The most aggressive moves front the upfront didn't come from the three other major networks - it came from the front runner, CBS.
CBS unveiled its 2010-11 lineup Wednesday in front of advertisers in New York City, and it came with some surprises: the biggest one of them all is the move of hot comedy The Big Bang Theory to Thursday nights to lead off prime-time.
The laugh-a-second comedy leaves its cushy Monday night slot in between Two And A Half Men (which is coming back after all, thanks to Charlie Sheen's contract renewal) and CSI: Miami and leads off a night where CBS had shared dominance with ABC over the years. Big Bang's move bumps Survivor out of the time period, which has occupied the slot since February 2001. Following Big Bang on Thursday is a new sitcom tentatively titled **** My Dad Says starring William Shatner, a sitcom created from a twitter page (I'm not making this up!)
This marks the first time in 45 years that CBS has opened Thursdays with a sitcom. In the past, this time slot has been occupied by dramas such as The Waltons, Magnum P.I., and Top Cops.
Other new fare on CBS this fall include a new Chuck Lorre comedy titled Mike & Molly; The Defenders, a legal drama not to be confused with the 1960's version of the same name (which also ran on CBS); the anticipated revival of Hawaii Five-O; and Tom Selleck returning to the network fold with Blue Bloods.
In response to ratings declines this year, two CSI spinoffs are getting new nights: Miami goes from Monday to Sunday while New York moves from Wednesday to Friday.
To make room for the new shows, seven shows were canceled by CBS on Tuesday, including Numbe3rs, Cold Case, The New Adventures of Old Christine, Gary Unmarried, Ghost Whisperer, Accidentally on Purpose, and just-introduced Miami Medical.
Thought: Wow, now that's what I call aggressive. Hats off to The Church of Tisch for shaking up their schedule - as CBS execs point out, if they didn't make changes, their ratings would decline. Survivor has done well on Wednesday before (when it aired due to the NCAA Basketball tournament pre-empting it on Thursdays) so its audience will find it. While Big Bang will likely take a hit on Thursdays, it should be fine - keep in mind this is what first happened to The Simpsons in its second season when it moved from Sundays and thrived on Thursdays for four years, knocking out long-time time period champ The Cosby Show in the process.
It remains to be seen if the two CSI spin-offs will thrive in their new nights, but the moves could extend their shelf lives a few years.
As for the new shows.... as much as yours truly hates remakes, I'm behind Hawaii Five-O - as long as they stay true to the original and not make it into another procedural. But maybe they should have remade The Defenders as well... this "comedic drama", or whatever the hell that means - with their talentless leads - hopefully gets nuked as fast as Viva Laughlin did. In the sitcom department, Mike & Molly from Chuck Lorre doesn't look to be a Dharma & Greg clone (one of his earlier series) - and that's a good thing - but will this Chicago-based sitcom about an overweight couple work? This is different, that's for sure...
William Shatner's new show - which is tentatively called - **** My Dad Says - you fill in the blank - is based on a Twitter page? My gosh, where will they come up with these sitcom ideas? Looking at the synopsis, this looks nothing more than Sanford & Son - only whiter and obviously more middle-class. Here's a sampling of the stuff Shat will say: "Elizabeth, I'm coming to join you, honey!... you big dummy." Don't be surprised if there's a red truck in front of the house and Aunt Esther shows up once in a while to hit Shatner in the head with her purse. But hey... this could be a fun show to watch, even if the critics say otherwise.
CBS prides itself as being "America's Most Watched Network". There's no reason for the slogan to change this upcoming season.
To read CBS' press release for its' new fall schedule, click here.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
ABC's new 2010-11 lineup
ABC announced its new 2010-11 lineup in front of advertisers during its upfront presentation today, and unveiled several new programs.
While Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays remain pat, Tuesday gets a significant face-lift with two new dramas surrounding the Dancing With The Stars results show: No Ordinary Family and Detroit 1-8-7, while Better Together joins ABC's Wednesday sitcom block, with new drama The Whole Truth to cap off the evening. My Generation replaces FlashForward on Thursday and former Fox reality series Secret Millionaire takes up residence on Friday, leading into Dana Delaney's new drama Body of Proof.
As alluded to last week, ABC cut four shows to make room for the new fall entries.
Midseason programs include Matthew Perry comedy Mr. Sunshine, and the return of V.
To see ABC's new schedule and the rest of the midseason entries, click here.
Thought: Okay, just what the hell is this? My goodness, I thought NBC's lineup from last fall was bad. But ABC's is even worse. Detroit 1-8-7 has the potential to be a good show, what will the image-conscious city's residents think? I like the idea of The Middle moving to the first half-hour of prime-time to make room for Better Together, but why are you keeping ratings loser Cougar Town? My Generation does fit better with the female-skewing Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice than FlashForward did, butcompeting against a rejuvenated Survivor will be no easy feat. And why is ABC picking up a jilted Fox show from two years ago in Secret Millionaire? That has to be a first. And tell yours truly why ABC decided to keep Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in its current Sunday night time slot... The Simpsons aren't that dominant. And V does not deserve to come back at all.
And for all of this buzz about Mr. Sunshine with Matthew Perry - you shelve it until midseason? Why?
ABC's 2010 fall lineup leaves yours truly rather unimpressed.
Did you know? Believe it or not, Mr. Sunshine has been on ABC's prime-time sked before - in the spring of 1986, it was a short-lived sitcom featuring Arrested Development's Jeffrey Tambor as a blind university professor, which drew criticism from interest groups for the show poking fun at his disability. The program replaced the canceled Diff'rent Strokes in the Friday night 8 p.m. (CT) time slot and perished instantly opposite Dallas.
While Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays remain pat, Tuesday gets a significant face-lift with two new dramas surrounding the Dancing With The Stars results show: No Ordinary Family and Detroit 1-8-7, while Better Together joins ABC's Wednesday sitcom block, with new drama The Whole Truth to cap off the evening. My Generation replaces FlashForward on Thursday and former Fox reality series Secret Millionaire takes up residence on Friday, leading into Dana Delaney's new drama Body of Proof.
As alluded to last week, ABC cut four shows to make room for the new fall entries.
Midseason programs include Matthew Perry comedy Mr. Sunshine, and the return of V.
To see ABC's new schedule and the rest of the midseason entries, click here.
Thought: Okay, just what the hell is this? My goodness, I thought NBC's lineup from last fall was bad. But ABC's is even worse. Detroit 1-8-7 has the potential to be a good show, what will the image-conscious city's residents think? I like the idea of The Middle moving to the first half-hour of prime-time to make room for Better Together, but why are you keeping ratings loser Cougar Town? My Generation does fit better with the female-skewing Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice than FlashForward did, but
And for all of this buzz about Mr. Sunshine with Matthew Perry - you shelve it until midseason? Why?
ABC's 2010 fall lineup leaves yours truly rather unimpressed.
Did you know? Believe it or not, Mr. Sunshine has been on ABC's prime-time sked before - in the spring of 1986, it was a short-lived sitcom featuring Arrested Development's Jeffrey Tambor as a blind university professor, which drew criticism from interest groups for the show poking fun at his disability. The program replaced the canceled Diff'rent Strokes in the Friday night 8 p.m. (CT) time slot and perished instantly opposite Dallas.
Fox's new 2010-11 lineup
In advance of its upfront presentation today, Fox announced seven new shows for next season, including a revamped Tuesday lineup in the fall, with its freshmen hit show Glee front and center.
Shows not returning include Saturday night talker The Wanda Sykes Show and sitcom Brothers. It is not known at this time what will replace Wanda Sykes in the Saturday late-night slot.
Fox launches Tuesday nights with Glee, followed by two new comedies: Raising Hope and Running Wilde, the latter featuring Arrested Development's Will Arnett and Felicity's Keri Russell. Glee will move to Wednesday nights when American Idol returns to Tuesday nights in January, which will now be expanded to 90 minutes.
After CBS launched a new show after the Super Bowl this year with Undercover Boss, it's back to proven shows in the slot next year with Glee.
Monday night launches with veteran House and a new drama titled Lonestar, a drama set in Texas with the oil industry as a backdrop (sounds familiar? I already hear the first-season finale will have somebody wake up and discover somebody showering.)
Wednesdays have Lie to Me and Hell's Kitchen; Thursdays stand pat with Bones and Fringe; and Fridays are revamped with Human Target and newcomer The Good Guys.
Saturdays and Sundays remain the same.
On tap for midseason: A new crime-drama set entirely and filmed here in Chicago titled Ride-Along, which stars Shawn Ryan and Chicago native Jennifer Beals. Ride-Along is scheduled for Mondays after Lonestar concludes its run.
Another mid-season entry is animated comedy Bob's Burgers (a show -for once - that doesn't come from Seth McFarlane) and Terra Nova, a new sci-fi thriller.
Thought: Mixed feelings about this sked. First, Lonestar seems to be a Dallas ripoff, no doubt about it. Their two live-action comedies on Tuesday will continue the tradition of failure for Fox in this arena. Putting Glee in the post-Super Bowl slot is a bad idea because the male audience will not stick around for it. While Thursdays remain pat, the ongoing audience erosion for Fringe is a concern. Animation Domination on Sundays will have a new entry with Bob's Burgers which is worth checking out - and surprise! It's not produced by Seth MacFarlane.
Ride-Along looks very promising - a filmed in Chicago series, the first since Prison Break and The Beast. (Let's hope it doesn't meet the same fate as The Beast, which was canceled by A&E after six months and also due to star Patrick Swayze's illness.) Terra Nova on the other hand, sounds like Lost In Space meets Land of the Lost (but ironically, not Lost.)
And if you're looking for X Factor, forget it -it's likely to debut in the fall of 2011, at the earliest.
With Jack Bauer calling it a day and Simon Cowell leaving American Idol, this is going to be one challenging season for Fox. Good luck - they'll need it.
Did you know? The title The Good Guys was used for a 1968-70 CBS sitcom featuring Bob Denver and Herb Edelman. Here's a tip: never name your show after a failed Bob Denver sitcom - I suppose next we'll have a new crime drama called Dusty's Trail....
Shows not returning include Saturday night talker The Wanda Sykes Show and sitcom Brothers. It is not known at this time what will replace Wanda Sykes in the Saturday late-night slot.
Fox launches Tuesday nights with Glee, followed by two new comedies: Raising Hope and Running Wilde, the latter featuring Arrested Development's Will Arnett and Felicity's Keri Russell. Glee will move to Wednesday nights when American Idol returns to Tuesday nights in January, which will now be expanded to 90 minutes.
After CBS launched a new show after the Super Bowl this year with Undercover Boss, it's back to proven shows in the slot next year with Glee.
Monday night launches with veteran House and a new drama titled Lonestar, a drama set in Texas with the oil industry as a backdrop (sounds familiar? I already hear the first-season finale will have somebody wake up and discover somebody showering.)
Wednesdays have Lie to Me and Hell's Kitchen; Thursdays stand pat with Bones and Fringe; and Fridays are revamped with Human Target and newcomer The Good Guys.
Saturdays and Sundays remain the same.
On tap for midseason: A new crime-drama set entirely and filmed here in Chicago titled Ride-Along, which stars Shawn Ryan and Chicago native Jennifer Beals. Ride-Along is scheduled for Mondays after Lonestar concludes its run.
Another mid-season entry is animated comedy Bob's Burgers (a show -for once - that doesn't come from Seth McFarlane) and Terra Nova, a new sci-fi thriller.
Thought: Mixed feelings about this sked. First, Lonestar seems to be a Dallas ripoff, no doubt about it. Their two live-action comedies on Tuesday will continue the tradition of failure for Fox in this arena. Putting Glee in the post-Super Bowl slot is a bad idea because the male audience will not stick around for it. While Thursdays remain pat, the ongoing audience erosion for Fringe is a concern. Animation Domination on Sundays will have a new entry with Bob's Burgers which is worth checking out - and surprise! It's not produced by Seth MacFarlane.
Ride-Along looks very promising - a filmed in Chicago series, the first since Prison Break and The Beast. (Let's hope it doesn't meet the same fate as The Beast, which was canceled by A&E after six months and also due to star Patrick Swayze's illness.) Terra Nova on the other hand, sounds like Lost In Space meets Land of the Lost (but ironically, not Lost.)
And if you're looking for X Factor, forget it -it's likely to debut in the fall of 2011, at the earliest.
With Jack Bauer calling it a day and Simon Cowell leaving American Idol, this is going to be one challenging season for Fox. Good luck - they'll need it.
Did you know? The title The Good Guys was used for a 1968-70 CBS sitcom featuring Bob Denver and Herb Edelman. Here's a tip: never name your show after a failed Bob Denver sitcom - I suppose next we'll have a new crime drama called Dusty's Trail....
Sunday, May 16, 2010
NBC unveils 2010-11 schedule
NBC announced its 2010-11 schedule to the press today, with significant changes from last year.
For one thing: no Jay Leno in prime-time. Second, NBC has picked up dramas from J.J Abrams and Jerry Bruckhemier, two producers who know how to create hit shows - something NBC desperately needs right now.
From Abrams comes Undercovers, a new spy drama which will air on Wednesday nights, and from the creator of CSI and The Amazing Race comes Chase, which takes a last hour on prime-time on Monday.
In a surprise move, the new single-camera comedy Outscored takes 30 Rock's slot on Thursday, pushing Rock to 7:30 p.m. (CT).
And also on Thursdays, a new anthology comedy series titled Love Bites, takes up the last hour of primetime. Love Bites is remisicent of ABC's Love, American Style, which ran for an hour on Friday nights between 1969 and 1974 (and in half-hours in endless syndicated reruns ever since.)
