Reports differ on how she was released

Fox Business’ move to dump longtime host Maria Bartiromo means viewers who were spending Mornings With Maria will now .&on Thursday after twelve-and-a-half years at the helm of her morning show. 

“We thank Maria for her work over the last 12 ½ years and wish her all the best on her next chapter,” Fox said in a terse statement. Bartiromo anchored the morning business show, Friday show Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street, and Sunday Morning Futures. Effective immediately, two of those shows were renamed as Morning with Fox Business and FBN’s Wall Street.

Speculation immediately centered on Bartiromo landing a new position at NewsMax, NewsNation, or perhaps becine President Trump’s press secretary, given her close ties.

But on Thursday evening, two media newsletters – Puck and Status – reported Bartiromo was fired from the channel because she leaked an internal memo to the White House regarding Fox’s decision issuing gudiance on how to cover Trump’s false claims about the 2020 Presidential Election in a primetime speech two months ago. Fox had to pay $787 million to settle a lawsuit against Dominion Voting Machines for falsely reporting that their machines were switching votes from Trump to Biden.

According to Status, the White House was wondering why Fox wasn’t devoting as much time covering the President’s speech.  Bartiromo shared an internal text on the matter and sent it to the White House – a violation of the company’s guidelines. Bartiromo’s last appearence on Fox Business was August 9 on her Sunday Futures show.

On Friday, a lawyer for Bartiromo released a statement regarding the employer’s status with Fox News: “The irresponsible reports that have been published stating that Maria Bartiromo was fired or is no longer an employee of Fox are absolutely and unequivocally false. Make no mistake, we have the receipts and witnesses and they will come out whether through the courthouse or otherwise. Those reporting her firing or the incredulous facts supporting that fiction have exhibited a complete and utter reckless disregard for the truth.”

Fox said Friday its terse statement “speaks for itself”. Bartiromo declined to comment.

Once a media darling known for her expertise on the stock market, Bartiromo began her career at CNBC and was the first person to report directly from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Bartiromo was also on the floor on the morning of the terrorist attacks that took place on September 11, 2001, which destroyed the nearby World Trade Center.

In 2014, Fox News chief Roger Alies – who hired Bartiromo at CNBC when he was there, lured her away, giving her a new morning show on the then-upstart Fox Business, as it was looking to take on CNBC. Bartiromo also became more opinionated, supporting the policies of the Trump Administration and interviewing members of his cabinet – not to mention being cited in the Dominion lawsuit, where she was spreading falsehoods about the 2020 election to keep Fox Business’ audiences from bailing.

The alleged faux pas may have given Fox an opportunity to drop her. Even though Fox Business still leads CNBC in total-day ratings, recent ratings reports reveal that Mornings With Maria was in decline, falling behind CNBC’s Squawk Box in total viewers and even further in the key 25-54 demo. Moreover, Mornings With Maria also showed erosion in ad revenue, with just $3.7 million earned in 2025, down significantly  from $8.9 million in 2022, according to iSpot. 

While speculation centered on where Bartiromo was land next, she is still under contract with Fox until 2029, meaning it’s likely Fox Corporation will buy out her contract, though with three years left, it would be a hefty sum. 

The post Maria Bartiromo out at Fox Business first appeared on T Dog Media.

WFLD continues to overhaul its newsroom

With the midterms and Chicago mayoral race looming in the next six months, Fox-owned WFLD announced Wednesday the hiring of Brandon Pope as the station’s new political editor.

“Chicago politics has plenty of power players. I want to focus on the people impacted by them,” Pope told Axios, which first reported this story. “I’m excited to join FOX 32 Chicago and bring curiosity, accountability and a people-first approach to one of the most fascinating political cities in America.”

An Emmy Award-winning journalist who covered local and national politics, Pope was previously at Weigel’s WCIU, where he hosted the now-canceled On The Block newsmagazine show. Pope also interviewed stars of CW programming for the station when WCIU was an affiliate. Pope also hosted Making, a WBEZ podcast from 2022-24 and is the president of the Chicago chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ). Pope’s work has also been featured on WGN-AM, WVON, Ebony Magazine, and the Chicago Sun-Times.

