banks the first ever The Worst Person (or People) in Media This Week award, due to last week's episode of Top Model, where she railroaded a contestant. Hopefully, she doesn't win this again. You don't want to be in the same company with louts Bill O'Reilly, the FCC's Kevin Martin, and the Parents Television Council. Already, all three are nominees for this week's award, and it's just Tuesday.
The Pickle goes sour
Days before WCKG-FM flips its FM Talk outlet to something else, south suburban WYKT-FM in Kankakee flipped from oldies to become My 105.5 FM, a new contemporary-hit radio station yesterday morning.
The move to CHR/Top 40 gives Kankakee and surrounding areas (Bradley, Bourbonnais, Manteno, and Momence, among others) a format reminiscent of the old WBUS-FM 99.9, or "The Bus", which was a CHR outlet from 1987 to 1996. WBUS is now WRZA-FM, which of course is "Nine FM".
WYKT is scheduled to carry the countdown show American Top 40 with Ryan Seacrest (AT40 airs in Chicago on WKSC-FM, or KISS-FM Sunday mornings.) Seacrest replaced Casey Kasem as host of the countdown show on January 10, 2004. Kasem co-created American Top 40, which started in 1970.
WBUS also carried American Top 40 under the reign of both Casey Kasem and Shadoe Stevens, and later carried Casey's Top 40, the countdown show hosted by Kasem, which premiered a few months after he left AT40 in 1988. (Kasem would sign-on with a new version of AT40 in 1998, three years after the original left the airwaves.)
The move to CHR/Top 40 gives Kankakee and surrounding areas (Bradley, Bourbonnais, Manteno, and Momence, among others) a format reminiscent of the old WBUS-FM 99.9, or "The Bus", which was a CHR outlet from 1987 to 1996. WBUS is now WRZA-FM, which of course is "Nine FM".
WYKT is scheduled to carry the countdown show American Top 40 with Ryan Seacrest (AT40 airs in Chicago on WKSC-FM, or KISS-FM Sunday mornings.) Seacrest replaced Casey Kasem as host of the countdown show on January 10, 2004. Kasem co-created American Top 40, which started in 1970.
WBUS also carried American Top 40 under the reign of both Casey Kasem and Shadoe Stevens, and later carried Casey's Top 40, the countdown show hosted by Kasem, which premiered a few months after he left AT40 in 1988. (Kasem would sign-on with a new version of AT40 in 1998, three years after the original left the airwaves.)
Let's rock with the Sox (Red Sox, that is); Hawks gets home TV sponsor
-The recently completed World Series was a success for Fox, despite the fact that the Boston Red Sox swept the Colorado Rockies in four. Game 4 drew 20.9 million viewers, up from last year's Game 4 World Series between Detroit and St. Louis.
The series altogether drew an average of 17.1 million viewers, up 8 percent from the Detroit-St. Louis average from last year's World Series.
With the four-game sweep however, Fox has lost millions of dollars in potential ad revenue, and may have to provide make-goods or outright refunds to advertisers. Still, it was a good postseason for Fox, with the games drawing lots of viewers in the key adults 18-49 demo in a sport that's often perceived as older-skewing. And that's saying something given the championships in other sports (in the NBA and NHL) drew record-low ratings this past year.
This is our country
-Get ready, we might hear more John Mellancamp than we want to. But, at least it's worth it.
The Chicago Blackhawks has signed Chicagoland & Northwest Indiana Chevy Dealers as the first advertiser to sponsor Chicago Blackhawks home games this season on Comcast SportsNet, with the first one beginning on November 11, with the Blackhawks hosting the Red Wings.
Rocky Wirtz, son of recently deceased owner Bill Wirtz, announced that a certain amount of Blackwaks games would be made available for broadcast on CSN this season, a major depature from the elder Wirtz, who banned most home games from being televised.
Because of scheduling conflicts on Comcast SportsNet, the Blackhawks would only be able to air up to eight home games this season, with more coming next year. Home games will also be carried in high-definition.
The series altogether drew an average of 17.1 million viewers, up 8 percent from the Detroit-St. Louis average from last year's World Series.
With the four-game sweep however, Fox has lost millions of dollars in potential ad revenue, and may have to provide make-goods or outright refunds to advertisers. Still, it was a good postseason for Fox, with the games drawing lots of viewers in the key adults 18-49 demo in a sport that's often perceived as older-skewing. And that's saying something given the championships in other sports (in the NBA and NHL) drew record-low ratings this past year.