Canceled shows include Heroes and Law & Order. Returning midseason are The Marriage Ref, Parks & Recreation, Celebrity Apprentice (it might likely become just The Apprentice again as Donald Trump is looking to drop the "Celebrity" angle from the show), and Minute It to Win It.
To see the complete schedule, click here. And to read a Q&A session featuring executives Jeff Gaspin and Angela Bromstead, click here.
Thought: There is nowhere to go but up for NBC, thanks in part to Jay Leno's departure from prime time. Yours truly like the new dramas from Abrams and Bruckhmeier, and the two gives NBC some credibilty. While it was a given the overrated Parks & Rec was renewed, it was a bit of a surprise to see the series shifted to midseason.
There are some major pains in this schedule. Chuck should not have come back for another season in the same Monday night time slot, while continuing to fill Tuesday with two hours of The Biggest Loser is a bit much, giving the number of pilots they rejected (Biggest Loser should be only one hour a week, at best.)
While Love Bites is a different animal, keep in mind Love, American Style was a middling performer at best during its five season run at ABC - the show never broke into the top 30 and vanished midway through the 1973-74 season, an unusual move for even then.
And really, do we need Law & Order: Los Angeles? If they wanted a L.A. based-crime drama, they should have kept Southland. Or at least bring back Adam-12 (which actually did happen - in 1990 for syndication.) And renewing the ultra-lame Marriage Ref and Minute to Win It is a complete joke.
Overall, look for NBC to be stronger in 2010-11 - but not strong enough to get out of fourth place.
Did you know? Love Bites was a #1 hit for hair-metal band Def Lepperd in October 1988.
For one thing: no Jay Leno in prime-time. Second, NBC has picked up dramas from J.J Abrams and Jerry Bruckhemier, two producers who know how to create hit shows - something NBC desperately needs right now.
From Abrams comes Undercovers, a new spy drama which will air on Wednesday nights, and from the creator of CSI and The Amazing Race comes Chase, which takes a last hour on prime-time on Monday.
In a surprise move, the new single-camera comedy Outscored takes 30 Rock's slot on Thursday, pushing Rock to 7:30 p.m. (CT).
And also on Thursdays, a new anthology comedy series titled Love Bites, takes up the last hour of primetime. Love Bites is remisicent of ABC's Love, American Style, which ran for an hour on Friday nights between 1969 and 1974 (and in half-hours in endless syndicated reruns ever since.)
Canceled shows include Heroes and Law & Order. Returning midseason are The Marriage Ref, Parks & Recreation, Celebrity Apprentice (it might likely become just The Apprentice again as Donald Trump is looking to drop the "Celebrity" angle from the show), and Minute It to Win It.
To see the complete schedule, click here. And to read a Q&A session featuring executives Jeff Gaspin and Angela Bromstead, click here.
Thought: There is nowhere to go but up for NBC, thanks in part to Jay Leno's departure from prime time. Yours truly like the new dramas from Abrams and Bruckhmeier, and the two gives NBC some credibilty. While it was a given the overrated Parks & Rec was renewed, it was a bit of a surprise to see the series shifted to midseason.
There are some major pains in this schedule. Chuck should not have come back for another season in the same Monday night time slot, while continuing to fill Tuesday with two hours of The Biggest Loser is a bit much, giving the number of pilots they rejected (Biggest Loser should be only one hour a week, at best.)
While Love Bites is a different animal, keep in mind Love, American Style was a middling performer at best during its five season run at ABC - the show never broke into the top 30 and vanished midway through the 1973-74 season, an unusual move for even then.
And really, do we need Law & Order: Los Angeles? If they wanted a L.A. based-crime drama, they should have kept Southland. Or at least bring back Adam-12 (which actually did happen - in 1990 for syndication.) And renewing the ultra-lame Marriage Ref and Minute to Win It is a complete joke.
Overall, look for NBC to be stronger in 2010-11 - but not strong enough to get out of fourth place.
Did you know? Love Bites was a #1 hit for hair-metal band Def Lepperd in October 1988.
"Big Bang Theory" sold to Fox O&Os and TBS
WFLD/WPWR picks up show as part of ten-market Fox deal
Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution has sold The Big Bang Theory to Fox-owned stations and Turner Broadcasting for a fall 2011 start.
The cable deal has TBS paying a record-breaking $1.5 million per episode (for a cable network) for the rights to air the show in primetime four or five nights a week.
Big Bang is expected to serve as a lead-in to Conan O'Brien's new talk show on TBS, which launches this fall.
Turner was expected to land Big Bang, though other cable nets, including FX and Viacom's MTV and Comedy Central were also in the running. In fact, FX (which has the cable rights to Warner's other superstar comedy, Two and a Half Men) was deep in the running for Big Bang up until the last minute.
With an eye on boosting its My Network TV stations, Fox bought Big Bang for its nine duopoly markets and WUTB in Baltimore, beating out Tribune Broadcasting. The interesting quirk in this deal though, is the ten-market Fox deal leaves out large markets where Fox also owns stations, including Philadelphia, Boston, and Detroit.
The sale means Big Bang will be shown locally over WFLD and/or WPWR twice a day. Fox paid close to $500,000 per week for the series in the ten markets with the show being stripped in key prime access and late fringe time periods. Warner will retain 90 seconds of commercial time to sell to advertisers on a national basis.
For Fox, Big Bang is added to a comedy lineup which includes The Simpsons, The Office, My Name Is Earl, and How I Met Your Mother, which debuts on the station group and in syndication this fall.
As for Tribune, the sale of Big Bang to Fox is a huge blow to Randy Michaels & Co., who may have demanded too much from Warner in order to land the show. Tribune actually underbid and wanted exclusivity for the first season and also wanted Big Bang to air on WGN America. Warner balked at the offers, and made the TBS and Fox deals.
Tribune currently airs Big Bang's companion sitcom (Two and a Half Men) and Family Guy, which was recently re-upped for a second cycle.
Currently, Big Bang is one of television's top-rated sitcoms, finishing first among adults 18-49 and 25-54 The sitcom often outperforms its Two And A Half Men in CBS' Monday night sitcom lineup. Big Bang's continued strong performance helped drive up the price for the show in syndication.
While Big Bang did set a record for dollar-per-episode mark for cable, it remains to be seen whether or not the sitcom will do the same on the broadcast side, since those sales have just begun. The first-cycle most dollars-per-episode record is still held by both The Cosby Show in 1986 and Friends in 1996, with each earning $4 million per episode.
Seinfeld currently holds the all-time record for most revenue earned from a broadcast sale, with $5 million per-episode earned from its second cycle, which ran from 2001 to 2006.
Friday, May 14, 2010
NBC cancels "Law & Order"
The bid for Law and Order to surpass Gunsmoke as the longest-running television drama in history in the United States has fallen short. The network has pulled the plug on Dick Wolf's crime drama after twenty seasons.
Law and Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and won numerous Emmy Awards, and spun-off three series, with a fourth one coming up this fall (Law and Order: Los Angeles.)
The move comes as the major networks are pulling the plug on the deadweight (see post below) as Upfront Week approaches - the week new shows and schedule changes are announced to advertisers in New York City.
In addition, NBC pulled the plug on three other series: Mercy, Trauma (which becomes the first series since Family Guy to be canceled twice - NBC initially canceled Trauma late last fall but changed its mind and brought it back), and Heroes.
There are several reasons why Law & Order was canceled by NBC - one, ratings for the show hit historical lows recently in the adult 18-49 demo - an 1.0 rating for a recent Monday airing. Many procedural dramas have been losing young viewers this past season, and Law & Order was not an exception. Second, ad rates for Order were falling sharply - this season, a thirty second spot on the show went for only $60,000 - down from an average of around $136,000 during the 2008-09 season.
Law & Order was also hurt from the decision to hand the last hour of prime-time to Jay Leno and his talk show, which bombed after a little more than four months on the air.
And yet another reason may be an unlikely suspect: TNT. The cable network - who has stripped Law & Order reruns since 1994 - balked at picking up reruns of any season beyond its twentieth. With a significant amount of episodes (456 to be exact), the series may have been getting too expensive for TNT, whose commitment to air reruns of the crime drama expires soon. In fact, TNT was offered the chance to continue the show into its twenty-first season by airing new episodes, but turned it down claiming it would not make financial sense to do so.
With the sudden cancellation, Law & Order will not have a final episode to wrap-up storylines or to close out the series. Then again, Gunsmoke - which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1975 - didn't get a chance to do so, either.
Law and Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and won numerous Emmy Awards, and spun-off three series, with a fourth one coming up this fall (Law and Order: Los Angeles.)
The move comes as the major networks are pulling the plug on the deadweight (see post below) as Upfront Week approaches - the week new shows and schedule changes are announced to advertisers in New York City.
In addition, NBC pulled the plug on three other series: Mercy, Trauma (which becomes the first series since Family Guy to be canceled twice - NBC initially canceled Trauma late last fall but changed its mind and brought it back), and Heroes.
There are several reasons why Law & Order was canceled by NBC - one, ratings for the show hit historical lows recently in the adult 18-49 demo - an 1.0 rating for a recent Monday airing. Many procedural dramas have been losing young viewers this past season, and Law & Order was not an exception. Second, ad rates for Order were falling sharply - this season, a thirty second spot on the show went for only $60,000 - down from an average of around $136,000 during the 2008-09 season.
Law & Order was also hurt from the decision to hand the last hour of prime-time to Jay Leno and his talk show, which bombed after a little more than four months on the air.
And yet another reason may be an unlikely suspect: TNT. The cable network - who has stripped Law & Order reruns since 1994 - balked at picking up reruns of any season beyond its twentieth. With a significant amount of episodes (456 to be exact), the series may have been getting too expensive for TNT, whose commitment to air reruns of the crime drama expires soon. In fact, TNT was offered the chance to continue the show into its twenty-first season by airing new episodes, but turned it down claiming it would not make financial sense to do so.
With the sudden cancellation, Law & Order will not have a final episode to wrap-up storylines or to close out the series. Then again, Gunsmoke - which ran on CBS from 1955 to 1975 - didn't get a chance to do so, either.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
FlashForward... to your demise - for real this time
Law & Order's fate hanging in the balance
It was a day for cancellations.
In a move that does not surprise anyone, ABC has canceled FlashForward after one season. The Thursday night science-fiction series' ratings declined significantly throughout the season in the key adults 18-49 demographic.
Last Thursday's airing of FlashForward finished in last place among adults 18-49 in its time period, even behind CW's Vampire Diaries, despite being pre-empted here in Chicago for a Cubs-Pirates game on WGN.
FlashForward premiered on September 24, 2009 to strong ratings, but viewers fled for the exits almost every week since.
ABC also trashed Romantically Challenged, Alyssa Milano's laugh-challenged and ratings-challenged sitcom which ran after Dancing With The Stars on Monday nights and was beaten by CBS' Big Bang Theory in repeats. Also out are Scrubs and Better Off Ted.
Meanwhile, NBC reportedly canceled Law & Order after 20 seasons. However, this may be nothing more but a negotiating ploy as series creator Dick Wolf and the peacock network are still in talks to keep the show on the air in some kind of captivity in order to break the record held by CBS' Gunsmoke as television's longest-running drama series in the United States.
TNT, which carries syndicated repeats of Law & Order, denied reports that they were interested to pick up new episodes of the venerable show.
And there are reports circulating of NBC finally canceling Heroes after four seasons.
If that wasn't enough for you, also canceled this week were Comedy Central's The Sarah Silverman Program and BET's Tiny & Toya.
It was a day for cancellations.
In a move that does not surprise anyone, ABC has canceled FlashForward after one season. The Thursday night science-fiction series' ratings declined significantly throughout the season in the key adults 18-49 demographic.
Last Thursday's airing of FlashForward finished in last place among adults 18-49 in its time period, even behind CW's Vampire Diaries, despite being pre-empted here in Chicago for a Cubs-Pirates game on WGN.
FlashForward premiered on September 24, 2009 to strong ratings, but viewers fled for the exits almost every week since.
ABC also trashed Romantically Challenged, Alyssa Milano's laugh-challenged and ratings-challenged sitcom which ran after Dancing With The Stars on Monday nights and was beaten by CBS' Big Bang Theory in repeats. Also out are Scrubs and Better Off Ted.
Meanwhile, NBC reportedly canceled Law & Order after 20 seasons. However, this may be nothing more but a negotiating ploy as series creator Dick Wolf and the peacock network are still in talks to keep the show on the air in some kind of captivity in order to break the record held by CBS' Gunsmoke as television's longest-running drama series in the United States.
TNT, which carries syndicated repeats of Law & Order, denied reports that they were interested to pick up new episodes of the venerable show.
And there are reports circulating of NBC finally canceling Heroes after four seasons.
If that wasn't enough for you, also canceled this week were Comedy Central's The Sarah Silverman Program and BET's Tiny & Toya.
One in a million, you
Trifecta Entertainment and Mark Burnett Productions are teaming up to launch a one-of-a-kind weekday strip: a singing competition.
Tentatively titled One in a Million, the show will feature aspiring contestants competing to win one million dollars (of course.)
While the series is targeted for daytime, Million could also wind up in prime access and late fringe time periods.
The series is slated for a September 2011 debut and would have four singers compete a day and have a three-judge panel panel determine the winner. On Friday, the week's four winners would face off to determine a weekly winner then go on to a monthly semi-final. The winner will then go on and compete in the final, which would take place on the 185th episode of the season for the million dollars.
