Shifts affiliation to a KMOV subchannel; future of current affiliate KDNL unknown 

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 reportedly agreed to take over the 4.2 channel of CBS affiliate KMOV 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.

So far, there has been no comment from KMOV owner Gray Media, KDNL owner Sinclair, or ABC. In fact, a distribution executive for Gray told The Desk his company was not aware of any deal and hasn’t contacted any cable or satellite provider about any changes. It is unknown if KDNL would be an independent, or carry one of Sinclair’s digital networks (such as Charge, Roar, etc.) as a replacement. 

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.

Cities include Albuquerque, Birmingham

Editor’s Note: This post was updated on July 24 to clarify the channel position of each new CBS station. 

In news that was first reported by The Desk, Nexstar Media Group renewed its CBS affiliations in 36 markets, but is parting ways with the network in six others, with CBS landing on digital subchannels in each.

The Nexstar CBS renewals include two downstate stations – the top-rated WCIA Champaign and WMBD Peoria, with others including WNCN Raleigh-Durham, and WFRV Green Bay, Wis.

But Nexstar is cutting ties with CBS in six markets on August 1, and in some cases, replacing the affiliation with The CW, which it acquired a controlling stake of in 2022, while CBS signed four Hearst stations and two Forum Communications outlets as replacements:

Albuquerque: KRQE is replacing CBS with Fox, since they already had the affiliation on a dot-two channel, with ABC affiliate KOAT taking the CBS network on its 7.4 channel, as rumors of the move was tipped on FTV Live on Monday. Previous Fox affiliates in Albuquerque were the former KGSW-TV and KASA, which is now owned by Telemundo/NBCUniversal. KRQE’s move to Fox is notable given the Dallas Cowboys have a strong fan base in Albuquerque, and the network carries a majority of their games. 

Birmingham, Ala.: Nexstar’s WIAT – which signed on as a CBS affiliate as WBMG-TV in 1965, is becoming a CW affiliate, shifting away from Sinclair’s WTTO. CBS is moving to Hearst’s WTVM 13.4 channel, while NBC remains on 13.1. This is a reunion of sorts, as WVTM aired both NBC and CBS programming in the 1950s and 1960s when it was known as WAPI-TV, even sticking with the dual affilaition after WBMG signed on, lasting until 1970. The last major affiliation switch took place here 30 years ago as part of the Fox-New World deal.

Spartanburg, S.C.: WSPA will also become a CW affiliate with CBS moving to Hearst’s WYFF, Channel 4.3. Located in the Greenville-Spartansburg-Ashville (N.C.) market, WSPA had been a CBS affiliate since 1956. CW programming had run on Nexstar’s WYCW on Channel 62; it’s not known what would replace it. 

Jackson, Miss.: WJTV is also becoming a CW affiliate, regulating CBS to a dot-four channel of Hearst ABC affiliate WAPT (16.4). WJTV had been a CBS affiliate since it signed on in 1953, while WAPT signed in in 1970.

In addition, Forum Communications’ satellite stations – KBMY Bismarck, N.D. and KMCY Minot, N.D., will add CBS programming to its channels – both currently carry MyNetworkTV programming, and are semi-satellites of ABC Affiliate WDAY Fargo, N.D. (Bismarck and Minot share the same TV market.) In Rapid City, S.D., Forum’s KNBN will also take CBS programming. In all three markets, the CBS affilaitions were owned by Nexstar’s “KX Television” group, consisting of KXMB Bismarck, KXMC Minot, and KMXD Williamson, N.D. 

“We are pleased to have entered into several new CBS Television Network affiliation agreements, including extending our long-standing partnership with Nexstar, expanding our relationship with Hearst Television and welcoming Forum Communications Company into the CBS family,” the network told The Desk via e-mail. “CBS has an unwavering commitment to our audience, and we are excited to continue to deliver our leading sports, news and entertainment programming to viewers across the country.”

There’s been tensions between Nexstar and the broadcast networks as the Irving, Tex. is buying rival broadcaster Tegna, but is currently on hold by the courts, stating they have too much leverage when it comes to numerous issues, including retransmission content funds, pre-emptions, and “reverse” compensation. 

To fill the time in lieu of CBS programming, Nexstar will air more newscasts and locally-produced “community programming” – similar to what you currently see on its Chicago station, WGN-TV. Last year, WPLG Miami ended its 60-plus years relationship with ABC and became a news-intensive independent with network programming shifting to WSVN’s dot-two channel – the same WSVN who pioneered the news-intensive independent format in 1989 after losing its longtime NBC affiliation to WTVJ, which the network bought two years earlier. Now, Nexstar is looking to replicate that model in the markets where it decided to drop CBS.