This is our country
-Get ready, we might hear more John Mellancamp than we want to. But, at least it's worth it.
The Chicago Blackhawks has signed Chicagoland & Northwest Indiana Chevy Dealers as the first advertiser to sponsor Chicago Blackhawks home games this season on Comcast SportsNet, with the first one beginning on November 11, with the Blackhawks hosting the Red Wings.
Rocky Wirtz, son of recently deceased owner Bill Wirtz, announced that a certain amount of Blackwaks games would be made available for broadcast on CSN this season, a major depature from the elder Wirtz, who banned most home games from being televised.
Because of scheduling conflicts on Comcast SportsNet, the Blackhawks would only be able to air up to eight home games this season, with more coming next year. Home games will also be carried in high-definition.
A brave old world for Dahl
Phil Rosenthal in the Trib today explores Steve Dahl's return to the morning airwaves for the first time in 11 years, and it's not much different than it was the last time he left. Well, aside from WGCI not having a local radio morning show anymore, and Mancow being put out to pasture. Rosenthal also interviews individuals who explain how the consolidation of radio over the last decade - hasn't exactly helped advertisers, radio stations, or listeners.
It's AC for CKG
Robert Feder is reporting that WCKG is expected to flip to an Adult Contemporary format, which could occur anytime between 7 p.m. Friday and 5 a.m. Monday. The format would target women 25-54, and would put it in direct competition with WLIT-FM.
WLIT is expected to flip to Christmas music sometime in the next few weeks. Last year, WLIT flipped to the Jingle Bells format on November 2.
Other formats that were considered for WCKG included Spanish and Active Rock.
Aside from Steve Dahl, who is moving to WJMK-FM as that station's new morning personality, the entire on-air staff was let go, as well as the syndicated Opie & Anthony show. WCKG is playing classic clips around-the-clock of Dahl until he signs off WCKG for good Friday night.
The Chicago Bulls, who were on WCKG this past season, returned to WMVP-AM (ESPN 1000) with a five-year contract. The Bulls returned to WMVP mainly because of the pending format flip at WCKG, and it allowed the Bulls to opt out of their contract. WMVP won't have to pay any money to WCKG since the Bulls are buying the time on the station.
Video of Steve Dahl's announcement (really tongue-in-cheek and funny)
WLIT is expected to flip to Christmas music sometime in the next few weeks. Last year, WLIT flipped to the Jingle Bells format on November 2.
Other formats that were considered for WCKG included Spanish and Active Rock.
Aside from Steve Dahl, who is moving to WJMK-FM as that station's new morning personality, the entire on-air staff was let go, as well as the syndicated Opie & Anthony show. WCKG is playing classic clips around-the-clock of Dahl until he signs off WCKG for good Friday night.
The Chicago Bulls, who were on WCKG this past season, returned to WMVP-AM (ESPN 1000) with a five-year contract. The Bulls returned to WMVP mainly because of the pending format flip at WCKG, and it allowed the Bulls to opt out of their contract. WMVP won't have to pay any money to WCKG since the Bulls are buying the time on the station.
Video of Steve Dahl's announcement (really tongue-in-cheek and funny)
Monday, October 29, 2007
The latest on WCKG
Two of the on-air personalities of the station, Stan Lawrence and Terry Armour, stated on their blog that they are now former on-air personalities of the station. To read their post, click here and scroll all the way to the end.
Syndication Notes
- Warner Bros. new Bonnie Hunt Show has cleared 55 percent of the country, including WMAQ-TV in Chicago for next fall. Click here for a station list. Station groups clearing include NBC, Hearst-Argyle, Gannett, Belo, Tribune, Fox, Clear Channel, Young, and several more.
- Litton is syndicating two off-MTV shows - Pimp My Ride and Cribs to broadcast TV stations. Both shows are being marketed as nightly strips. Litton is hoping for better results after it found few takers for Baywatch, an off-network/syndication strip that was set to air in syndication this fall.
Viacom has outsourced its cable fare to independent syndicators for broadcast syndication, even before the CBS split in 2006 (Debmar-Mercury won the rights to syndicate South Park in 2004.) The exceptions were the MTV Top 20 Video Countdown, syndicated from April 1986 to June 1987, and Nickelodeon's Double Dare from January 1988 to September 1989.