Trifecta plans to coordinate auditions with would be stations in each market to find contestants. Million also plans a strong internet component to the show, with online voting determining a slot in the finals.
While this is an ambitious project, programs of a caviler like this as a strip have faltered in the past: In 1992, Television Program Enterprises tried a weekday version of Star Search in several markets, including Los Angeles (Chicago was not among them.) The experiment lasted just three months before it was scrapped.
And while this is mainly targeted for daytime, stand-alone half-hour slots in the daypart are simply not common, with most programs airing either as hour-long blocks or back-to-back half hours. Prime access would be the next most logical choice, but with the recent renewals of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy and off-network repeats of The Big Bang Theory scheduled to launch in 2011, Million would have a hard time getting into the door.
Plus, American Idol is on a ratings downswing this season and is expected to decline even further in future seasons with the departure of Simon Cowell later this month (ironically, Trifecta distributes weekly hour American Idol Rewind in broadcast syndication.)
Still, hooking up with the esteemed Mark Burnett Productions - who will not be represented in syndication this upcoming season since Martha is moving to the Hallmark Channel - isn't a bad idea. It's at least worth a shot.
Tentatively titled One in a Million, the show will feature aspiring contestants competing to win one million dollars (of course.)
While the series is targeted for daytime, Million could also wind up in prime access and late fringe time periods.
The series is slated for a September 2011 debut and would have four singers compete a day and have a three-judge panel panel determine the winner. On Friday, the week's four winners would face off to determine a weekly winner then go on to a monthly semi-final. The winner will then go on and compete in the final, which would take place on the 185th episode of the season for the million dollars.
Trifecta plans to coordinate auditions with would be stations in each market to find contestants. Million also plans a strong internet component to the show, with online voting determining a slot in the finals.
While this is an ambitious project, programs of a caviler like this as a strip have faltered in the past: In 1992, Television Program Enterprises tried a weekday version of Star Search in several markets, including Los Angeles (Chicago was not among them.) The experiment lasted just three months before it was scrapped.
And while this is mainly targeted for daytime, stand-alone half-hour slots in the daypart are simply not common, with most programs airing either as hour-long blocks or back-to-back half hours. Prime access would be the next most logical choice, but with the recent renewals of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy and off-network repeats of The Big Bang Theory scheduled to launch in 2011, Million would have a hard time getting into the door.
Plus, American Idol is on a ratings downswing this season and is expected to decline even further in future seasons with the departure of Simon Cowell later this month (ironically, Trifecta distributes weekly hour American Idol Rewind in broadcast syndication.)
Still, hooking up with the esteemed Mark Burnett Productions - who will not be represented in syndication this upcoming season since Martha is moving to the Hallmark Channel - isn't a bad idea. It's at least worth a shot.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
WPWR picks up "Bones" for 2nd syndication cycle
Fox's WPWR-TV and stations owned by Tribune, Sinclair, and Local TV have picked up the second syndicated cycle of Bones from Twentieth Television.
The procedural drama has been a solid ratings performer during its weekend runs in syndication and continues to perform solidly on Fox's Thursday night schedule, beating FlashForward and NBC's combo of Community and Parks and Recreation. Bones is currently in its fifth season.
All in all, the second cycle of Bones has cleared 70 percent of the country, which begins in September 2011.
In addition to WPWR, Bones' second cycle has been cleared by other Fox-owned stations including WWOR-TV in New York, KCOP-TV in Los Angeles and WTXF in Philadelphia. Other clearances include WTTV/WXIN in Indianapolis, WCGV/WVTV in Milwaukee, WDAF in Kansas City, and KTVI in St. Louis.
For a complete station list, click here.
Bones airs Saturday nights at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. on WPWR.
The procedural drama has been a solid ratings performer during its weekend runs in syndication and continues to perform solidly on Fox's Thursday night schedule, beating FlashForward and NBC's combo of Community and Parks and Recreation. Bones is currently in its fifth season.
All in all, the second cycle of Bones has cleared 70 percent of the country, which begins in September 2011.
In addition to WPWR, Bones' second cycle has been cleared by other Fox-owned stations including WWOR-TV in New York, KCOP-TV in Los Angeles and WTXF in Philadelphia. Other clearances include WTTV/WXIN in Indianapolis, WCGV/WVTV in Milwaukee, WDAF in Kansas City, and KTVI in St. Louis.
For a complete station list, click here.
Bones airs Saturday nights at 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. on WPWR.
Beautiful Betty tops Chicago ratings
Ugly Betty may be gone from the airwaves (did anyone notice?) but Beautiful Betty is blossoming!
Betty White's much ballyhooed hosting gig on Saturday Night Live - inspired by a Facebook campaign, won its time period with a 8.8 overnight metered-market household rating, according to Nielsen.
Among adults 18-49 in the 25 Local People Meter markets, the program averaged a 5.1 rating and 20 share, the best performance in eighteen months.
In either case, it was the highest-rated show of the broadcast day, beating every show in prime-time in households and in key demos.
In Chicago, Betty White's hosting gig rocked the house, finishing first in the 10:30p.m.- midnight time slot in all key demos. But even more impressive, Chicago's WMAQ finished first among all LPM markets with a 9.2/33 among adults 18-49 (barely beating KARE in Minneapolis-St.Paul) and a whopping 11.4/37 among adults 25-54 (click here and scroll down to the bottom for results from all LPM markets.)
The Betty White-hosted Saturday Night Live was generally praised by critics, with Matthew Gilbert of the Boston Globe boasting it was one of the best episodes of the season
Not a bad performance for the Oak Park, Ill. native who left a huge mark in the medium, with an Emmy-winning career stretching 60 years, from starring roles in The Golden Girls and The Mary Tyler Moore Show to guest roles in Ugly Betty, The Simpsons, Boston Legal, Family Guy, My Name Is Earl, Fame, St. Elsewhere and a lot more. She also headlined her own sitcom on CBS during the 1977-78 season, but lasted only fourteen episodes.
White also became the first female to win an Emmy for Outstanding Game Show Host for Just Men!, a short-lived NBC daytime game show in 1983 which lasted only thirteen weeks. It would be another 22 years before another female would win the award again (Meredith Vierra won for Who Wants To Be A Millionaire in 2005.)
All in all, Betty White's Saturday Night Live hosting gig is just another addition to her long, successful resume.
Monday, May 10, 2010
"Family Feud" on the move
Family Feud, the venerable game show whose been through more syndicators (and hosts) than Terrell Owens been through football teams, is getting a new locale.
Beginning July 10, the Debmar-Mercury-syndicated show is trading in Los Angeles for Universal Studios in Orlando, bringing back game show production back to the facility on a regular basis for the first time since the 1990's.
The move coincides with the shift of hosting duties to Steve Harvey, whose successful syndicated radio show (which airs locally on WVAZ-FM, V103) is produced in Atlanta.
The last time a game show was produced at Universal Studios on a regular basis was in the 1990's, when Nickelodeon produced several game shows at the facility, including Double Dare, Legends of the Hidden Temple, Get the Picture, and GUTS (the latter two were hosted by a pre-Yes Dear and Glee Mike O'Malley.)
Feud has taped in Los Angeles since 1976, and this marks the first time the game show has taped outside of California, with the exception of fifteen episodes taped on location in Nashville at OprylandUSA in 1993. Studios Feud has taped in its various incarnations include ABC Television Center, CBS Television City, NBC Studios, and Tribune Studios (now Sunset Bronson Studios.)
This marks the second major game show to exit Hollywood in the last year in order to save on costs. In 2009, NBC Universal moved production of Deal or No Deal from Culver City, Calif. to Waterford, Connecticut.
While Feud gets to cut costs in its move to Florida, it also gets to promote the show inside the theme park. Producers plan to hand out brochures and other goodies to vacationers at Universal Studios Florida to get fannies in the seats for the tapings in those air-conditioned studios (and if you've visited Orlando in the summertime, you know how hot and humid it gets.)
In its current incarnation, Family Feud's 12th season begins on September 13. Locally, the program airs on WPWR-TV.
Beginning July 10, the Debmar-Mercury-syndicated show is trading in Los Angeles for Universal Studios in Orlando, bringing back game show production back to the facility on a regular basis for the first time since the 1990's.
The move coincides with the shift of hosting duties to Steve Harvey, whose successful syndicated radio show (which airs locally on WVAZ-FM, V103) is produced in Atlanta.
The last time a game show was produced at Universal Studios on a regular basis was in the 1990's, when Nickelodeon produced several game shows at the facility, including Double Dare, Legends of the Hidden Temple, Get the Picture, and GUTS (the latter two were hosted by a pre-Yes Dear and Glee Mike O'Malley.)
Feud has taped in Los Angeles since 1976, and this marks the first time the game show has taped outside of California, with the exception of fifteen episodes taped on location in Nashville at OprylandUSA in 1993. Studios Feud has taped in its various incarnations include ABC Television Center, CBS Television City, NBC Studios, and Tribune Studios (now Sunset Bronson Studios.)
This marks the second major game show to exit Hollywood in the last year in order to save on costs. In 2009, NBC Universal moved production of Deal or No Deal from Culver City, Calif. to Waterford, Connecticut.
While Feud gets to cut costs in its move to Florida, it also gets to promote the show inside the theme park. Producers plan to hand out brochures and other goodies to vacationers at Universal Studios Florida to get fannies in the seats for the tapings in those air-conditioned studios (and if you've visited Orlando in the summertime, you know how hot and humid it gets.)
In its current incarnation, Family Feud's 12th season begins on September 13. Locally, the program airs on WPWR-TV.
T Dog's Four Pack
The best and the worst in media for the week ending May 9:
Winners:
- Perfect. The City of Oakland and the word "perfect" often goes together as Playboy models and science-fiction conventions. But the city gets to celebrate for one day as Dallas Breaden pitched a perfect game Sunday for the hometown Athletics against the Tampa Bay Rays. Now that's a great Mother's Day present.
- Futurama returns June 24. Comedy Central announced the return of the animated sci-fi comedy during their upfront on Thursday. Can't wait.
- Betty White on SNL. The veteran 88 year-old actress - alum of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Mama's Family, and The Golden Girls - was spectacular on the often dull Saturday Night Live two nights ago. She can make anything funny, even something called "MacGruber". Beautiful Betty rocks!
-Chicago Blackhawks set another ratings record. Game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinal between the Hawks and the Vancouver Canucks earned a 10.1 household rating Wednesday night on Comcast Sportsnet Chicago, breaking a ratings record set only a few days earlier when the Hawks played Nashville in the earlier playoff round.
Losers:
- American Idol. This past week, Idol hit its lowest point in the ratings since its first season way back in August 2002. With Paula Abdul gone and Simon Cowell's foot already out the door (and not to mention a bunch of unexciting contestants), the shark has already jumped.
- Apple. First, Steve Jobs slams Adobe's Flash and called their product inferior, then bought music-streaming service LaLa.com and killed it, and now Ellen DeGeneres was forced to apologize to Apple on her talk show last week because she made fun of a Apple product. You know that Justin Long guy in those Apple vs. Mac ads? He's been replaced - by Mayor Daley. That alone should tell you how uncool Apple has become as of late.
- Chicago sports media's obsession with Milton Bradley. Hasn't the former Cubs player moved on to Seattle? Maybe those who work in sports media in this town should do the same.
- Tyra Banks. It's one thing for an unruly guest to go nuts on a talk show such as Jerry Springer or Maury. But the host? Watch this clip here and see Tyra Banks do her best Stepin Fetchit imitation. My God, how disgusting - she might as well appeared in blackface. Canceling this piece of s**t show can't come soon enough (first-run episodes of Tyra ends later this month.) If you want to read a past rant by yours truly on Miss Thang, click here.
Nobody celebrates racial stereotyping more than Tyra Banks does.
Winners:
- Perfect. The City of Oakland and the word "perfect" often goes together as Playboy models and science-fiction conventions. But the city gets to celebrate for one day as Dallas Breaden pitched a perfect game Sunday for the hometown Athletics against the Tampa Bay Rays. Now that's a great Mother's Day present.
- Futurama returns June 24. Comedy Central announced the return of the animated sci-fi comedy during their upfront on Thursday. Can't wait.
- Betty White on SNL. The veteran 88 year-old actress - alum of The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Mama's Family, and The Golden Girls - was spectacular on the often dull Saturday Night Live two nights ago. She can make anything funny, even something called "MacGruber". Beautiful Betty rocks!
-Chicago Blackhawks set another ratings record. Game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinal between the Hawks and the Vancouver Canucks earned a 10.1 household rating Wednesday night on Comcast Sportsnet Chicago, breaking a ratings record set only a few days earlier when the Hawks played Nashville in the earlier playoff round.
Losers:
- American Idol. This past week, Idol hit its lowest point in the ratings since its first season way back in August 2002. With Paula Abdul gone and Simon Cowell's foot already out the door (and not to mention a bunch of unexciting contestants), the shark has already jumped.
- Apple. First, Steve Jobs slams Adobe's Flash and called their product inferior, then bought music-streaming service LaLa.com and killed it, and now Ellen DeGeneres was forced to apologize to Apple on her talk show last week because she made fun of a Apple product. You know that Justin Long guy in those Apple vs. Mac ads? He's been replaced - by Mayor Daley. That alone should tell you how uncool Apple has become as of late.
- Chicago sports media's obsession with Milton Bradley. Hasn't the former Cubs player moved on to Seattle? Maybe those who work in sports media in this town should do the same.