Pope is also producing a documentary of Chicago State’s first college football season, giving Chicago proper its first Division I team since 1939 (the person who wrote this article is a CSU alum, graduating in 1996.)

“Brandon brings a deep understanding of Chicago, a strong command of the political landscape and a real ability to connect policy decisions to the people they affect,” said WFLD VP of News Content and Programming Sean O’Heir. “His experience, perspective and commitment to thoughtful reporting make him a terrific addition to the Fox 32 team.”

Pope replaces Paris Schutz in the role, who left Fox 32 in April to join NBC 5 (WMAQ.) The station is in the process of overhauling its newsroom and its programming schedule, adding new faces and bringing its streaming-only shows on its Fox Local app to linear TV, such as Chicago Live. Taking a cue from what WGN-TV has done (with the exception of syndicated Judy Justice reruns at 3 p.m.), Fox 32 has dropped most syndictated programming from its daytime schedule, moving The Jennifer Hudson Show to its lower-rated Fox Chicago Plus outlet (WPWR), which this week replaced the canceled GMFB Overtime at noon. This comes as the syndicated marketplace for shows have dried up. 

Fox Chicago Plus also added Battleground: Midterms, a new political show hosted by Bill Anderson and S.E. Cupp, with the latter hosting the first edition of the show in 2024 in the run up to the Presidential elections. It airs weekdays at 2:30 p.m. and also streams on Fox Local and USA Today’s streaming channel.

So what drew Pope to Fox 32? The station’s expansion of programming on multiple platforms, allowing him to tell his stories in more places as viewers are consuming content on more than just one platform. “What excites me most about Fox Chicago is their commitment to telling stories on multiple platforms, especially streaming and podcasting,” Pope said to Axios. “It’s a perfect fit for a jack-of-all-trades journalist like me.”

The post Brandon Pope joins Fox 32 as political reporter first appeared on T Dog Media.

Targets gamers, who are among the most prominent cord-cutters

In a first, a gaming console will have a built-in portal to access free advertising supported streaming television (FAST) channels – and you don’t have to even download an app. 

Starting Monday (August 31), Sony’s PlayStation 5 – or PS5 for short, is introducing Live TV on PS5 for game console owners, offering the typical fare found on such services – movies, comedies, reality shows, podcasts, sports, children’s programming, creator-curated content, anime, and more. Viewers can access the services on the “media” tab on their home page, and click on the TV icon, leading you to Live TV on PS5. You will need to sign in to your Playstation account to access the channels. 

Content providers includes fare from Amazon MGM, A&E, Fox, Lionsgate, NASCAR, NBCUniversal, The NFL, and UFC, among others.

The portal has movie streaming from MovieSphere by Lionsgate, 50 Cent Action, FilmRise Free Movies, Sony One Horror Hits and Cinevault, with all also providing 24/7 streaming channels. Sony itself also has several other dedicated channels, incluidng Sony One Comedy, Get Comedy, Sony One Faves, and the TV sitcoms Bewitched and Community. 

The rest of the content is those you would commonly find on other portals, including news channels NBC News Now, ABC News Live, Fox Weather, and LiveNow from Fox; sports programming include the NFL Channel, NBC Sports Now, and UFC; and other genres including true crime, gaming, automotive, and curated creative content.

And yes, you’ll find tons of anime content on Live TV on PS5 with fourteen dedicated channels (including one devoted to Sailor Moon) with Sony’s Crunchyroll providing content for two of them.

So why launch a Live TV FAST portal on a PS5? Simple – so advertisers can target gamers, who are among the hardest people to reach in media, especially young male demos who owns these machines (hence, all the anime channels.)

“When you look at sort of the habits and behaviors of this community, they are gaming and engaging with video and they’re probably not showing up in other connected TV environments often,” says Peter Wood, executive vice president of consumer platforms and services at Sony Pictures Entertainment, as reported by Variety.

Sony plans to continuously update programming and add new channels, and launch the service in Canada and other international territories soon. Notable channels missing so far include CBS Sports HQ and Dateline, which are available just about everywhere else. 