- Speaking of Debmar-Mercury, the Lionsgate-owned company has hooked up with Discovery Communications to syndicate two of their most popular shows on the Discovery Channel to broadcast stations: American Chopper (available next fall) and Deadliest Catch (available fall 2009.) The programs are slated to be available on weekends, with an even 7:00N/7:00L barter split.
- Litton is syndicating two off-MTV shows - Pimp My Ride and Cribs to broadcast TV stations. Both shows are being marketed as nightly strips. Litton is hoping for better results after it found few takers for Baywatch, an off-network/syndication strip that was set to air in syndication this fall.
Viacom has outsourced its cable fare to independent syndicators for broadcast syndication, even before the CBS split in 2006 (Debmar-Mercury won the rights to syndicate South Park in 2004.) The exceptions were the MTV Top 20 Video Countdown, syndicated from April 1986 to June 1987, and Nickelodeon's Double Dare from January 1988 to September 1989.
- Speaking of Debmar-Mercury, the Lionsgate-owned company has hooked up with Discovery Communications to syndicate two of their most popular shows on the Discovery Channel to broadcast stations: American Chopper (available next fall) and Deadliest Catch (available fall 2009.) The programs are slated to be available on weekends, with an even 7:00N/7:00L barter split.
The WCKG format flip - team coverage (with film at 10!), Part III
WCKG holds Chicago hostage: Day 13
Garry Meier, Opie & Anthony out as of today
Garry Meier announced on his morning show that today was his and everyone else's last day at WCKG except for Steve Dahl.
The moves also mean that the syndicated Opie & Anthony Show will have to find a new home in Chicago (which is not likely.) Opie & Anthony also recently lost its Philadelphia outlet (WYSP-FM) and another in West Palm Beach.
Meanwhile, Dahl will announce his plans this afternoon on his show. As reported here and everywhere else, he is expected to head to WJMK-FM as that station's new morning personality.
Garry Meier, Opie & Anthony out as of today
Garry Meier announced on his morning show that today was his and everyone else's last day at WCKG except for Steve Dahl.
The moves also mean that the syndicated Opie & Anthony Show will have to find a new home in Chicago (which is not likely.) Opie & Anthony also recently lost its Philadelphia outlet (WYSP-FM) and another in West Palm Beach.
Meanwhile, Dahl will announce his plans this afternoon on his show. As reported here and everywhere else, he is expected to head to WJMK-FM as that station's new morning personality.
And we already have our first nominee for this week...
What I'm sure is the first of many for Bill O'Reilly.
The Worst Person in Media This Week (actually, last week)
Starting retroactive to last Friday, we here at the T Dog Media Blog will present a "Worst Person in Media This Week" award to a deserving individual who excels in utter stupidity.
This new feature is inspired by the Worst Person in the World award Keith Olbermann gives out on his MSNBC's Countdown show (the only cable news show worth watching) and on Sunday Night Football's halftime show (Worst Person in the NFL).
The Worst Person In Media This Week can be anybody - a Hollywood star, a media executive, a radio personality, a reality contestant , a politician (they alone will probably account for half of the awards) - just about anyone who appears on TV and on radio and works behind the scenes.
I'm awarding two awards this week, one today for last week and on Friday, I'll award one for this week.
There are many nominees for the first award. Glenn Beck for his insensitive comment on the California Wildfires come to mind, or NBC executives for hastily scheduling a new show (Phenomenon) that wasn't on the fall schedule with little promotion (and airing forty promos during Heroes does not count.) Then, there's the Parents Television Council and the FCC, whose antics will make them nominees every week.
But yours truly decided to award the first ever Worst Person In Media This Week to Tyra Banks of The Tyra Banks Show and America's Next Top Model (applause). See the post just below this one to find out why. Congratulations, Tyra! You are the first ever recipient of The Worst Person In Media This Week award from The T Dog Media Blog.
This new feature is inspired by the Worst Person in the World award Keith Olbermann gives out on his MSNBC's Countdown show (the only cable news show worth watching) and on Sunday Night Football's halftime show (Worst Person in the NFL).
The Worst Person In Media This Week can be anybody - a Hollywood star, a media executive, a radio personality, a reality contestant , a politician (they alone will probably account for half of the awards) - just about anyone who appears on TV and on radio and works behind the scenes.