- Tyra Banks. It's one thing for an unruly guest to go nuts on a talk show such as Jerry Springer or Maury. But the host? Watch this clip here and see Tyra Banks do her best Stepin Fetchit imitation. My God, how disgusting - she might as well appeared in blackface. Canceling this piece of s**t show can't come soon enough (first-run episodes of Tyra ends later this month.) If you want to read a past rant by yours truly on Miss Thang, click here.
Nobody celebrates racial stereotyping more than Tyra Banks does.
Thursday, May 06, 2010
Craig Kilbourn returns to TV - sort of
Former late night talk show host and ESPN SportsCenter anchor Craig Kilbourn is making a comeback to TV - well, sort of.
Twentieth Television announced it has signed Kilbourn to host a nightly prime-access strip to air this summer, which will be tested on a few Fox-owned stations, including WNYW in New York and KTTV in Los Angeles.
The identity of other Fox-owned stations were not released. It is not known if WFLD and/or WPWR here in Chicago will participate in the test.
Kilbourn was Jon Stewart's predecessor at Comedy Central's The Daily Show and Craig Ferguson's predecessor at CBS' Late, Late Show.
It is not known at this time whether or not if this new series, which is described as a combination of a daily talk show and a "nonpolitical talk show." will air in either daytime or prime access.
The test is expected to last a few weeks and if it does air in prime access, it would likely replace some major off-network sitcoms currently airing on Fox-owned stations.
The move is unusual because most stations air game shows, news magazines, or off-net sitcoms in the hour before prime-time. Talk shows have had a spotty record in the prime access daypart. A few years ago, CBS-owned WWJ-TV in Detroit and CBS affiliate WKMG-TV in Orlando aired Dr. Phil in access, but wasn't successful. KCAL-TV in Los Angeles currently airs Phil at 7 p.m., but is a repeat of a show that previously aired on sister station KCBS-TV.
During the 1988-89 season, then-ABC affiliate KTVI in St. Louis aired Geraldo at 6 p.m, replacing local news in a much-criticized move. After disastrous ratings, Geraldo moved to 4 p.m. in September 1989 and local news returned to 6 p.m., with Entertainment Tonight airing at 6:30 p.m. (KTVI is now a Fox affiliate.)
Kilbourn's show is expected to air for two months. A start date has yet to be determined. Earlier on Wednesday, Tribune announced it was testing a talk show hosted by Cincinnati radio talk-show host Bill Cummingham on a few stations this summer, including WGN-TV in Chicago.
Twentieth Television announced it has signed Kilbourn to host a nightly prime-access strip to air this summer, which will be tested on a few Fox-owned stations, including WNYW in New York and KTTV in Los Angeles.
The identity of other Fox-owned stations were not released. It is not known if WFLD and/or WPWR here in Chicago will participate in the test.
Kilbourn was Jon Stewart's predecessor at Comedy Central's The Daily Show and Craig Ferguson's predecessor at CBS' Late, Late Show.
It is not known at this time whether or not if this new series, which is described as a combination of a daily talk show and a "nonpolitical talk show." will air in either daytime or prime access.
The test is expected to last a few weeks and if it does air in prime access, it would likely replace some major off-network sitcoms currently airing on Fox-owned stations.
The move is unusual because most stations air game shows, news magazines, or off-net sitcoms in the hour before prime-time. Talk shows have had a spotty record in the prime access daypart. A few years ago, CBS-owned WWJ-TV in Detroit and CBS affiliate WKMG-TV in Orlando aired Dr. Phil in access, but wasn't successful. KCAL-TV in Los Angeles currently airs Phil at 7 p.m., but is a repeat of a show that previously aired on sister station KCBS-TV.
During the 1988-89 season, then-ABC affiliate KTVI in St. Louis aired Geraldo at 6 p.m, replacing local news in a much-criticized move. After disastrous ratings, Geraldo moved to 4 p.m. in September 1989 and local news returned to 6 p.m., with Entertainment Tonight airing at 6:30 p.m. (KTVI is now a Fox affiliate.)
Kilbourn's show is expected to air for two months. A start date has yet to be determined. Earlier on Wednesday, Tribune announced it was testing a talk show hosted by Cincinnati radio talk-show host Bill Cummingham on a few stations this summer, including WGN-TV in Chicago.
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Is Tribune looking to get back into syndie business?
Station group signs Cincinnati radio host to do daily talk show
There's going to be a new Bozo taping at the Old Bozo studio (no, it's not a new version of Bozo's Circus, but there might be a circus nonetheless.)
With an eye of getting back into the syndication business after a three-year hiatus, Tribune Broadcasting announced today it was taping several talk show pilot episodes hosted by conservative talk show host Bill Cunningham, who is better known to listeners of Cincinnati's WLW-AM, owned by Clear Channel Communications.
The pilot episodes are being taped here in Chicago at WGN's studios on June 12 and 13 and is being produced by Tribune. The studios being used is the same one the legendary children's show Bozo's Circus was produced in from 1961 to 2001.
The Cincinnati-Chicago connection is a familiar one: Jerry Springer once commuted regularly from Cincinnati to Chicago for a few years to do his talk show in Chicago and anchor the nightly news at NBC affiliate WLWT in Cincinnati. If this show takes off, Cunningham would spend two to three days a week in Chicago while doing his WLW show from the Windy City.
Richard Dominick, who was executive producer for Jerry Springer and The Steve Wilkos Show will be the showrunner for this project, tentatively titled Willie.
Willie would air later this summer on WGN and several other Tribune-owned stations, though exactly which ones has yet to be specified. It's being developed by Sean Compton, who was promoted to President of Programming at Tribune Broadcasting on Tuesday.
If the test goes well, Tribune plans to air Willie on its station group at the start of next year, with plans of rolling out the show in national syndication in September 2011.
Tribune is developing this program so it can air among its block of NBC Universal-distributed talk shows, which includes shows hosted by Springer, Wilkos, and Maury Povich. While all three talk shows air on the majority of Tribune-owned stations (including WPIX in New York and KTLA in Los Angeles), only WGN airs Maury while the other two air on Weigel's WCIU-TV (Springer moves to WCIU in September.)
It is not known what format the show will have, but it is expected to be a topical with a studio audience in the same vain of the three NBCU talk shows (in other words, expect Willie to be confrontational.)
There were plans for Cunningham to co-host a weekly political talk show with Springer. A pilot was taped and shown on WGN America, but was scrapped after Springer dropped out of the project because of other commitments.
Tribune has had success with talk show strips Geraldo and The Joan Rivers Show in the past, has had a difficult time launching a first run strip over the last decade-and-a-half, let alone a talk show. Chat failures include show hosted by Dennis Miller, James Van Praagh, Richard Simmons, and Charles Perez. Other first-run strip failures include Talk or Walk and Geraldo's Now It Can Be Told.
By 2007, Tribune was left with American Idol Rewind, Soul Train reruns, and a few other programs when Tribune Entertainment shut down. Both Idol Rewind and Soul Train wound up at Trifecta Entertainment but Soul Train - which ended original production in 2006 - was dropped by Trifecta in August 2008.
If Cunningham's show is green-lit, it would be a plus for Chicago's ailing talk show industry, who lost both Springer and Wilkos to Connecticut and is losing Oprah Winfrey next year.
In addition to his WLW talk show duties, Cunningham also hosts a weekly syndicated Sunday Night show syndicated via Premiere Radio Networks on 300 radio stations nationwide.
And yes, Cunningham is familiar with our town: back in 2008, he laid into Chicago's inept political system at a John Mccain campaign rally in Cincinnati by trying to tie Democratic candidate Barack Obama to the local political scene and called him "a hack, Chicago style-Daley politician."
I guess Mayor Daley and other Chicago pols won't be holding a parade to celebrate his arrival into town.
There's going to be a new Bozo taping at the Old Bozo studio (no, it's not a new version of Bozo's Circus, but there might be a circus nonetheless.)
With an eye of getting back into the syndication business after a three-year hiatus, Tribune Broadcasting announced today it was taping several talk show pilot episodes hosted by conservative talk show host Bill Cunningham, who is better known to listeners of Cincinnati's WLW-AM, owned by Clear Channel Communications.
The pilot episodes are being taped here in Chicago at WGN's studios on June 12 and 13 and is being produced by Tribune. The studios being used is the same one the legendary children's show Bozo's Circus was produced in from 1961 to 2001.
The Cincinnati-Chicago connection is a familiar one: Jerry Springer once commuted regularly from Cincinnati to Chicago for a few years to do his talk show in Chicago and anchor the nightly news at NBC affiliate WLWT in Cincinnati. If this show takes off, Cunningham would spend two to three days a week in Chicago while doing his WLW show from the Windy City.
Richard Dominick, who was executive producer for Jerry Springer and The Steve Wilkos Show will be the showrunner for this project, tentatively titled Willie.
Willie would air later this summer on WGN and several other Tribune-owned stations, though exactly which ones has yet to be specified. It's being developed by Sean Compton, who was promoted to President of Programming at Tribune Broadcasting on Tuesday.
If the test goes well, Tribune plans to air Willie on its station group at the start of next year, with plans of rolling out the show in national syndication in September 2011.
Tribune is developing this program so it can air among its block of NBC Universal-distributed talk shows, which includes shows hosted by Springer, Wilkos, and Maury Povich. While all three talk shows air on the majority of Tribune-owned stations (including WPIX in New York and KTLA in Los Angeles), only WGN airs Maury while the other two air on Weigel's WCIU-TV (Springer moves to WCIU in September.)
It is not known what format the show will have, but it is expected to be a topical with a studio audience in the same vain of the three NBCU talk shows (in other words, expect Willie to be confrontational.)
There were plans for Cunningham to co-host a weekly political talk show with Springer. A pilot was taped and shown on WGN America, but was scrapped after Springer dropped out of the project because of other commitments.
Tribune has had success with talk show strips Geraldo and The Joan Rivers Show in the past, has had a difficult time launching a first run strip over the last decade-and-a-half, let alone a talk show. Chat failures include show hosted by Dennis Miller, James Van Praagh, Richard Simmons, and Charles Perez. Other first-run strip failures include Talk or Walk and Geraldo's Now It Can Be Told.
By 2007, Tribune was left with American Idol Rewind, Soul Train reruns, and a few other programs when Tribune Entertainment shut down. Both Idol Rewind and Soul Train wound up at Trifecta Entertainment but Soul Train - which ended original production in 2006 - was dropped by Trifecta in August 2008.
If Cunningham's show is green-lit, it would be a plus for Chicago's ailing talk show industry, who lost both Springer and Wilkos to Connecticut and is losing Oprah Winfrey next year.
In addition to his WLW talk show duties, Cunningham also hosts a weekly syndicated Sunday Night show syndicated via Premiere Radio Networks on 300 radio stations nationwide.
And yes, Cunningham is familiar with our town: back in 2008, he laid into Chicago's inept political system at a John Mccain campaign rally in Cincinnati by trying to tie Democratic candidate Barack Obama to the local political scene and called him "a hack, Chicago style-Daley politician."
I guess Mayor Daley and other Chicago pols won't be holding a parade to celebrate his arrival into town.
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
T Dog's Four Pack - Putting the biscuit in the basket
Here's who is scoring goals - and who isn't - it's a hockey-themed T Dog's Four Pack:
Lighting the lamp:
Family Guy. No, you don't see this show in the winner's circle too often, but Sunday's night episode - despite some rather uncomfortable dialogue in the first act - was the best of the season and perhaps ever, on a program that hasn't been really on its game for the last two seasons. We saw some deep character development in the third act, and that's something you don't see on TV these days. As one who is familiar with the theater, Brian & Stewie would make a very good stage play.
WPIX. Seinfeld reruns return to the station that is identifiable with New York City than any other (and one of the few outlets Tribune hasn't yet screwed up... well, except for hiring Larry Mendte to do news commentaries...)
Honeymooners return to Me-TV. ...and speaking of classic sitcoms which air on WPIX, you can credit the power of the people for Weigel's Me-TV to restore The Honeymooners to its rightful 11 p.m. time slot. The Nanny and 3rd Rock From The Sun classic sitcoms? I think not!
Dick Biondi. A real Chicago radio legend and class act is celebrating his 50th year on the air. It started way back on May 2, 1960 when Biondi started spinning records for a new Top 40 radio station called WLS-AM. Today, he's holding down the fort at oldies outlet WLS-FM and he sounds better than ever. Long live the legend!
In the penalty box:
Convicts infesting local talk radio. It's worse enough Chicago is having a tough time dealing with criminals on the street, now they're infesting talk radio in the Windy City thanks to Betty-Loren Maltese's one day gig on WVON-AM last week, Rod Blago's weekly chatfest on WLS, and the employment of former alderman and convicted felon Jim Laski on WGN Radio. The worst may be yet to come: uber-villain Russell Hantz (from Survivor) was arrested recently - don't be surprised if WGN Radio's Kevin "Pig Virus" Methany is on the phone with him the day after the Survivor finale airs.
The Crosstown Cup. The winner of the Cubs and White Sox's interleague series will now awarded a dopey trophy sponsored by a major oil company (which I christen The Sellout Cup.) This makes the Dancing With The Stars mirrorball trophy look like the Stanley Cup by comparison. At least our two baseball teams have something in common: selling out to a big corporation (and what if this ends in a tie, split 3-3? Do they saw the Cup in half?)
Chicago Bulls. Wait a minute... they were in the playoffs? And Vinny Del Negro is now out of a job he never should have had to begin with.
The summer ahead. If the Hawks get eliminated from the playoffs against Vancouver (as of this writing, the series is tied 1-1), we're left with bad Chicago baseball and bad reality TV. Ozzie and Lou vs. Shaq in the Dark anyone?