This is not the first time Sony has had a TV service on its Playstation consoles. In 2015, Sony launched a paid Playstation Vue virtual streaming service on its PS3 and PS4 models, which like current offerings YouTube TV and Fubo, let you subscribe to numerous cable and broadcast TV channels for a lower price, targeting cord-cutters. But after Sony dropped Viacom’s channels from the service in late 2016, Playstation Vue started losing subscribers, and folded in January 2020, with Sony blaming high content and retransmission costs.  

Even though Sony is offering Live TV on PS5 starting Monday, apps for similar FAST portals were already available through their app store with Plex, Pluto TV, Tubi, and Amazon’s Prime Video, which folded its Freevee FAST channel service into the Prime Video app under the “live TV” tab (and for some reason, the now-defuct Redbox app is still available to download.)

In all, there are a little over 100 channels available in Live TV on PS5 to start. Guiding through the channel guide is difficult, using the L1 and R1 buttons on the controller, which does not make for a great browsing experience. Sound was also missing at times on some of the channels, so not exactly a great start, but should improve other time. 

Disclosure: The person who wrote this piece is a Playstation 5 owner.

Editor’s Note: An earlier draft incorrectly stated Bloomberg TV was not on the service. 

The post Sony’s PS5 console adds FAST channel portal to system first appeared on T Dog Media.

He’ll sit opposite David Haugh; Payton left WGN-TV last month

As speculated this weekend, David Haugh’s new co-host in morning drive on Audacy-owned 104.3 The Score (WSCR) is Jarrett Payton, the former WGN-TV sportscaster who departed the Nexstar-owned station nearly four weeks ago. Payton replaces Mike Mulligan, who was fired last Friday after more than a decade at the station.

The new Haugh & Payton show premieres next Monday, August 31 – nine days before the NFL season is officially set to kickoff. 

The shift from a nightly television role to a radio one is rare; current 104.3 The Score midday co-host Leila Rahimi was also a sports anchor at NBC 5 (WMAQ-TV) while maintaining her TV gig, but she gave up her daily role (cut back to just one appearance a week) at the sports talk station when she was promoted to a full-time a sports anchor after only appearing on Sports Sunday. Rahimi was later dropped by NBC 5, but resumed her daily presence on The Score in April 2025.

This is Payton’s first full-time radio gig. 

“I’m truly excited and deeply honored to join the team at The Score”, said Payton in a press release. “I’m looking forward to working alongside everyone there and connecting with the loyal listeners who make this station what it is. This place has always felt like family to me. My dad graced these airwaves back in the ’90s, and the thought of being part of that same legacy means everything. Grateful beyond words for this opportunity. Let’s get to work.”

“Today marks an exciting new chapter for The Score,” added WSCR vice president Mitch Rosen. “We’re excited to welcome Jarrett Payton and believe his experience, perspective and deep connection to Chicago and its great fan bases will be a tremendous addition to our morning show alongside David Haugh.”

As the son of Bears legendary running back Walter Payton, he played football at the University of Miami, then for the Tennessee Titans and in the CFL before transforming into broadcasting, where he joined CLTV’s Sports Desk in 2015, then joined WGN-TV’s news team after CLTV closed in 2019. 

In 2020, WGN launched GN Sports, a late-night sports wrap-up show with Payton being paired with Dan Roan. The show has held its own in the ratings opposite late-night talk show hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, and Stephen Colbert, whose show has since been replaced by Byron Allen’s Comics Unleashed. Payton also appeared on WGN’s prime-time streaming show The Sports Office.

Payton’s departure from WGN came six months after Nexstar laid off staff at its big-market local stations with nine let go at WGN (one of those names – Chris Boden – has since returned to partially fill the departure left by Payton.) While Payton stated he wanted to “spend more than with his family”, he may have seen the handwriting on the wall with the Nexstar layoffs and his soon-to-expire contract. As everyone knows, television journalism is subtracting employees, not adding them as evidence by the 250+ layoffs at Scripps earlier this month as they pivot more toward AI. Payton let it be known he did not want another television gig at another local station, stating he was open to working with WGN down the road, so he left on good terms. 