I'm awarding two awards this week, one today for last week and on Friday, I'll award one for this week.
There are many nominees for the first award. Glenn Beck for his insensitive comment on the California Wildfires come to mind, or NBC executives for hastily scheduling a new show (Phenomenon) that wasn't on the fall schedule with little promotion (and airing forty promos during Heroes does not count.) Then, there's the Parents Television Council and the FCC, whose antics will make them nominees every week.
But yours truly decided to award the first ever Worst Person In Media This Week to Tyra Banks of The Tyra Banks Show and America's Next Top Model (applause). See the post just below this one to find out why. Congratulations, Tyra! You are the first ever recipient of The Worst Person In Media This Week award from The T Dog Media Blog.
No repeat winner for Chicago on "Top Model"
You can forget a repeat for the Windy City as far as America's Next Top Model is concerned. Chicago's own Ebony Morgan left the competition. Like the 2007 Chicago Cubs in this year's playoffs - she quit (technically, the Chicago area is hanging in there - Heather Kuzmich from Valparaiso, Ind. is still in the competition.)
Ebony fell into the bottom two, and when Tyra Banks announced the other model was going home, Ebony stunned everybody by announcing she wants out. Of course, the editing was suspect too, so it looks like Ebony was set up here.
I knew something was was wrong when Lou Pinella gave her that pep talk.
Last season's winner, Jaslene Gonzalez from Humboldt Park, won the competition in the eighth cycle.
And as for Ms. Banks, it's time for you to quit that stupid talk show and focus more on Top Model. This show is clearly falling apart in this cycle with the ratings down in key demos from a year ago. Like Ebony, the audience is quitting on Top Model, and last week's episode shows you why. What goes around comes around, Miss Thang.
Interesting you chew out someone and you only appear on the show 10 percent of the time. And I don't give a damn if you're the executive producer or not. I wonder if Ms. banks made the decision to show Ebony's audition tape after she quit? Totally classless.
Is it just me, or has this been an less-than-stellar season for returning reality/competition TV shows? With the exception of Dancing with the Stars and American Idol, nobody cares about these type of programs anymore. And with a writer's strike looming, the network schedules will likely be full of them, driving disinterested viewers (like yours truly) away.
If Ms. Banks doesn't start getting more involved in her "creation" soon, it too will go away.
Ebony fell into the bottom two, and when Tyra Banks announced the other model was going home, Ebony stunned everybody by announcing she wants out. Of course, the editing was suspect too, so it looks like Ebony was set up here.
I knew something was was wrong when Lou Pinella gave her that pep talk.
Last season's winner, Jaslene Gonzalez from Humboldt Park, won the competition in the eighth cycle.
And as for Ms. Banks, it's time for you to quit that stupid talk show and focus more on Top Model. This show is clearly falling apart in this cycle with the ratings down in key demos from a year ago. Like Ebony, the audience is quitting on Top Model, and last week's episode shows you why. What goes around comes around, Miss Thang.
Interesting you chew out someone and you only appear on the show 10 percent of the time. And I don't give a damn if you're the executive producer or not. I wonder if Ms. banks made the decision to show Ebony's audition tape after she quit? Totally classless.
Is it just me, or has this been an less-than-stellar season for returning reality/competition TV shows? With the exception of Dancing with the Stars and American Idol, nobody cares about these type of programs anymore. And with a writer's strike looming, the network schedules will likely be full of them, driving disinterested viewers (like yours truly) away.
If Ms. Banks doesn't start getting more involved in her "creation" soon, it too will go away.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
How the L.A. and San Diego TV stations covered the wildfires
TV stations in Los Angeles and San Diego had their hands full covering major wildfires in their respective metro areas this week, and they did so by expanding their on-air coverage (including pre-empting network and syndicated programs) and expanding their web presence.
Many stations like NBC-owned KNBC in Los Angeles and McGraw-Hill's ABC affiliate KGTV in San Diego provided live streaming, and others like locally-owned San Diego independent KUSI-TV expanded their newscasts and added more video to its website. San Diego NBC O&O KNSD did all the above, plus provided cell phone text alerts.
Radio stations' websites, including KFMB-FM (Jack-FM) in San Diego also provided information.
But the round-the-clock coverage is costly. Coverage of the wildfires for media in both markets is expected to exceed more than $1 million (and that's a conservative estimate), with money lost due to advertising spots being pre-empted.