And if that doesn't make you sick enough in prime-time, throwing in Jim Laski may be enough to send you to the Emergency Room.
Lighting the lamp:
Family Guy. No, you don't see this show in the winner's circle too often, but Sunday's night episode - despite some rather uncomfortable dialogue in the first act - was the best of the season and perhaps ever, on a program that hasn't been really on its game for the last two seasons. We saw some deep character development in the third act, and that's something you don't see on TV these days. As one who is familiar with the theater, Brian & Stewie would make a very good stage play.
WPIX. Seinfeld reruns return to the station that is identifiable with New York City than any other (and one of the few outlets Tribune hasn't yet screwed up... well, except for hiring Larry Mendte to do news commentaries...)
Honeymooners return to Me-TV. ...and speaking of classic sitcoms which air on WPIX, you can credit the power of the people for Weigel's Me-TV to restore The Honeymooners to its rightful 11 p.m. time slot. The Nanny and 3rd Rock From The Sun classic sitcoms? I think not!
Dick Biondi. A real Chicago radio legend and class act is celebrating his 50th year on the air. It started way back on May 2, 1960 when Biondi started spinning records for a new Top 40 radio station called WLS-AM. Today, he's holding down the fort at oldies outlet WLS-FM and he sounds better than ever. Long live the legend!
In the penalty box:
Convicts infesting local talk radio. It's worse enough Chicago is having a tough time dealing with criminals on the street, now they're infesting talk radio in the Windy City thanks to Betty-Loren Maltese's one day gig on WVON-AM last week, Rod Blago's weekly chatfest on WLS, and the employment of former alderman and convicted felon Jim Laski on WGN Radio. The worst may be yet to come: uber-villain Russell Hantz (from Survivor) was arrested recently - don't be surprised if WGN Radio's Kevin "Pig Virus" Methany is on the phone with him the day after the Survivor finale airs.
The Crosstown Cup. The winner of the Cubs and White Sox's interleague series will now awarded a dopey trophy sponsored by a major oil company (which I christen The Sellout Cup.) This makes the Dancing With The Stars mirrorball trophy look like the Stanley Cup by comparison. At least our two baseball teams have something in common: selling out to a big corporation (and what if this ends in a tie, split 3-3? Do they saw the Cup in half?)
Chicago Bulls. Wait a minute... they were in the playoffs? And Vinny Del Negro is now out of a job he never should have had to begin with.
The summer ahead. If the Hawks get eliminated from the playoffs against Vancouver (as of this writing, the series is tied 1-1), we're left with bad Chicago baseball and bad reality TV. Ozzie and Lou vs. Shaq in the Dark anyone?
And if that doesn't make you sick enough in prime-time, throwing in Jim Laski may be enough to send you to the Emergency Room.
Saturday, May 01, 2010
"Seinfeld" returns to WPIX
In a bit of a homecoming for Seinfeld, local syndicated repeats of the sitcom about "nothing" is returning to Tribune Co.-owned WPIX, after ten years at Fox-owned WNYW.
WPIX was the original syndication home in the New York market, paying six figures a week for the top-rated NBC sitcom which debuted in prime access in September 1995. However, the series departed WPIX in March 2001 for WNYW after the Fox station outbid its arch rival.
This time around, WPIX is paying considerably less for Seinfeld, which will enter its fourth syndication cycle in March 2011. The series is sold for cash-plus-barter, with Sony Pictures Television holding 90 seconds back to sell national advertising. Five-and-a-half minutes are being kept by stations to sell local ads. Even though the economy played a role in the deal, off-network sitcoms generally fetch less dollars per episode the more they age.
WNYW unloaded Seinfeld to make room for upcoming syndicated purchases, including 30 Rock and How I Met Your Mother.
There is no word yet on a sale of Seinfeld's fourth cycle in either Chicago or Los Angeles, where Fox owns the rights. But with no group deal for Fox or Tribune stations, this is good news for WCIU-TV (and possibly Me-TV), where the Weigel Broadcasting-owned station would no doubt be Sony's first stop to pitch if incumbents WFLD-TV and WPWR-TV choose not to renew.
WPIX was the original syndication home in the New York market, paying six figures a week for the top-rated NBC sitcom which debuted in prime access in September 1995. However, the series departed WPIX in March 2001 for WNYW after the Fox station outbid its arch rival.
This time around, WPIX is paying considerably less for Seinfeld, which will enter its fourth syndication cycle in March 2011. The series is sold for cash-plus-barter, with Sony Pictures Television holding 90 seconds back to sell national advertising. Five-and-a-half minutes are being kept by stations to sell local ads. Even though the economy played a role in the deal, off-network sitcoms generally fetch less dollars per episode the more they age.
WNYW unloaded Seinfeld to make room for upcoming syndicated purchases, including 30 Rock and How I Met Your Mother.
There is no word yet on a sale of Seinfeld's fourth cycle in either Chicago or Los Angeles, where Fox owns the rights. But with no group deal for Fox or Tribune stations, this is good news for WCIU-TV (and possibly Me-TV), where the Weigel Broadcasting-owned station would no doubt be Sony's first stop to pitch if incumbents WFLD-TV and WPWR-TV choose not to renew.
Friday, April 30, 2010
T Dog's Think Tank: Basic cable's racy content at a crossroads
Stan wasn't the only one up in arms about Comedy Central taking a hatchet job to a recent episode of "South Park."
For the last few weeks, cable was on a hot streak: SyFy acquired Friday Night Smackdown, stealing it away from My Network TV, while Turner Broadcasting snared both Conan O'Brien and part of the NCAA Tournament.
But on the same day Turner announced it snared some college hoops games away from broadcast, basic cable got slapped with a cold dose of reality: it got a broadcast-like content smackdown, courtesy of Viacom-owned cable network Comedy Central.
The endurable South Park celebrated its 200th episode two weeks ago with a plot centering on celebrities getting revenge on the town who scorned them. In the first of a two-part episode, the Prophet Muhammad was referenced, angering some in the Muslim community.
The second part aired the following week - titled 201 - with Muhammad in a bear costume. But Comedy Central altered and heavily edited the episode anyway, even censoring Kyle's speech at the end, which did not even mention Muhammad. In one instance, there was one bleep lasting a whole 38 seconds.
And if that wasn't enough, Comedy Central pulled scheduled repeats of 201, did not make it available for streaming on Southparkstudios.com, and yet to make it available for sale on iTunes. In addition, they yanked the one episode Muhammad did appear - in Season 5 on an episode titled Super Best Friends, from Netfix's streaming service, iTunes, SouthParkstudios, and is likely to yank it from the broadcast syndication package (locally, WCIU recently moved South Park reruns to 3 a.m, since the station's contract to air the show ends in September.)
Is this CBS, NBC, ABC, or even Fox we're talking about? Nope, this is Comedy Central doing the censoring on the cable we pay for.
And what prompted them to do all this censoring and bleeping? The Parents Television Council? Nope. The American Family Association? Nope.
It was this New York-based RevolutionistMuslim website who did all the complaining, which even went as far to warn the creators of South Park that they could be harmed for even depicting Muhammad as a censored image in part one of the episode, titled 200.
And so, Comedy Central (which should be renamed Coward Central) decided to do the censoring and bleeping to 201, which made the episode practically unwatchable. South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker weren't happy about the cable network's heavy-handed editing, and posted this response on their website.
It's not the first time Parker and Stone had run afoul of the censors. In an episode of 2006's Cartoon Wars, Comedy Central deleted a scene in which prophet Muhammad was in and replaced by a message from the show stating they couldn't show the scene, which some thought was part of the plot.
Ironically, Cartoon Wars centered on the TV series Family Guy airing a scene of Muhammad and Cartman trying to pull Family Guy off the air for good (The creators of South Park have gone on record stating their disdain for Family Guy and series creator Seth MacFarlane.)
And even more stupefying, Comedy Central had aired Super Best Friends in which Muhammad was shown in full view, with little or no controversy.
So now I guess we can add this Revolution Muslim site to the levy of "watchdog groups" like the Parents Television Council who continue to make life a living hell for those of us who follow media. And as usual, Big Media and Coward Central cave in to these so-called "watchdog groups".
With cable and satellite penetration now reaching 90 percent of U.S. homes, here comes the watchdog groups complaining about content, despite the fact that cable channels don't need a broadcast license to operate. Of course, this doesn't stop the PTC from complaining about Nip/Tuck.
What all of this proves is that no matter what the platform, Big Media will always shackle you with a ball-and-chain when it comes to content, whether it makes sense or not (and yes, even Conan O'Brien will get the ball-and-chain treatment, though the shackles will be looser on TBS than they ever were on NBC.)
In a TV Week story regarding Turner acquiring rights to the NCAA Basketball Tournament, one commenter wrote that "this likely is the last decade where there will be any difference between Broadcast and Cable TV as far as ratings and influence."
On the issue of censorship, it looks like we've already arrived.
Censorship's greatest (or not-so-greatest) hits:
- In the 1950's and 1960's, Jackson, Miss. NBC affiliate WLBT often censored NBC News' stories on the Civil Rights Movement, pretending to have "cable trouble" (in the pre-satellite era.) The FCC yanked the station's license in 1969 from owner Lamar Insurance when WLBT was found to openly discriminate against African-Americans in its newscasts and programming, even going as far to pre-empt NBC series with African-American performers in them, including Nat King Cole's variety show, which ran from 1956-57.
- In August 1973, about 40 CBS affiliates pulled the plug on two repeat episodes of Maude titled Maude's Dilemma, which featured the title character (played by the late Beatrice Arthur) deciding whether or not whether to get an abortion after she becomes pregnant at age 47 in the height of Roe vs. Wade, a controversial subject to this very day. The episodes originally aired in November 1972.
There were protests outside CBS affiliates both for and against airing of the two episodes, which lost sponsors (among those who dropped out were Alberto-Culver, General Mills, and Pepsi.)
- Also in 1973, CBS aired a made-for-TV movie titled Sticks and Bones, a bitter drama about a blind solider coming home from Vietnam who winds up dealing with a lot of family issues and is driven to suicide. More than 90 CBS affiliates rejected the movie, including CBS' then-owned station in St. Louis (KMOX-TV, now Belo-owned KMOV.)
- In 1992, Bonneville's KSL-TV in Salt Lake City delayed CBS' Picket Fences until 11 pm Saturday nights, instead of airing it in its regular 9 p.m. (MT) Friday night time slot. An NBC affiliate since 1995, KSL has refused to air short-lived sitcom Coupling and currently does not air Saturday Night Live, which is shown instead on Salt Lake City's CW affiliate, KUCW-TV (KSL also did not air Maude's Dilemma, both in original and repeat episodes as a CBS affiliate.)
- In 2004, Sinclair Broadcast Group pre-empted an episode of Nightline on its ABC affiliates when it featured a tribute to soldiers who died in the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
- Also in 2004, 65 ABC affiliates passed on airing Saving Private Ryan after the network decided not to bleep the movie's profanities, which came at a time when the FCC was cracking down on fleeting expletives in the wake of that year's Super Bowl halftime show fiasco.
- In 2006, Eight NBC affiliates refused to air The Book of Daniel, a controversial drama about Christians and the Christian faith which was canceled after four episodes (Ironically, KSL did air this program.)
Sunday, April 25, 2010
CBS and Turner grab NCAA Tournament
CBS and Turner Broadcasting announced a mega-deal that will keep at least some of the NCAA Tournament on the Tiffany network - but much of it is moving to cable.
In an eye-popping 14-year, $10.8 billion deal struck on Wednesday, CBS and Turner's family of networks - TNT, TBS, and TruTV (formerly CourtTV) will carry both the preliminary and second round of the tournament along with the regional semifinals, with CBS carrying it the rest of the way.
But in the deal's sixth year and beyond, both Turner and CBS will carry the regional finals and alternate the Final Four. For example, Turner gets the Final Four in 2016, while CBS carries it in 2017, and so on.
Also, the NCAA is expanding the tournament to 68 teams, the first since the play-in game was added a few years ago. There were proposal to expand the tourney to 96 teams, which was opposed by many fans.
CBS was in the next-to-last year in an 11-year deal with had the network pay about a billion dollars to air the tournament. The NCAA had a right to opt-out of the deal after this season, and did shop around for a new deal.
But CBS' chances to keep the tournament improved after ESPN decided not to raise its offer.
CBS has been home of the NCAA Tournament since 1982. Beforehand, NBC had the rights and carried the famous Larry Bird - Earvin "Magic" Johnson NCAA Final in 1979 (Indiana State-Michigan State), which thrust the tournament into the national spotlight.
CBS and Turner officials defended the deal, saying one network carrying the tournament was no longer feasible given the change in the way viewers consume media and fans wanted all the games televised in their entirety. The deal comes at a time when broadcasters have been losing some major sporting events to cable.
Thought: I have to take issue here with what Harry Jessell of the wonderful TVNewscheck website had to say about the new tournament deal being bad for broadcasters. While it appears CBS is getting the short end of the stick, it's better than no college basketball games at all. And the deal is a great one for college hoops fans as they get to access (at least those with cable or satellite) all the games in their entirety, and the deal is great for advertisers because more spots and advertising opportunities will now become available.
And why CBS decided to partner up with cable? Because it made more financial sense. NBC, ABC, and Fox were not going to partner up with an arch rival to carry a college basketball tournament. They have their own programming needs - none of them even carry college basketball. That's just insane. And Mr. Jessell, comparing the NCAA Basketball Tournament to the NFL is like comparing apples to oranges.