But is Payton’s shift to radio a good move? Radio is notorious for regular cutbacks over the last two decades as layoffs lists have become common in the medium. Two weeks ago, Cumulus announced it was cutting staff at its stations, including staff at an entire hip-hop station in Kansas City – including the format itself. Audacy could use Payton in other roles with the company (perhaps as a podcaster, which is a rapidly expanding medium), as he is more nationally recognizably known nationally as he and his sister Brittany are at the NFL Honors every year presenting the Walter Payton Man Of The Year Award and hosted football-related specials syndicated exclusively to Nexstar stations. 

But as we all know, media companies are looking to consolidate, which means tons of cutbacks to pay off the debt incurred (Nexstar is in the process of buying rival broadcaster Tegna, but the transaction is on hold due to antitrust issues.) Payton trading one declining medium for another sounds crazy where job security is even worse, but hey, we’ve all got to eat.  

The post Jarrett Payton joins 104.3 The Score as new morning co-host first appeared on T Dog Media.

Station plans to announce a new co-host Monday for David Haugh 

Audacy sports talk 104.3 The Score has dropped longtime host Mike Mulligan and Marshall Harris in what appears to be a cost-cutting move. Mulligan had been WSCR since 2008, and co-hosted AM drive with David Haugh since 2018, who replaced Brian Hanley in the role. Mulligan is a former Sun-Times sportswriter and contributor to Fox 32’s Bears pre-game shows.

Marshall Harris was also dropped by the station. He co-hosted middays with Leila Rahimi and Mark Grote as they will continue in those roles. Harris arrived at WSCR in September 2024 after being laid off from CBS Chicago, where he was sports director and anchor. Harris was first paired with Dan Bernstein, but after he was fired after posting a controversial item on social media, Rahimi became his co-host. Harris has recently appeared as a fill-in sports anchor at ABC 7.

104.3 The Score vice President Mitch Rosen shared this memo with staffers: 

“Today, we made some very difficult programming decisions. After more than 20 years with The Score, we have parted ways with Mike Mulligan of the “Mully and Haugh Show.” Mully has been a vital part of The Score family and a major part of our history and success. We are incredibly grateful for his many contributions over the past two decades.

I wish Mully nothing but the best in whatever comes next from the bottom of my heart. We will announce a new morning show co-host on Monday.

Also, we parted ways with Marshall Harris. We thank Marshall for his time with The Score. He has been a great teammate and an important part of our team, and we wish him the very best in the future. Starting Monday, the “Rahimi & Grote Show” will air in its current timeslot of 10am-2pm.” These decisions are never easy, and today was especially difficult for everyone involved. I know there will be questions, and I understand that.”

WSCR plans to hire a new host to replace Mulligan; the announcement is expected on Monday.

The moves come as the new NFL season kicks off in over two weeks. Audacy expanded the reach of WSCR by replacing its low-rated classic hip-hop format on the 104.3 frequency February 1 and rebranded as 104.3 The Score. In July, the combined WSCR AM/FM broadcast placed thirteenth according to Nielsen (Hubbard’s 101.9 The Mix remained on top.). WSCR’s performance is flat from June, despite airing games from a red-hot Cubs team. Still, WSCR remains ahead of Good Karma Brands’ ESPN 1000 (WMVP-AM), which tied for 23rd, just behind Power 92, whose ratings crashed right back to earth after a surge in June.

The post Audacy cuts Mulligan, Harris from 104.3 The Score first appeared on T Dog Media.

The latest chapter in dramatic saga

Disney laid down the gauntlet like Thor against the FCC Tuesday as the company has filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the agency over its broadcast licenses of its eight ABC-owned stations, stating its regulatory actions and investigations are “retaliatory”.

In the lawsuit, Disney stated that “[A]cting through the Federal Communications Commission, the [Trump] Administration has waged a retaliatory campaign against ABC for a single reason: it disapproves of what ABC broadcasts,” referring to Jimmy Kimmel’s jokes about the President on his late-night show and whether or not to count The View as a talk show exempt from equal-time rules. 