Many stations like NBC-owned KNBC in Los Angeles and McGraw-Hill's ABC affiliate KGTV in San Diego provided live streaming, and others like locally-owned San Diego independent KUSI-TV expanded their newscasts and added more video to its website. San Diego NBC O&O KNSD did all the above, plus provided cell phone text alerts.
Radio stations' websites, including KFMB-FM (Jack-FM) in San Diego also provided information.
But the round-the-clock coverage is costly. Coverage of the wildfires for media in both markets is expected to exceed more than $1 million (and that's a conservative estimate), with money lost due to advertising spots being pre-empted.
Saturday, October 27, 2007
The possible WCKG format flip - team coverage (with film at 10!), Part II
WCKG holds Chicago hostage: Day 11
Phil Rosenthal is reporting in tomorrow's edition of the Chicago Tribune that WCKG and CBS Radio officials have confirmation of Steve Dahl moving to WJMK (Jack FM) beginning on November 5.
Rumors have surfaced over the last few weeks over the fate of WCKG and the following moves pretty much confirms that there will be a format flip very soon:
- Steve Dahl moving to WJMK.
- The Chicago Bulls moving their games back to WMVP.
- An informerical hosted by a financial adviser on the station said it was his "second-to-last show on WCKG."
- WCKG registering domain names such as 1059wmet.com and 1035theblaze.com, based on former rock stations WMET and WWBZ (The Blaze).
- In the Rosenthal article, mentions of possibly flipping WCKG to a Movin'-type format like Fresh FM (upbeat music targeted to women 25-54), or a Spanish-language format.
So which format will it be? Spanish-language? Or Fresh? Or something else? For all these answers and more, tune in next time for As the WCKG Turns!
Keep it here for complete "team" coverage of this breaking, important, life-shaking news story! We now return you to Saturday Night Live already in progress.
Phil Rosenthal is reporting in tomorrow's edition of the Chicago Tribune that WCKG and CBS Radio officials have confirmation of Steve Dahl moving to WJMK (Jack FM) beginning on November 5.
Rumors have surfaced over the last few weeks over the fate of WCKG and the following moves pretty much confirms that there will be a format flip very soon:
- Steve Dahl moving to WJMK.
- The Chicago Bulls moving their games back to WMVP.
- An informerical hosted by a financial adviser on the station said it was his "second-to-last show on WCKG."
- WCKG registering domain names such as 1059wmet.com and 1035theblaze.com, based on former rock stations WMET and WWBZ (The Blaze).
- In the Rosenthal article, mentions of possibly flipping WCKG to a Movin'-type format like Fresh FM (upbeat music targeted to women 25-54), or a Spanish-language format.
So which format will it be? Spanish-language? Or Fresh? Or something else? For all these answers and more, tune in next time for As the WCKG Turns!
Keep it here for complete "team" coverage of this breaking, important, life-shaking news story! We now return you to Saturday Night Live already in progress.
Bulls head to WMVP
The Chicago Tribune is reporting that the Chicago Bulls will announce this coming week a deal with ESPN-owned WMVP-AM to air games starting with the season opener on October 31.
WMVP, or ESPN Radio 1000, was the home for Bulls basketball during the franchise's glory years in the nineties. In 2006, the Bulls took their radio broadcasts in-house and bought time on WCKG, similar to what the Chicago Blackhawks does with their hockey games, which air on WSCR-AM (The Score).
The deal means that a WCKG format flip is all but a done deal. The only question is what format and when.
updated 2:59 pm on 2007-10-27
WMVP, or ESPN Radio 1000, was the home for Bulls basketball during the franchise's glory years in the nineties. In 2006, the Bulls took their radio broadcasts in-house and bought time on WCKG, similar to what the Chicago Blackhawks does with their hockey games, which air on WSCR-AM (The Score).
The deal means that a WCKG format flip is all but a done deal. The only question is what format and when.
updated 2:59 pm on 2007-10-27
Friday, October 26, 2007
WBUI deal closes
Note: The link provided may require registration.
Steve Dahl to Jack FM?
The Sun-Times Robert Feder is reporting (and this is a tidbit that will make message boards explode over the weekend) that Steve Dahl, who hosts his successful afternoon show on WCKG-FM, is expected to land as morning jock at sister station WJMK-FM, or Jack FM. This comes as an impending format change will likely hit WCKG in the next two weeks or so.