As for the broadcasters, what Mr. Jessell does not realize is the whole world does not evolve around their industry. College hoops fans (and most other people) don't care about their plight. It's not like broadcast television and radio broadcasters - most of which are owned by out-of-town big conglomerates - have ever cared about us viewers in the first place. While yours truly is all for broadcasters receiving fair compensation from MSOs and satellite providers, yanking signals from the air and depriving viewers of major events like the Oscars is totally shitful - we the public don't like being used as pawns in a game of greed.
And since broadcasters are going to receive a boatload for cash from political candidates and organizations to air their negative ads whenever there's an election, broadcasters should be fine - as long as they continue to lure suckers to their local "newscasts". Call it The Local Broadcasting Stimulus Plan.
So why should we feel sorry for them?
Friday, April 23, 2010
Join the dawn patrol
It looks like more and more stations are joining the extremely early morning dawn patrol. If you thought 5 a.m. was early, you haven't seen nothing yet.
In two big markets, local stations have or are in the process of expanding their morning newscasts - to 4:30 a.m. In Los Angeles, four stations already have 4:30 a.m. newscasts (compared to Chicago's one) with Fox-owned KTTV as the latest addition, joining KABC, KNBC, and KTLA in the very early dawn patrol. In Denver, market leader KUSA-TV is also adding a 4:30 newscast, the first in the Rocky Mountain city.
So far, the only Chicago station airing a 4:30 dawn patrol is NBC O&O WMAQ, which began as Barely Today with Bruce Wolf, which was an offbeat look at the headlines. After anemic ratings however, WMAQ decided to retool the program and is offered as a traditional newscast, sans Wolf.
The reasons why stations are expanding their dawn news shows are simple: more and more viewers are waking up earlier since commute times are longer; advertiser demand; and of course, revenue accrued from the shows.
According to the Denver Post, the 4:30 a.m. half-hour period could grab an extra $12,000 to $15,000 per week for KUSA, which is owned by the Gannett Co. and has led the Denver market in the ratings as an ABC affiliate before 1995, and now as an NBC affiliate for over 30 years. In a larger market like Los Angeles, the revenue taken in is significantly higher.
In Los Angeles, NBC O&O KNBC pioneered the A.M. news concept by launching Today in L.A., which became the 1st A.M. newscast in the market with its 1986 debut. By 1988, it was the top-rated program in its time period and expanded a half-hour a time to two hours by 2000. Its success spawned WMAQ-TV to launch First Thing In The Morning in 1989, and WLS-TV's early morning newscast in 1991.
Morning news is a profitable revenue generator - stations keep all ad inventory and spots are in high demand for advertisers catching viewers as they head for the door going to work.
Even a few stations are trying a different to a morning show. CBS O&O WBBM is currently airing Monsters and Money in the Morning at 5 a.m., focusing on sports and financial news, with traffic and weather thrown in. So far, the experiment has not found an audience, but WBBM remains committed to the program, at least for now.
With one station in the 4:30 a.m. derby in Chicago, you can bet the other four local stations in town will be licking their chops to start their newscasts a half-hour earlier - there's a lot of potential revenue out there waiting to be claimed - too valuable to waste on an Andy Griffith rerun.
In two big markets, local stations have or are in the process of expanding their morning newscasts - to 4:30 a.m. In Los Angeles, four stations already have 4:30 a.m. newscasts (compared to Chicago's one) with Fox-owned KTTV as the latest addition, joining KABC, KNBC, and KTLA in the very early dawn patrol. In Denver, market leader KUSA-TV is also adding a 4:30 newscast, the first in the Rocky Mountain city.
So far, the only Chicago station airing a 4:30 dawn patrol is NBC O&O WMAQ, which began as Barely Today with Bruce Wolf, which was an offbeat look at the headlines. After anemic ratings however, WMAQ decided to retool the program and is offered as a traditional newscast, sans Wolf.
The reasons why stations are expanding their dawn news shows are simple: more and more viewers are waking up earlier since commute times are longer; advertiser demand; and of course, revenue accrued from the shows.
According to the Denver Post, the 4:30 a.m. half-hour period could grab an extra $12,000 to $15,000 per week for KUSA, which is owned by the Gannett Co. and has led the Denver market in the ratings as an ABC affiliate before 1995, and now as an NBC affiliate for over 30 years. In a larger market like Los Angeles, the revenue taken in is significantly higher.
In Los Angeles, NBC O&O KNBC pioneered the A.M. news concept by launching Today in L.A., which became the 1st A.M. newscast in the market with its 1986 debut. By 1988, it was the top-rated program in its time period and expanded a half-hour a time to two hours by 2000. Its success spawned WMAQ-TV to launch First Thing In The Morning in 1989, and WLS-TV's early morning newscast in 1991.
Morning news is a profitable revenue generator - stations keep all ad inventory and spots are in high demand for advertisers catching viewers as they head for the door going to work.
Even a few stations are trying a different to a morning show. CBS O&O WBBM is currently airing Monsters and Money in the Morning at 5 a.m., focusing on sports and financial news, with traffic and weather thrown in. So far, the experiment has not found an audience, but WBBM remains committed to the program, at least for now.
With one station in the 4:30 a.m. derby in Chicago, you can bet the other four local stations in town will be licking their chops to start their newscasts a half-hour earlier - there's a lot of potential revenue out there waiting to be claimed - too valuable to waste on an Andy Griffith rerun.
Arbitron PPMs results for March: WOJO's En Fuego!
This is based on 6+ numbers; the 18-34 numbers; the 25-54 numbers: Male, Female, and Adults.
Winners:
WOJO-FM, WGCI-FM, V103 (WVAZ), The Mix (WTMX), The Drive (WDRV) , WBBM-FM, WKSC-FM (Kiss)
Honorable Mention:
US 99 (WUSN-FM),
In the Top 5 overall, but very old skewing:
WGN-AM
Loser:
WNUA-FM, ESPN 1000 (WMVP-AM)
Results:
All-news WBBM-AM may have been number one overall, but it was runner-up WOJO-FM making all the noise last month. The heritage Spanish-language station was up 11% in overall numbers, and finished first in total-day among adults 25-54 and male 25-54 demos. WOJO also bested in rivals WLEY by 91% and newcomer WNUA by a whopping 159%
The Mix (WTMX) also had a successful survey as usual, with its Eric & Kathy morning show's continuing dominance of key demos. Bonneville's sister station, classic rock The Drive (WDRV) also did well, finishing third in 25-54s (and first in the demo middays) and sixth overall.
Clear Channel's V103 slipped 12% overall, but remained dominant in its key 25-54 demos, enabling it to stay in the winner's circle. Also landing there is Urban Contemporary WGCI, which despite finishing tenth and was flat from February, it finished fifth total-day in 25-54s and second in the key 18-34 demo. WGCI has clearly pulled away from rival Power 92 (WPWX), whose future is now uncertain.
Despite the controversy over WGN-AM's moves, its showing in all three 25-54 demos were nothing short of pathetic, with the station ranking in the bottom half in all key demos, despite a top five finish overall.
And speaking of pathetic, WNUA's move to Spanish pop is a disaster, down 19% from February with an anemic 26th-place showing in adults 25-54, ranking it last among Chicago's Spanish-language stations. In fact, WLFM - the station which picked up the Smooth Jazz format after WNUA because it was too old-skewing - tied WNUA in the overall rankings.
In the sports department, The Score (WSCR) dominated over rival WMVP in the key male 25-54 demo, with WMVP's only victory coming in the weekday early fringe (3-7 p.m.) time slot.
Finally, WBBM-FM and rival WKSC split leadership in Chicago's Contemporary-Hit battle. While WBBM-FM beat WKSC overall, WKSC topped WBBM in the key 18-34 demo in total-day ratings.
Winners:
WOJO-FM, WGCI-FM, V103 (WVAZ), The Mix (WTMX), The Drive (WDRV) , WBBM-FM, WKSC-FM (Kiss)
Honorable Mention:
US 99 (WUSN-FM),
In the Top 5 overall, but very old skewing:
WGN-AM
Loser:
WNUA-FM, ESPN 1000 (WMVP-AM)
Results:
All-news WBBM-AM may have been number one overall, but it was runner-up WOJO-FM making all the noise last month. The heritage Spanish-language station was up 11% in overall numbers, and finished first in total-day among adults 25-54 and male 25-54 demos. WOJO also bested in rivals WLEY by 91% and newcomer WNUA by a whopping 159%
The Mix (WTMX) also had a successful survey as usual, with its Eric & Kathy morning show's continuing dominance of key demos. Bonneville's sister station, classic rock The Drive (WDRV) also did well, finishing third in 25-54s (and first in the demo middays) and sixth overall.
Clear Channel's V103 slipped 12% overall, but remained dominant in its key 25-54 demos, enabling it to stay in the winner's circle. Also landing there is Urban Contemporary WGCI, which despite finishing tenth and was flat from February, it finished fifth total-day in 25-54s and second in the key 18-34 demo. WGCI has clearly pulled away from rival Power 92 (WPWX), whose future is now uncertain.
Despite the controversy over WGN-AM's moves, its showing in all three 25-54 demos were nothing short of pathetic, with the station ranking in the bottom half in all key demos, despite a top five finish overall.
And speaking of pathetic, WNUA's move to Spanish pop is a disaster, down 19% from February with an anemic 26th-place showing in adults 25-54, ranking it last among Chicago's Spanish-language stations. In fact, WLFM - the station which picked up the Smooth Jazz format after WNUA because it was too old-skewing - tied WNUA in the overall rankings.
In the sports department, The Score (WSCR) dominated over rival WMVP in the key male 25-54 demo, with WMVP's only victory coming in the weekday early fringe (3-7 p.m.) time slot.
Finally, WBBM-FM and rival WKSC split leadership in Chicago's Contemporary-Hit battle. While WBBM-FM beat WKSC overall, WKSC topped WBBM in the key 18-34 demo in total-day ratings.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
T Dog's Four Pack: The "C" in CBS stands for crime
The winners and losers of the week:
The stamp of approval:
The Chicago Blackhawks (before Friday's night's loss): The Mighty Blackhawks are mighty once again thanks to record-breaking regular season ratings. The Hawks are in the playoffs against the Nashville Predators, which continue Sunday night. Go Hawks!
Conan moving to TBS. Fox getting out-foxed by Conan. While Murdoch and the boys were stalling around, Turner Broadcasting got down to business and signed the red-haired one to a five-year contract after just three days of negotiations.
Glee. But the news wasn't all bad for Fox: Glee returned to its Tuesday night lineup and drew a huge 5.6 rating in the 18-49 demo despite a three month hiatus, while FlashForward recently returned to ABC's lineup after a similar break and bombed (last Thursday's episode finished fifth with a 1.4 rating - it was even outrated by CW's Vampire Diaries!) What's the difference? Glee kept the promotional machine running throughout this time by visiting Oprah and even the White House, not to mention Twitter, Facebook, magazine covers and a lot more - the anticipation for its return was there.
Dale Hansen's takedown of WFAA management - on WFAA. The longtime sports anchor of Dallas/Fort Worth's ABC affiliate said something most of us already know about local news. Hansen's speech regarding the Belo-owned station airing a secretly-taped video featuring Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones blasting former head coach Bill parcells and draft prospect Tim Tebow was classic. And what's even more cool, he made the speech on their air. Hansen's comments more than applies to Chicago TV stations - just as much as it does to the Metroplex's.
The stamp of disapproval:
Chicago's killing spree. 12 dead this past week, many more shot. I was surprised when Chicago did not land on this list (but not surprised Detroit and New Orleans did.)
CBS now stands for the "Crime Broadcasting System". And speaking of violence, Saturday night's Strikeforce MMA event was marred by a brawl between camps of several fighters at the end of the show. Then cue WBBM-TV's newscast, which lead off featuring video a man robbing a cleaning store with a loaded gun. Then the news of course, is followed by reruns of CSI: Miami and Without A Trace. For violence - made up and real (kind of hard to figure out where Strikeforce would land in this case), you can't beat the imbeciles at The Church of Tisch.
Broadcast TV. While Conan went to Turner Broadcasting and WWE's Friday Night Smackdown went to SyFy, what were the broadcast network's biggest announcement? Another Law & Order series, this time based in Los Angeles. Yay, I can't wait.
Ryan Seacrest. The anointed one's behavior on American Idol this season has been - well, strange. But what about Tuesday's lame stab at former Idol co-host Brian Dunkleman? It's worst enough Seacrest the Sap is taking away local radio personalities' jobs for his lame-o syndication effort, so now he's acting like an asshole on top of it? If Idol is looking for a new co-host, pairing Seacrest the Sap with Mancow the Moron is a dream team made in hell.
The stamp of approval:
The Chicago Blackhawks (before Friday's night's loss): The Mighty Blackhawks are mighty once again thanks to record-breaking regular season ratings. The Hawks are in the playoffs against the Nashville Predators, which continue Sunday night. Go Hawks!
Conan moving to TBS. Fox getting out-foxed by Conan. While Murdoch and the boys were stalling around, Turner Broadcasting got down to business and signed the red-haired one to a five-year contract after just three days of negotiations.
Glee. But the news wasn't all bad for Fox: Glee returned to its Tuesday night lineup and drew a huge 5.6 rating in the 18-49 demo despite a three month hiatus, while FlashForward recently returned to ABC's lineup after a similar break and bombed (last Thursday's episode finished fifth with a 1.4 rating - it was even outrated by CW's Vampire Diaries!) What's the difference? Glee kept the promotional machine running throughout this time by visiting Oprah and even the White House, not to mention Twitter, Facebook, magazine covers and a lot more - the anticipation for its return was there.