Filed in Washington D.C. District Court, the lawsuit also seeks to stop proceedings through a restraining order and an injunction related to broadcast licenses in eight cities, including WLS-TV in Chicago. In April, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr ordered an early license renewal review of ABC’s eight stations, which weren’t due until 2028 or later. Carr was named in the suit, as was commissioners Olivia Trusty and for litigation reasons, Anna Gomez, who as a Democrat, blasted her own agency for its actions.

The suit mentioned numerous infractions Trump has accused the network of, including the 2024 Presidential debate they aired, and a joke Kimmel made about Charlie Kirk after his death last September, which led station groups Nexstar and Sinclair to temporarily pull the show, which forced ABC to suspend it.

The license review came shortly after Kimmel made a joke about Trump’s appreance, saying his wife Melania looked like “an expected widow”, with the FCC stating it was because of “DEI violations”. With the public comment period now closed, the agency could start a hearing designation soon, which starts the adjudication process. 

“Any FCC adjudication would be a charade. The Commission cannot lawfully grant renewal this early in the license terms—the only outcomes on the table are adverse to Plaintiffs”, ABC’s lawsuit continued. “At one extreme, the Commission may intentionally prolong the adjudicative process, miring ABC in years of costly litigation, with the threat of adverse action ever present and with every editorial judgment shadowed by the prospect of provoking the Administration into further retaliation.”

In recent comments, Carr said that ABC’s refusal to air a Presidential address on its linear network on July 16 (they streamed it through ABC News Live instead) would be part of the review – even though major networks and local stations are not required to, something this space has pointed out before. The address, featuring Trump’s continuing (and tiring) claims about the 2020 elections, wasn’t carried by NBC, or Nexstar’s WGN-TV in Chicago, which usually carries Presidential addresses but decided to stick with CW programming instead.The FCC responsed to the lawsuit with the same canned language it has always used throughout this ordeal: “Disney is obviously very concerned about the FCC’s proceeding, as evidenced by their ongoing campaign of disinformation as well as their decision to ask a court to stop the FCC from further pursuing matters. The FCC will continue to follow the facts and law wherever they lead”, which is odd given Trump made, once again, repeated false claims about the 2020 elections in his primetime speech. Carr thought it was in the “public interest” (it wasn’t), a phrase he has pushed repeatedly since he was appointed FCC Chair. 

In June, ABC took the issues with the FCC to the streets, asking viewers to send comments to the agency. More than 150,000 comments were received, including from some local Chicago organizations, including the Greater Chicago Food Depository, Lurie’s Children’s Hospital, The Chicago Urban League, and the Illinois Broadcasters Association, according to the Chicago Tribune. 

In Raleigh-Durham where ABC owns WTVD, support came from the Big Brothers Big Sisters Of The Triangle, Carolina Theater of Durham, Food Bank Of Eastern and Central Carolina, and the Duke Cancer Institute, according to the Raleigh News & Observer. 

Other support across the eight markets came from local police, firefighters, churches, schools, non-profits, and businesses. In all, 95 percent of the comments were supportive of Disney and ABC. 

Many former FCC chairs, commissioners, and staff across the political spectrum also filed their support for Disney, including former chairmen Al Sikes and Tom Wheeler. 

The real question is this – would Carr factor this outpouring of support in his decision to pursue this? Or would he follow the orders of his boss at the White House because he doesn’t like what content the network puts on? Keep in mind only four stations have ever lost their licenses in history, with the last being 35 years ago when the then-owners of WSNS lost theirs during a decade-long battle. No station group has ever lost their entire group of licenses – it’s advisable that Carr does not get on the wrong side of history. 

The post Disney files First Amendment lawsuit against the FCC over station license challenges first appeared on T Dog Media.

Another way to watch White Sox, Bulls, and Blackhawks

Just in time to watch the second leg of the Crosstown Classic, Chicago Sports Network (CHSN) announced Monday that Amazon Prime subscribers can buy the streaming version of the regional sports network on their platform throughout its territory.