WCKG and WJMK are both owned by CBS Radio. Dahl isn't commenting, and neither is CBS.
If the deal happens, Dahl would be the only jock at Jack. Though most Jack stations do not use on-air personalities, a few of them - in Kansas City, San Diego, and all of the Canadian Jack stations - do use jocks.
Dahl has a clause in his contract that states that he approve any daypart or station change. Sources say that he has indeed given his blessing.
Dahl's program on WCKG is an island. His afternoon show finished second in men 25-54, but overall, the station is a disaster, particularly since Howard Stern left terrestrial radio.
- Also in that article, former news reporter Amy Jacobson and former WKQX morning personality Mancow Mueller taped a pilot for the Fox News Channel in Chicago earlier this week. It's called Has-Beens & Co. (not the real title, but it should be.)
I don't know about this project. Fox News would never create programs around personalities nobody likes. Wait a minute...
Editor's Note: Updated at 12:53 am on 2007-10-27 to correct Jack FM information. I make sure that I am accurate on this blog, but on rare occasions, wrong information does slip through. If you spot any incorrect item here, let me know by posting a comment and I'll correct it. Your help is greatly appreciated. Thanks! - T.H.
WCKG and WJMK are both owned by CBS Radio. Dahl isn't commenting, and neither is CBS.
If the deal happens, Dahl would be the only jock at Jack. Though most Jack stations do not use on-air personalities, a few of them - in Kansas City, San Diego, and all of the Canadian Jack stations - do use jocks.
Dahl has a clause in his contract that states that he approve any daypart or station change. Sources say that he has indeed given his blessing.
Dahl's program on WCKG is an island. His afternoon show finished second in men 25-54, but overall, the station is a disaster, particularly since Howard Stern left terrestrial radio.
- Also in that article, former news reporter Amy Jacobson and former WKQX morning personality Mancow Mueller taped a pilot for the Fox News Channel in Chicago earlier this week. It's called Has-Beens & Co. (not the real title, but it should be.)
I don't know about this project. Fox News would never create programs around personalities nobody likes. Wait a minute...
Editor's Note: Updated at 12:53 am on 2007-10-27 to correct Jack FM information. I make sure that I am accurate on this blog, but on rare occasions, wrong information does slip through. If you spot any incorrect item here, let me know by posting a comment and I'll correct it. Your help is greatly appreciated. Thanks! - T.H.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
The right team makes the difference
So much for the notion of viewers fleeing major sporting events... If you are the L.A. Lakers, New York Yankees, Dallas Cowboys, or the Boston Red Sox - it's instant ratings gold.
Game One of the Rockies-Red Sox World Series on Fox grabbed a 10.5 household overnight rating and a 5.8 in adults 18-49, up 61 percent in the demo from last year's Game One between the Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals.
In Boston, the game nabbed a 49.3 household rating and a 70 share on WFXT, while in Denver, it nabbed a 34.9/50 on KDVR-TV. WFXT and KDVR are owned by Fox.
Though Boston is the country's seventh-largest TV market, the Red Sox have fan bases from coast-to-coast, even here in Chicago. Some teams in larger markets (notably the Chicago White Sox, Oakland A's and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - try saying that fast -) have smaller bases. In fact, all three were responsible for the lowest-rated World Series ever at one time or another since 1989 (with the A's responsible for two of them.)
The ratings comes as good news for Fox and for major sports events in particular, as several major events, such as the NBA Finals and the Stanley Cup Finals posted record-low numbers. However, those matchups featured teams with little or no national following (one was even out of the country - the Ottawa Senators made the Stanley Cup Finals last season. Ottawa is Canada's capital city, located in the province of Ontario.)
As for other fare last night, Kid Nation recorded a series-high number in viewers, but still finished fourth, while Phenomenon - a new show NBC quietly snuck onto the schedule - finished third, but the ratings were in line with what the network expected. Gossip Girl bombed again last night, but heck, since the CW isn't using the Nielsen ratings to measure its performance, does it really matter?
updated 8:15pm on 2007-10-25
Game One of the Rockies-Red Sox World Series on Fox grabbed a 10.5 household overnight rating and a 5.8 in adults 18-49, up 61 percent in the demo from last year's Game One between the Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals.