Dale Hansen's takedown of WFAA management - on WFAA. The longtime sports anchor of Dallas/Fort Worth's ABC affiliate said something most of us already know about local news. Hansen's speech regarding the Belo-owned station airing a secretly-taped video featuring Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones blasting former head coach Bill parcells and draft prospect Tim Tebow was classic. And what's even more cool, he made the speech on their air. Hansen's comments more than applies to Chicago TV stations - just as much as it does to the Metroplex's.
The stamp of disapproval:
Chicago's killing spree. 12 dead this past week, many more shot. I was surprised when Chicago did not land on this list (but not surprised Detroit and New Orleans did.)
CBS now stands for the "Crime Broadcasting System". And speaking of violence, Saturday night's Strikeforce MMA event was marred by a brawl between camps of several fighters at the end of the show. Then cue WBBM-TV's newscast, which lead off featuring video a man robbing a cleaning store with a loaded gun. Then the news of course, is followed by reruns of CSI: Miami and Without A Trace. For violence - made up and real (kind of hard to figure out where Strikeforce would land in this case), you can't beat the imbeciles at The Church of Tisch.
Broadcast TV. While Conan went to Turner Broadcasting and WWE's Friday Night Smackdown went to SyFy, what were the broadcast network's biggest announcement? Another Law & Order series, this time based in Los Angeles. Yay, I can't wait.
Ryan Seacrest. The anointed one's behavior on American Idol this season has been - well, strange. But what about Tuesday's lame stab at former Idol co-host Brian Dunkleman? It's worst enough Seacrest the Sap is taking away local radio personalities' jobs for his lame-o syndication effort, so now he's acting like an asshole on top of it? If Idol is looking for a new co-host, pairing Seacrest the Sap with Mancow the Moron is a dream team made in hell.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Analysis: The real winners and losers in the CoCo lottery
The drawing in the Conan O'Brien lottery took place Monday, and it was Turner Broadcasting who turned up the lucky winner.
So what does TBS actually win? Young demos. A proven name. An increased profile. And a new car - advertiser or two.
But it seems a lot of players in this saga appear to winners - TBS, Conan O'Brien, Fox affiliates, advertisers, even George Lopez.
In fact, the only viable loser here is the Fox network - whose pussy-footing around cost them a chance to develop a late-night franchise. Facing defiant affiliates - something the network has never really experienced in its 23-year history - a deal to land O'Brien was never going to get done.
So without further to do, here's the final scorecard in the Conan O'Brien saga:
Conan O'Brien. No doubt he's a winner here - while he doesn't go to a broadcast network, having 100 percent ownership stake in his show and more free reign on a cable network - is more than a worthy tradeoff. His five-year deal with Turner also includes first look at any projects O'Brien has through his Conaco production company. This is a great move by both parties - Conan and TBS are a perfect fit.
TBS. A major winner here: With Conan O'Brien coming on board, the channel once known for ad-nauseam reruns of Leave It To Beaver and The Andy Griffith Show has now raised its profile among viewers and advertisers tremendously.
Cable TV. This deal more than proves of cable competing with the broadcast networks for top-notch talent and high-profile programming. The playing field has changed, and its shifting to cable's favor.
Fox affiliates (except WFLD.) Lukewarm to any deal - and the fact O'Brien was not able to draw viewers to the Tonight Show once Leno departed (and even more so when Leno returned), Fox affiliates get to keep their off-network sitcoms and local news, which generate revenues for those outlets -at least in the short term. Fox affiliates also proved they have tremendous clout - something they didn't have when they were Chevy Chase was shoved down their throats in 1993. Fox affiliates just flat out said they did not want O'Brien's show.
In an informal poll of Fox affiliate GMs at a gathering at the National Association of Broadcasters show this week, someone asked them if they should get O'Brien to negotiate with them again. Only two people raised their hand (was one of them WFLD's general manager?)
Syndicators. Already battling to keep time periods from local news expansion and infomercials, Conan's defection to cable means they don't have to worry about losing an hour to Fox, which could've hurt their already struggling business even more.
Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. While a little competition from Conan O'Brien wouldn't hurt, both faux-news personalities are going to have to step it up big time to keep their audience from defecting to the red-haired one.
Local news. While local news may not be affected all that much by O'Brien cable presence at least in the short term, late local news - known more these days for shootings, murders, fires, accidents, and other mayhem - are now going to find it even harder to attract younger viewers to their late newscasts. While still a potent moneymaker, local news' failure to attract the next generation of viewers is going to threaten the model in the long run as more and more markets get measured for LPMs (local people meters) and local news will skew even more older.
Fox. The network once known for taking chances to build their network (think snaring the NFL from CBS) played it safe here, and it cost them. And the next day, Fox's My Network TV lost Friday Night Smackdown to NBC-owned cabler SyFy. Two losses in two days - unusual for a network and its owner (Rupert Murdoch) who usually gets his way when he wants. Not this time.
Broadcast TV. The networks still have hits like Dancing With The Stars and American Idol on their schedules. But with the loss of high-profile talent like Conan O'Brien, Martha Stewart, Oprah Winfrey and events like the BCS Bowl games, The British Open, most NBA playoff games, and now possibly the entire NCAA Basketball Tournament, it proves cable is now tougher to compete against - in acquiring and keeping top-notch programming, since it has one thing broadcasters do not - a dual revenue stream, coming from advertising and MSO fees (from Comcast, Charter, Time Warner, RCN, etc...)
WFLD. Unlike other Fox affiliates, struggling Fox-owned WFLD-TV actually had the room - the only sitcom pickup they had for this fall was How I Met Your Mother, not to mention plenty of room on its sister station WPWR-TV. But now they will likely continue running low-rated TMZ and Wendy Williams repeats from earlier in the day in late fringe while its New York (WNYW) and Los Angeles (KTTV) counterparts will run 30 Rock repeats at 11 p.m. come fall of 2011 (30 Rock was purchased locally by WGN-TV here.)
George Lopez. Believe it or not, he's a winner here - despite the fact his late-night show is going to be pushed back an hour. With O'Brien as his lead-in, Lopez Tonight could draw more viewers than it does now and would get increased exposure.
Conan fans who don't have cable or satellite. Remember the 1-800-CABLE-ME jingle? Commit it to memory and let your fingers do the walking over to the phone if you want to see CoCo this fall (a call to your satellite provider will do just as good - in fact, even better.)
Friday, April 16, 2010
BET revives "The Game"
(Note: This is a refurbished and retooled version of a post yours truly wrote on July 1, 2009 - updated to include more recent information, including today's announcement of "The Game" returning to television. Yes, I'm now recycling posts!)
BET announced today at its upfront presentation to advertisers in New York that canceled CW comedy The Game will make a return this fall to the cable network.
Most of the original cast - including Tia Mowry and Wendy Raquel Robinson - would return to the program, which ran on The CW for three seasons before it was canceled a year ago.
A comic take on ITV's successful British drama Footballers Wives, the series centers around the women whose husbands (or boyfriends) play for a football team named The San Diego Sabres (a team that could probably beat the real-life Detroit Lions...)
There no word yet on how many episodes will be produced, or what airdate those episodes will premiere.
Back last July, CBS Television Studios (formerly CBS Paramount Television) and Black Entertainment Television (BET) were negotiating a lower license fee so CBS can produce the series for cable.
The Game would become the first former live-action network sitcom to be revived on basic cable since The Disney Channel produced a sequel to the classic sitcom Leave It To Beaver titled Still The Beaver in 1985 (the show moved to TBS in 1986 and was retitled The New Leave It To Beaver.)
During the mid-1980's, a few canceled network sitcoms went on to be revived for first-run syndication, including Too Close For Comfort, Charles In Charge, and Mama's Family. And during the same time period, many original sitcoms popped up on cable, including Check It Out!, Brothers, and Down to Earth. But the quality of those cable shows were sub-par at best.
One thing working in The Game's favor is today's cable shows are better produced than they were in the 1980's and the 1990's with programs like Sex and the City, Entourage, and Hannah Montana leading the way. However, not working in its advantage is the likelihood of a reduced budget than the program is accustomed to, which could show up on-screen.
This was the result when Airwolf - which ran on CBS from 1984-86- moved to the USA Network in 1987 after two and a half seasons, becoming the first canceled network drama to move to basic cable with new episodes. However, the budget was cut and the entire cast was replaced. Viewers didn't like what they saw and fled for the exits. Even though this won't be the case with The Game, at least one cast member (Coby Bell) isn't expected to return - he recently accepted a gig with USA's Burn Notice.
The idea for The Game to move the cable actually came from the cast. A new season would make the series more strippable for a possible broadcast syndication run. BET currently holds the rights to the 64 existing episodes where the program has been successful as a weekday strip.
The Game was spun-off from Girlfriends, a sitcom which ran on UPN for six seasons and CW for two. Both shows were created by Mara Brock Akil. Ms. Akil's husband (Salim Akli) now takes over as showrunner.
Last June, Comedy Central and Twentieth Television agreed to produce new Futurama episodes beginning this year - seven years after Fox canceled the series, becoming the first animated sitcom ever to be revived for basic cable after its network run ended.
Thought: The Game is back, but likely with a reduced budget due to the move from CW to BET. As far as production goes, let's hope the following doesn't happen:
- Having the cast change clothes behind bushes outside instead of an actual dressing room.
- Boom mikes making "cameo" appearances.
- Sets made of lots and lots of Styrofoam.
- Making the move to shoot the show on crappy videotape.
- Moving production of the series from Los Angeles to Toronto or Vancouver - or worse, Winnipeg.
This was typical of the early "syndie quickie" first-run scripted syndicated series of the early 1970's (Dr. Simon Locke, Police Surgeon, The Starlost, The Protectors - shows practically created by PTAR) and early first-run cable sitcoms. With the economy the way it is, are studios this droll to try production techniques like this again?
The Game is the only program to date to be removed from The T Dog Media Blog TV Hall of Shame due to bouncing back from a dreadful first season and a vast improvement in quality in its second and third seasons. Unfortunately, CW pulled the plug at the show's creative peak. From yours truly's standpoint, The Game is truly welcomed back.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
The Grab Bag: "Sex" has a new home, Hawks news, and more
- It appears CoCo has caused a casualty on TBS' schedule, and its Comcastic! E! and the Style network have acquired all 94 (yes, count 'em - 94) episodes of Sex And the City, beginning in the fall of 2011. Both E! and Style are both owned by Comcast.
The former HBO series currently runs on TBS at midnight, but come fall is being pushed out in part by Conan O'Brien's new talk show and George Lopez's new show.
- The playoff-bound Chicago Blackhawks have inked a new three-year deal with WGN Radio, reaching through the end of the 2013-14 season. The games are only available to most of the nation thanks to WGN's strong clear channel signal at night, but also through WGN Radio's website.
This comes as the Blackhawks has set a new regular season ratings record for games on Comcast SportsNet: the team averaged a 2.4 household rating, up 94% from last year. Not only that, but the Blackhawks shot and scored a goal in key demos, too: In Adults 25-54, the Blackhawks earned a 1.8 rating, up a whopping 125% from a year ago.
The Blackhawks begin their run for the Stanley Cup on Friday against the Nashville Predators.
- CBS Radio Jim Ryan has been named program director of both WWFS-FM in New York and WCFS-FM (Fresh 105.9 FM) in Chicago. Guess where he'll be based? You guessed it - New York.
- Get ready for more Law & Order: NBC has ordered thirteen episodes of a new spin-off of the series, this time set in Los Angeles, titled... what else? Law & Order: Los Angeles. It's official: Hollywood has run out of ideas.
-Finally, overrated nationally syndicated morning hosts Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic - better known to their fans as Mike & Mike In The Morning on ESPN Radio, were at Borders on State Street in the Loop Monday afternoon signing copies of their new book Mike & Mike's Rules For Sports And Life. The two imbeciles were in town doing a live remote at the Cubby Bear for the Cubs' home opener.
Funny, I didn't know Borders even sold toilet paper...
The former HBO series currently runs on TBS at midnight, but come fall is being pushed out in part by Conan O'Brien's new talk show and George Lopez's new show.
- The playoff-bound Chicago Blackhawks have inked a new three-year deal with WGN Radio, reaching through the end of the 2013-14 season. The games are only available to most of the nation thanks to WGN's strong clear channel signal at night, but also through WGN Radio's website.
This comes as the Blackhawks has set a new regular season ratings record for games on Comcast SportsNet: the team averaged a 2.4 household rating, up 94% from last year. Not only that, but the Blackhawks shot and scored a goal in key demos, too: In Adults 25-54, the Blackhawks earned a 1.8 rating, up a whopping 125% from a year ago.
The Blackhawks begin their run for the Stanley Cup on Friday against the Nashville Predators.
- CBS Radio Jim Ryan has been named program director of both WWFS-FM in New York and WCFS-FM (Fresh 105.9 FM) in Chicago. Guess where he'll be based? You guessed it - New York.
- Get ready for more Law & Order: NBC has ordered thirteen episodes of a new spin-off of the series, this time set in Los Angeles, titled... what else? Law & Order: Los Angeles. It's official: Hollywood has run out of ideas.
-Finally, overrated nationally syndicated morning hosts Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic - better known to their fans as Mike & Mike In The Morning on ESPN Radio, were at Borders on State Street in the Loop Monday afternoon signing copies of their new book Mike & Mike's Rules For Sports And Life. The two imbeciles were in town doing a live remote at the Cubby Bear for the Cubs' home opener.