“From day one our goal has been to make CHSN as accessible as possible for Chicago sports fans”, said CHSN President and CEO Mike McCarthy. “Launching on Prime Video gives fans another convenient way to watch the Bulls, Blackhawks, and White Sox while continuing to expand how and where they can access our live games, and original programming. “

The price point remains the same: $19.99 a month for one team, and $29.99 a month for all three. 

The announcement comes as the Crosstown Classic between the Cubs and the White Sox is taking place over the next three nights at Wrigley Field, with a simulcast of all three games on Weigel independent WCIU (for Cubs fans, games will air on Marquee Sports Network, but with no over-the-air outlet.) WCIU is carrying ten White Sox games this season. 

The network is available on i9n the subscriptions section on Prime Video’s app, where consumers can also subscribe to other streaming services including Marquee, Peacock, Paramount Plus, Apple TV, Fox One, NBA and WNBA League Pass, CNN All Access, and more. 

The Cubs and the White Sox are having successful seasons this year as both are in playoff contention. The White Sox’s run is quite remarkable given just two years ago, the team finished with a 41-121 record – the worst Major League Baseball record of all time. As of this writing, the White Sox are in first place in the AL Central, with a commanding 5.5 lead over the Detroit Tigers. With the success, ratings for White Sox games on CHSN are up from last season and from 2024. The first Crosstown Classic series at Rate Field earlier this year was also a big ratings hit for WCIU, prompting the station and the team to swap two non-Cubs games off WCIU’s schedule and add the rest of the Wrigley Field games. Originally, WCIU was to carry only the August 17 game.

CHSN is also excited to have the Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane in the fold as the three-time Stanley Cup winner re-signed with the team after being traded to the New York Rangers several years ago. He will be teammates with Connor Bedard, who is experiencing yet another injury and won’t be ready to be in the lineup until sometime in November. Kane previously played in the Detroit Red Wings. 

CHSN is available on its own app and website, and also on Fubo, DirecTV, Comcast, Astound, DirecTV and its streaming counterpart, U-Verse, and over-the-air digital subchannels in a handful of markets outside of Illinois.  

The post CHSN now available on Amazon Prime Video first appeared on T Dog Media.

2-1 vote will have implications for TV

As expected, the FCC has eliminated the station ownership cap and instead evaluate station purchases on a “case-by-case” basis. 

Republicans Brendan Carr and Olivia Trusty voted to drop the 39 percent cap; Anna Gomez, the lone Democrat on the panel, voted against its repeal. The vote is an early Christmas present for Sinclair Broadcasting and Nexstar, whose merger with Tegna is being held up by the courts as it would give Nexstar coverage in 80 percent of the country. Meanwhile, Sinclair is expected to ramp up merger and acquisition activity on its own. 

The case-by-case scenario would also give Carr and the agency more power in determining who owns what. Given Carr is aligned with President Trump, he could approve a station sale in Detroit or Atlanta to conservative broadcaster Sinclair, but could deny NBC the same opportunity in those cities as Trump has called NBC and ABC “fake news”. In other words, the agency can now choose which owner is best suited to serve their city by approving or denying an transaction – even if they doesn’t align with their interests.

Thursday’s action would certainly be challenged in court, saying only Congress has the power to change the cap. But what this means is this move paves the way for broadcasters to consolidate, as they and the NAB claim it’s the only way to complete against unregulated big tech companies.

“It is time to restore balance to the broadcast airwaves,” Carr said. “Repealing the national cap will provide essential relief for local broadcasters by restoring a healthy counterbalance to the growing leverage of national programmers.”

On the other side, Gomez warned about more consolidation. “The large station groups positioned to grow even larger under this decision are not local broadcasters, they are national companies that own local stations and increasingly dictate what airs on them. Trading a squeeze from Big Tech for a squeeze from Big Media does nothing to protect the communities this cap was designed to serve.”