In Boston, the game nabbed a 49.3 household rating and a 70 share on WFXT, while in Denver, it nabbed a 34.9/50 on KDVR-TV. WFXT and KDVR are owned by Fox.
Though Boston is the country's seventh-largest TV market, the Red Sox have fan bases from coast-to-coast, even here in Chicago. Some teams in larger markets (notably the Chicago White Sox, Oakland A's and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - try saying that fast -) have smaller bases. In fact, all three were responsible for the lowest-rated World Series ever at one time or another since 1989 (with the A's responsible for two of them.)
The ratings comes as good news for Fox and for major sports events in particular, as several major events, such as the NBA Finals and the Stanley Cup Finals posted record-low numbers. However, those matchups featured teams with little or no national following (one was even out of the country - the Ottawa Senators made the Stanley Cup Finals last season. Ottawa is Canada's capital city, located in the province of Ontario.)
As for other fare last night, Kid Nation recorded a series-high number in viewers, but still finished fourth, while Phenomenon - a new show NBC quietly snuck onto the schedule - finished third, but the ratings were in line with what the network expected. Gossip Girl bombed again last night, but heck, since the CW isn't using the Nielsen ratings to measure its performance, does it really matter?
updated 8:15pm on 2007-10-25
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
"Dr. Phil" spinoff clears half of the country
CBS Television Distribution has cleared a spin-off of Dr. Phil called The Doctors in 50 percent of the country. Among station groups clearing the show include CBS, Belo, Gannett, Scripps, and Cox.
Stations grabbing the strip include WCBS-TV in New York, KCAL-TV in Los Angeles, KYW-TV in Philadelphia, KTVU-TV in San Francisco, WSB-TV in Atlanta (which will likely replace Montel Williams, which is headed to WPCH-TV), WXYZ-TV Detroit, KARE-TV in Minneapolis, WPXI-TV in Pittsburgh, and KSHB-TV in Kansas City.
In Chicago, the program has cleared WCIU-TV (thanks to Mark and TV Barn 2 for the info.)
The program is being primarily targeted for morning time periods, in which The Doctors has already cleared the 9 a.m. time slot on WCBS.
The Doctors (working title) is a hour-long strip features a team of five medical professionals, dispensing advice and discussing health related topics. The host is Dr. Travis Stork, who appeared on The Bachelor. The five individuals will appear on Dr. Phil during this season.
The program is being produced by Stage 29 Productions (named for the soundstage Dr. Phil is shot on at Paramount Studios), headed by Dr. Phil's son Jay McGraw.
Trivia:
- The Doctors was the name of a soap opera that aired on NBC from 1963 to 1982.
- Paramount's The Aresnio Hall Show was shot on Stage 29 from 1989 to 1994. Other programs that have used the soundstage included talk shows hosted by Marilu Henner (1994-95) and Stephanie Miller (1995).
- Dr. Phil continues to shoot at the Paramount lot, despite the fact that CBS and Viacom (owner of Paramont Pictures) split in 2006.
Stations grabbing the strip include WCBS-TV in New York, KCAL-TV in Los Angeles, KYW-TV in Philadelphia, KTVU-TV in San Francisco, WSB-TV in Atlanta (which will likely replace Montel Williams, which is headed to WPCH-TV), WXYZ-TV Detroit, KARE-TV in Minneapolis, WPXI-TV in Pittsburgh, and KSHB-TV in Kansas City.
In Chicago, the program has cleared WCIU-TV (thanks to Mark and TV Barn 2 for the info.)
The program is being primarily targeted for morning time periods, in which The Doctors has already cleared the 9 a.m. time slot on WCBS.
The Doctors (working title) is a hour-long strip features a team of five medical professionals, dispensing advice and discussing health related topics. The host is Dr. Travis Stork, who appeared on The Bachelor. The five individuals will appear on Dr. Phil during this season.
The program is being produced by Stage 29 Productions (named for the soundstage Dr. Phil is shot on at Paramount Studios), headed by Dr. Phil's son Jay McGraw.
Trivia:
- The Doctors was the name of a soap opera that aired on NBC from 1963 to 1982.
- Paramount's The Aresnio Hall Show was shot on Stage 29 from 1989 to 1994. Other programs that have used the soundstage included talk shows hosted by Marilu Henner (1994-95) and Stephanie Miller (1995).