Funny, I didn't know Borders even sold toilet paper...
ABC O&Os renew "Wheel", "Jepoardy!" through 2014
In good news for the syndication business, two of the platform's highest-rated shows are going to be around for at least a few more years.
CBS Television Distribution's game-show duo of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! has been renewed on the seven ABC-owned and operated stations who carry the programs through 2014. The news broke a week ago on TheWrap.com.
Sony Pictures Television, which produces both shows, has also renewed pacts for the hosts of the shows (Pat Sajak and Alex Trebek and letter-turner Vanna White) for the duration of the show's run as well.
The programs are the number one and number two-rated shows in syndication respectively, and dominated the ratings for over 20 years.
The ABC deal covers WLS-TV in Chicago, as well as WABC-TV in New York, KABC-TV in Los Angeles, WPVI-TV in Philadelphia, and KGO-TV in San Francisco. Other ABC clearances include KFSN-TV in Fresno, CA and WTVD in Raleigh, N.C.
In Chicago, WLS airs Jeopardy! as a news lead-in at 3:30 p.m., where it regularly wins its time period.
CBS also renewed the programs on the Allbritton (WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C.), Fisher (KOMO-TV in Seattle and KATU in Portland, Ore.), and Meredith groups, and Fox affiliate WVUE-TV in New Orleans.
Together, the deals account for 35 percent of the country. The renewals will take Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! into their 31st and 30th seasons in syndication, respectively.
While there was some concern about high license fees for existing first-run syndicated fare, CBS was able to hold the line on license fees for Wheel and Jeopardy!, given their continued strong performances and the expected in the television business. In the recent February sweeps, both shows were up from year-ago time period averages - despite the presence of the Olympics.
Another plus is both game shows usually outperform not only the rest of the syndicated competition, but some prime-time shows as well. In some large markets, both game shows drew more viewers than the entire prime-time lineup of The CW and at least one of the major networks.
Fun Facts: Here are some items you may - or may not know about Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!:
- Wheel of Fortune actually began as a daytime NBC show in 1975 hosted by Chuck Woolery, but was replaced by Chicago native (and former Little Village resident) Pat Sajak in 1981. Vanna White replaced original letter-turner Susan Strafford a year later. Sajak left the network version of the show in 1988, which moved to CBS in July 1989 and back to NBC in 1991 to finish out its run. By the time its network run concluded, Bob Goen was your host.
- Wheel of Fortune began in syndication in September 1983, but was cleared in only 42% of the country. Among large-market stations, WPVI in Philadelphia and WDIV in Detroit are currently the longest-tenured stations, airing it since day one (WLS didn't air Wheel until January 1984, displacing a half-hour of local news.)
- What was the #1 game show in syndication before Wheel debuted? It was Family Feud, with original host Richard Dawson. Wheel beat it in the ratings for the first time in February 1984.
- While Wheel has been #1 in the Nielsens for a long time, it was displaced a few times. In 1991, a two-part episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation featuring a guest appearance by Leonard Nimoy topped the game show in the ratings for a week.
- In New York City, WABC-TV pulled off an upset in the May 1989 Nielsen book in the 7:30 p.m. time slot with Entertainment Tonight beating Wheel, which was then on WCBS-TV. In Los Angeles in the July 1989 book, ET on KNBC-TV topped Wheel, then on KCOP-TV, while Current Affair on KTTV topped Jeopardy!, also on KCOP.
In September 1990, WABC acquired Wheel to pair up with Jeopardy! and has dominated the prime access hour ever since. KABC in Los Angeles landed both shows in 1992 after KCBS-TV lost them after acquiring the duo in September 1989.
- Wheel and Jeopardy! was removed from top-rated San Francisco NBC affiliate KRON-TV in early 1992 after the station decided to push the network's prime-time schedule up an hour to 7 p.m. King World moved the shows to KGO, where they've been since. As for KRON? Early prime was a failure, and after the station was sold in 2001, KRON's NBC affiliation was yanked and has since tumbled to the Nielsen basement.
- WLS has aired Jeopardy! at 3:30 p.m. and Wheel at 6:30 p.m. since their debuts on the station (both in 1984), and have been there ever since.
- Jeopardy! was an NBC daytime staple from 1964 to 1975, dominating its time period through most of its run. It was also syndicated as a weekly during the 1974-75 season.
- When Jeopardy! returned to the airwaves in 1984, the first few months were rough: WNBC in New York buried it in a late-night slot, and lasted only a few weeks at KCBS in Los Angeles (Ironically, it would return to KCBS five years later.) WABC picked up Jeopardy! to run in the afternoon and moved it to 7 p.m. in early 1987, where it became a blockbuster hit.
- Ken Jennings won 74 games in a row on Jeopardy! in 2004 and 2005, setting game show records and taking home more than $2 million in cash.
- Jeopardy! has spun off several editions, including Rock & Roll Jeopardy!, Jep! (for kids), and Super Jeopardy!, which ran on ABC during the summer of 1990.
- In 2006, both game shows became the first syndicated game shows to be produced in high definition.
- Since 2008, Wheel and Jeopardy! has been airing from 7-8 p.m. on the CBC in Canada (except Windsor, where both shows air over WDIV in nearby Detroit.)
CBS Television Distribution's game-show duo of Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! has been renewed on the seven ABC-owned and operated stations who carry the programs through 2014. The news broke a week ago on TheWrap.com.
Sony Pictures Television, which produces both shows, has also renewed pacts for the hosts of the shows (Pat Sajak and Alex Trebek and letter-turner Vanna White) for the duration of the show's run as well.
The programs are the number one and number two-rated shows in syndication respectively, and dominated the ratings for over 20 years.
The ABC deal covers WLS-TV in Chicago, as well as WABC-TV in New York, KABC-TV in Los Angeles, WPVI-TV in Philadelphia, and KGO-TV in San Francisco. Other ABC clearances include KFSN-TV in Fresno, CA and WTVD in Raleigh, N.C.
In Chicago, WLS airs Jeopardy! as a news lead-in at 3:30 p.m., where it regularly wins its time period.
CBS also renewed the programs on the Allbritton (WJLA-TV in Washington, D.C.), Fisher (KOMO-TV in Seattle and KATU in Portland, Ore.), and Meredith groups, and Fox affiliate WVUE-TV in New Orleans.
Together, the deals account for 35 percent of the country. The renewals will take Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! into their 31st and 30th seasons in syndication, respectively.
While there was some concern about high license fees for existing first-run syndicated fare, CBS was able to hold the line on license fees for Wheel and Jeopardy!, given their continued strong performances and the expected in the television business. In the recent February sweeps, both shows were up from year-ago time period averages - despite the presence of the Olympics.
Another plus is both game shows usually outperform not only the rest of the syndicated competition, but some prime-time shows as well. In some large markets, both game shows drew more viewers than the entire prime-time lineup of The CW and at least one of the major networks.
Fun Facts: Here are some items you may - or may not know about Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!:
- Wheel of Fortune actually began as a daytime NBC show in 1975 hosted by Chuck Woolery, but was replaced by Chicago native (and former Little Village resident) Pat Sajak in 1981. Vanna White replaced original letter-turner Susan Strafford a year later. Sajak left the network version of the show in 1988, which moved to CBS in July 1989 and back to NBC in 1991 to finish out its run. By the time its network run concluded, Bob Goen was your host.
- Wheel of Fortune began in syndication in September 1983, but was cleared in only 42% of the country. Among large-market stations, WPVI in Philadelphia and WDIV in Detroit are currently the longest-tenured stations, airing it since day one (WLS didn't air Wheel until January 1984, displacing a half-hour of local news.)
- What was the #1 game show in syndication before Wheel debuted? It was Family Feud, with original host Richard Dawson. Wheel beat it in the ratings for the first time in February 1984.
- While Wheel has been #1 in the Nielsens for a long time, it was displaced a few times. In 1991, a two-part episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation featuring a guest appearance by Leonard Nimoy topped the game show in the ratings for a week.
- In New York City, WABC-TV pulled off an upset in the May 1989 Nielsen book in the 7:30 p.m. time slot with Entertainment Tonight beating Wheel, which was then on WCBS-TV. In Los Angeles in the July 1989 book, ET on KNBC-TV topped Wheel, then on KCOP-TV, while Current Affair on KTTV topped Jeopardy!, also on KCOP.
In September 1990, WABC acquired Wheel to pair up with Jeopardy! and has dominated the prime access hour ever since. KABC in Los Angeles landed both shows in 1992 after KCBS-TV lost them after acquiring the duo in September 1989.
- Wheel and Jeopardy! was removed from top-rated San Francisco NBC affiliate KRON-TV in early 1992 after the station decided to push the network's prime-time schedule up an hour to 7 p.m. King World moved the shows to KGO, where they've been since. As for KRON? Early prime was a failure, and after the station was sold in 2001, KRON's NBC affiliation was yanked and has since tumbled to the Nielsen basement.
- WLS has aired Jeopardy! at 3:30 p.m. and Wheel at 6:30 p.m. since their debuts on the station (both in 1984), and have been there ever since.
- Jeopardy! was an NBC daytime staple from 1964 to 1975, dominating its time period through most of its run. It was also syndicated as a weekly during the 1974-75 season.
- When Jeopardy! returned to the airwaves in 1984, the first few months were rough: WNBC in New York buried it in a late-night slot, and lasted only a few weeks at KCBS in Los Angeles (Ironically, it would return to KCBS five years later.) WABC picked up Jeopardy! to run in the afternoon and moved it to 7 p.m. in early 1987, where it became a blockbuster hit.
- Ken Jennings won 74 games in a row on Jeopardy! in 2004 and 2005, setting game show records and taking home more than $2 million in cash.
- Jeopardy! has spun off several editions, including Rock & Roll Jeopardy!, Jep! (for kids), and Super Jeopardy!, which ran on ABC during the summer of 1990.
- In 2006, both game shows became the first syndicated game shows to be produced in high definition.
- Since 2008, Wheel and Jeopardy! has been airing from 7-8 p.m. on the CBC in Canada (except Windsor, where both shows air over WDIV in nearby Detroit.)
"Smackdown" moves to SyFy
In a move which illustrates once again the declining clout of broadcasters - and the growingpower of cable, Vince McMahon and the WWE have announced the departure of Friday Night Smackdown from Fox's My Network TV and is moving it to NBC Universal-owned cable channel SyFy effective October 1.
SyFy smacked down Fox with a $30 million offer to WWE, topping the $20 million bid the News Corp. unit made.
This is the second time in two days cable has trumped broadcasters in a major deal. On Monday, TBS snared Conan O'Brien to do a late-night talk show, catching Fox off guard. O'Brien did Late Night for sixteen years and The Tonight Show for seven months, both for NBC.
Already, SyFy airs WWE NXT, a reality show featuring wrestlers participating in a reality show about making into the WWE big leagues (one wrestler who does appear on the show is David Otunga, who is engaged to R&B singer and Chicago native Jennifer Hudson.) In the past, SyFy aired ECW, the former stand-alone wrestling promotion which went bankrupt in 2001 but was bought out by the WWE and re-created into a brand in 2006. ECW disbanded in February.
NBC's USA Network also airs Raw, a longtime Monday night staple.
Smackdown aired for seven years on UPN when it and the WB merged to become The CW. In 2008, CW dropped Smackdown in an effort to appeal to more young women, as the show was mainly male-driven.
My Network TV picked up the show shortly thereafter, and maintained its ratings. (Recent numbers showed Smackdown drawing an average of 3.5 million viewers per week.) However, My Network TV dropped almost all original programming at the end of last season and became a "programming service", leaving Smackdown as the only show left producing new episodes. Also not helping is the lack of promotion Smackdown has received - not to mention running into delays because of sporting events (which was the case here in February and March as WPWR-TV bumped Smackdown to 10 p.m. or later to run the IHSA Boys and Girls Basketball Tournaments.)
With the move to cable, the deal marks the end of an era of sorts with no WWE programming on any over-the-air broadcast outlet or syndication this fall on a regular basis (with the exception of Raw airing on Spanish-language network Telemundo) for the first time in recent memory. In a post I wrote on February 8, 2008 regarding CW's cancellation of Smackdown, this is what I summed up if the show moved to cable:
...[b]ut a move to USA (where Raw already resides) or SciFi (the home of ECW) would also be possible, and if that happens, for the first time in over 25 years, there would be no regularly scheduled wrestling program on over-the-air television. Chalk it up to changing times in the television business. Twenty years ago, the WWE had as many as four weekly shows in broadcast syndication, including "Superstars of Wrestling" and "Wrestling Challenge".
That prophecy has indeed become true.
My Network TV is reportedly in negotiations to acquire off-network rights to USA's Burn Notice, which could fill the two hours left vacant by wrestling. But even if this were the case, the numbers wouldn't even come close to those earned by Smackdown.
Thought: Another day, another program or event lost to cable from the broadcast side. This is especially painful for My Network TV, as the "programming service's" future is now in serious jeopardy past next season. As for Fox, this is two losses in two days. Is Rupert Murdoch channeling the late "Dollar" Bill Wirtz? The former Chicago Blackhawks owner once said winning the Stanley Cup was "too expensive". I guess some broadcasters now feel the same way about acquiring - and keeping good programming, even if it does well in the ratings. One shouldn't ask the Hawks how the cheapskate plan worked out - it sent fans fleeing for the exits and resulted in a near-defamation of a franchise in which the Hawks are only now beginning to recover from. While Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews have saved the once-again Mighty Blackhawks, who will save broadcasters?
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