The cap’s removal would mean some significant changes for television. For one, empowered station groups would produce more local news and other programs on a shoestring budget, eliminating the need for syndicated programming (Fox-owned WFLD-TV did exactly that this week by adding the limp Chicago Live from its Fox Local streaming channel and shoved its syndicated shows to Fox Chicago Plus.) The groups would also not only have more leverage over the broadcast networks on financial matters such as “reverse” compensation, but also over program content as Nexstar and Sinclair pulled ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live over a joke he made about Charlie Kirk last September.

And with more leverage, station groups will likely demand more retransmission money from cable and satellite providers, which could lead to higher bills and accelerate cord-cutting as more viewers – especially younger ones (what’s left of them) head for the exits for YouTube and streamers – the very platforms hamstringing broadcasters in the first place.

The vote also coincidentally came on the same week broadcast groups announced their quarterly earnings. Nexstar reported record revenue thanks to its merger with Tegna, the success of the World Cup, and increased political advertising, while Sinclair also showed earnings growth. On the other hand, Scripps’ earnings plunged, thanks to now-resolved program disputes with DirecTV and Comcast. 

Station groups claim raising the cap to buy more stations would help them invest more in local news. But the opposite happened in the past year, as these same groups have made sweeping layoffs with Nexstar cutting on-air personnel at WGN-TV and other top-market stations in February and Scripps cutting 268 positions this week, with KJRH Tulsa and KRIS Corpus Christi, Tex. hit very hard.

Don’t be surprised if Congress repeals the law to get rid of the cap if the FCC loses in court as Republicans, whom many support Carr’s actions, controls both houses – but they may have to act soon as the midterms are approaching this fall and are projected to lose several seats to Democrats. 

With the cap gone, there’s speculation the FCC could turn to radio next as several broadcast groups are already lobbying the agency to modify or eliminate existing ownership rules. 

The post The FCC votes to eliminate station ownership cap first appeared on T Dog Media.

Shifts affiliation to a KMOV subchannel; KDNL becomes an independent 

This post was updated on September 1. 

Just hours after Nexstar announced it was dropping CBS from six of its stations comes word that ABC is looking to make an affiliation change in St. Louis as the network agreed to take over the 32.1 channel of CBS affiliate KMOV (which broadcasts on 4.1) starting Sept. 1, taking over from current ABC affiliate KDNL.

KMOV would have access to ABC’s most prolific programming, including The Grammys, next year’s Oscars, and sporting events such as Monday Night Football, Super Bowl XLI, the NBA Finals, and the 2028 Stanley Cup Final.

The news was first reported on Thursday by Deadline.

“This is a landmark moment for St. Louis viewers and a testament to our commitment to local journalism,” said KMOV Vice President and General Manager JD Sosnoff. “By bringing ABC programming to KMOV, we are not only expanding entertainment options but, more importantly, delivering vital local news and public service to a community that has been underserved in this area. KMOV’s award-winning news team is uniquely positioned to provide the high-quality, local coverage that St. Louis families deserve.”

There was no comment from KDNL owner Sinclair, which became an independent Sept. 1, retaining syndicated shows Tamron Hall, Family Feud, and The Simpsons. 

The move could be a part of a bigger swap between Gray and Sinclair; one source suggested Gray swaps its two stations in Atlanta to Sinclair and may try to purchase top-rated WSB-TV from Cox. Gray is based in the nation’s seventh-largest market as is in a pivotal political swing state, which brings in a lot of revenue.

ABC’s move to a digital subchannel is becoming an increasing trend. On Thursday, CBS agreed to relocate to digital channels in deals with Hearst and Forum Communications after Nexstar declined to renew its affiliations in six markets. Last year, ABC moved to the dot-two channel of WSVN Miami after it wasn’t able to come to terms with longtime affiliate WPLG, and CBS moved its affiliation to its owned station in Atlanta after Gray’s WANF didn’t renew.

Located on Channel 30, KDNL had been with ABC since August 1995 when original affiliate KTVI shifted to Fox as part of the Fox-New World deal struck a year earlier. KDNL had been without a local news operation since 2001, a sore spot for ABC as KDNL is currently the only top-50 Big 3 network station without one. Low ratings had also been a problem as ABC historically underperformed in St. Louis, whether if its at KDNL or KTVI, which often battled the network over time-shifting programming such as Nightline, and once eliminated compensation to the station.