- Dr. Phil continues to shoot at the Paramount lot, despite the fact that CBS and Viacom (owner of Paramont Pictures) split in 2006.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Leave The CW Alone!!!
WARNING: Satire ahead. Reader discretion is advised.
The latest YouTube sensation...
A guy named Burley (who, for some unknown reason is wearing makeup) is crying on his bed...
"My name is Burley... To all you dummies out there... (snif) Leave The CW alone!!!! Please!!! They have the greatest shows in the world like Smallville and Beauty and the Geek! And there's the best new show in the world called Gossip Girl!!! It's the best show ever! And there's Aliens in America... that show is funny! It's better than Seinfeld! (snif)"
And Life Is Wild is a good family drama! Why you all waste your time on that Simpsons crap! That show has been on since, what? 1968?... The Game is funnier than that show!!!!
"I'm the world's greatest CW fan! You all want to bash and bash the CW! You all over the age of 25 want to bash our generation's programming! Nobody over 30 watches the CW! Anyone over 30 sucks! You media writers from TV Week, Mediaweek, and Advertising Age! Plus that idiot named T Dog who keeps bashing The Game on the PI Feedback forum... LEAVE THE CW ALONE!!!! (snif) You all make me sick!!!!"
"I'm a 19-year old girl - um, I mean guy - that's right, gay - I mean guy! Straight guy! I love this stuff! Don't take it away from me like you did The WB! If you do, I'll never forgive you! Wahhhh!" Leave the CW alone! Right now!!! Wahhhh!!!
All right, the satirical rant above is not as stupid as that guy who made the "Leave Britney Alone" video, but some media people are stepping up for the ratings-challenged CW, including station groups and media buyers who say, "What better place to reach young women?" (besides ABC, that is.)
Of note in the TV Week story I linked (click on station groups), some of the comments are from people who are over 30 and watch CW programming, like Supernatural.
And now, who wants to smack this Burley guy upside the head? I want first crack at him...
The latest YouTube sensation...
A guy named Burley (who, for some unknown reason is wearing makeup) is crying on his bed...
"My name is Burley... To all you dummies out there... (snif) Leave The CW alone!!!! Please!!! They have the greatest shows in the world like Smallville and Beauty and the Geek! And there's the best new show in the world called Gossip Girl!!! It's the best show ever! And there's Aliens in America... that show is funny! It's better than Seinfeld! (snif)"
And Life Is Wild is a good family drama! Why you all waste your time on that Simpsons crap! That show has been on since, what? 1968?... The Game is funnier than that show!!!!
"I'm the world's greatest CW fan! You all want to bash and bash the CW! You all over the age of 25 want to bash our generation's programming! Nobody over 30 watches the CW! Anyone over 30 sucks! You media writers from TV Week, Mediaweek, and Advertising Age! Plus that idiot named T Dog who keeps bashing The Game on the PI Feedback forum... LEAVE THE CW ALONE!!!! (snif) You all make me sick!!!!"
"I'm a 19-year old girl - um, I mean guy - that's right, gay - I mean guy! Straight guy! I love this stuff! Don't take it away from me like you did The WB! If you do, I'll never forgive you! Wahhhh!" Leave the CW alone! Right now!!! Wahhhh!!!
All right, the satirical rant above is not as stupid as that guy who made the "Leave Britney Alone" video, but some media people are stepping up for the ratings-challenged CW, including station groups and media buyers who say, "What better place to reach young women?" (besides ABC, that is.)
Of note in the TV Week story I linked (click on station groups), some of the comments are from people who are over 30 and watch CW programming, like Supernatural.
And now, who wants to smack this Burley guy upside the head? I want first crack at him...
An unlikely smash hit
And who thought it would be a new sitcom - yes, sitcom - called Samantha Who? who grew week to week in 18-49s in its' Monday night time slot. Samantha Who?, the Colorado Rockies of prime time.
The possible WCKG format flip - team coverage (with film at 10!)
BREAKING NEWS! BREAKING NEWS!
A message board posting states that WCKG.com is no longer operable. Uh-oh... (it's actually back up and running.)
Keep it here for complete "team" coverage of this breaking, important, life-shaking news story! We now return you to Judge David Young already in progress.
A message board posting states that WCKG.com is no longer operable. Uh-oh... (it's actually back up and running.)
Keep it here for complete "team" coverage of this breaking, important, life-shaking news story! We now return you to Judge David Young already in progress.
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