The affiliation shift marks the latest change in the St. Louis media landscape. Last month, Audacy announced it was selling its St. Louis radio cluster to Winnetka-based The Hoffmann Group, which also owns Lee Newspapers, publishers of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and The Times of Northwest Indiana (nwi.com.) The sale includes heritage KMOX-AM, home of the St. Louis Cardinals. Until 1986, both KMOX-AM and KMOV (then known as KMOX-TV) were under CBS ownership when the latter was sold. 

The sale of Tegna’s NBC affiliate KSDK to KTVI/KPLR owner Nexstar is on hold as the merger between the two companies is being held up by the courts. 

The post Report: ABC to move affiliation in St. Louis first appeared on T Dog Media.

Ellisons angling to take case to Supreme Court

The blockbuster Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger may have to wait a while to commence. 

In the face of continuing legal troubles, Paramount has agreed to postpone closing its deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery until next summer.

This comes as twelve state AGs and the Writer’s Guild of America have sued to block the merger on anti-trust grounds, believing it would raise prices, reduce job opportunities, and reduce choice for consumers. On Monday, a judge issued a temporary restraining order for two weeks, and then extended it in order to sort out the issues, guaranteeing the case will reach trial. Paramount has pushed back the closing date of the deal numerous times, saying it would close by July, then late September, and now agreed with the court to delay closing the deal as late as June 1, 2027 or when the court decides to rule on the matter – which ever comes first. 

The delay will certainly raise the price of the acquisition for Paramount, as a ticking fee of 25 cents per share – or $7 million per day and $650 million per quarter to Warner shareholders – kicks in on September 30 if the deal isn’t closed by this date. If the deal falls through, Paramount would owe WBD a $7 billion breakup fee.

Despite the likelihood of increased cost of the acquisition and the possibility of the deal collapsing, Paramount desperately spun this as a “win” for them. 

“The result is exactly what we have sought from the outset: a direct path to a trial based on the evidence”, they said. “This is the fastest and clearest way to prove that this transaction is good for competition, good for consumers, and good for creators, a conclusion dozens of competition authorities around the world have already reached,” the company said. “Plaintiffs’ market definitions bear no relationship to the realities of today’s marketplace and cannot withstand scrutiny. We look forward to proving our case at trial.”

The plaintiffs also declared victory on Friday. 

“Our argument against this illegal merger is straightforward: When too few corporations have too much power in markets central to American life, it makes things more expensive, and it makes things worse,” California AG Rob Bonta said in a statement Friday, who is leading the charge for the states. “Today’s agreement is great news for audiences, movie theaters, and the many people who write, build, and create the art, news, and entertainment so many of us enjoy. We are eager to continue to make our case in court and celebrate another tremendous win in our effort to ensure this unlawful merger never sees the light of day.”

Earlier this week, the European Union cleared the merger, with conditions. The Justice Department rubber-stamped the merger earlier this year with no conditions. 

Paramount owner David Ellison, and his chief financing backer, Oracle founder and his father Larry, plan to build a case as this heads to trial. If Paramount loses this case in court, they’ll likely appeal to the Ninth Ciruit Court, and to the U.S. Supreme Court – that is, if they agree to hear the case. The Court has sided with big business interests in the past, and this would have repercussions for all businesses no matter which way any verdict lands – especially if it comes to the nation’s anti-trust laws. 

WBD. originally planned to split the struggling company into two, with Netflix acquiring the Warner Bros. television and film portions, but those plans changed when Paramount with the backing of the elder Ellison, made a hostile bid for the whole company. WBD shareholders abandoned the idea and accepted Ellison’s bid, stunning Hollywood and media observers alike, as no company has ever prevailed on a hostile takeover of any media property. The last hostile takeover attempt involved Paramount itself in 1994, when it fended off Barry Diller’s QVC after it agreed to take a bid from Viacom. 

The post Legal issues delay Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger until next year first appeared on T Dog Media.