Despite its lower costs, the replacement programming would be hard-pressed to match the ratings CBS brings, as it has the top-rated daytime and primetime schedules, and premier sports programming such as the NFL, The Masters, and NCAA March Madness. Or maybe, it was the cost of providing such programming through “reverse compensation” that drove Nexstar away in those six markets in the first place. 

The post Nexstar shifts affiliations, drops CBS in six markets first appeared on T Dog Media.

Audacy to have 41 local stations on its platform

In a sign of changing times in radio, SiriusXM is adding Audacy’s news and sports talk stations to its platforms, including NewsRadio 105.9 FM (WBBM-AM 780/WCFS-FM 105.9) and 104.3 The Score (WSCR-AM/FM.) 

Audacy is adding the sports talk stations first, meaning you will hear 104.3 The Score on SiriusXM beginning September 1, just in time for the new NFL season. WSCR, WFAN New York City, and six others will be made available to satellite subscribers and on the streaming platform. Fifteen other sports talk stations will be made available on the SiriusXM app and through SiriusXM’s 360L platform in vehicles. SiriusXM is paying Audacy to carry the stations, and can insert national advertising in the feeds in lieu of local commercials.

Eighteen news and talk stations will debut on SiriusXM later this year; it isn’t known if KMOX St. Louis would be one of them as it and five other Audacy stations in the area are being sold to Winnetka-based The Hoffmann Group. KMOX carries St. Louis Cardinals baseball. 

“Audacy’s sports brands are deeply connected to the cities, teams and fan communities they serve, and being able to extend our reach nationally through SiriusXM is a natural fit”, said Audacy President and CEO Kelli Turner. “We look forward to working together with SiriusXM to bring our outstanding talent and content to sports fans and news and talk listeners wherever they are, providing our audiences with more ways to stay connected to the conversations that matter most to them.”

SiriusXM President and Chief Content Officer Scott Greenstein focused more on the sports talk stations coming to the platform: 

“SiriusXM is the essential audio home for sports fans, offering access to every team and game alongside an unmatched lineup of national sports talk, expert analysis, and the biggest voices in sports”, he said. “We also recognize the unique role local personalities play in connecting fans with their teams every day. By adding Audacy’s extensive lineup of sports stations, we’re making those trusted hometown voices available to fans wherever they are across North America. Together, we’re delivering an even more complete audio experience – bringing live games, premier national sports talk, and hometown conversations together in one place.”

SiriusXM had a terrestrial radio deal with iHeartMedia’s KIIS-FM Los Angeles until 2022, a leftover from a previous deal with XM before it merged with Sirius and XM, as it hosted the company’s Top 40 stations (then known as Clear Channel.)

This latest turning point for SiriusXM is interesting, as one of its biggest attractions announced recently he was reducing his output of new shows to only per week as his contract expires in 2028. Howard Stern made waves in 2006, signing with Sirius Satellite Radio and poaching him away from terrestrial broadcaster Infinity Radio – the same Infinity (under former Viacom/CBS ownership) that’s now known as Audacy. SiriusXM had been bleeding subscribers for years, as listeners aren’t ponying up $35 per month for an entire suite of channels. 

Recently, SiriusXM and iHeartMedia were in merger discussions, but nothing came out of it.

SiriusXM is now one of several platforms Audacy’s content is available. All of Audacy’s stations – including those who have music formats, are available on iHeartRadio app, Stingray’s TuneIn, and of course, Audacy’s own app.

The post WBBM Newsradio 105.9, 104.3 The Score join SiriusXM’s lineup first appeared on T Dog Media.

Currently at 39 percent; radio is likely next

In news that will certainly prompt a legal challenge, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced Wednesday morning the agency will vote on August 6 to eliminate the 39 percent national television ownership cap, despite Congress having the final say on whether or not to do so. Instead of relying on the cap, the agency will evaluate individual station deals, and determine them on a case-by-case basis, no matter what kind of reach a single broadcaster has. 

With the FCC at just three members – two Republican and one Democrat, the motion is expected to sail through, but their action is likely unlawful since the FCC only has the authority to raise or reduce the cap – not eliminate it. By law, Congress is the only body that can eliminate the station ownership cap. 

Carr insists the move is necessary so local stations can compete with well-funded big tech interests. But he also blamed big, blue-voting cities such as New York and Los Angeles for controlling too much of what America watches. “New York and Hollywood interests have steamrolled those local TV stations and the broader media market in recent years in ways that run directly counter to the regulatory framework that Congress and the FCC put in place,” Carr wrote on Breitbart, a conservative news website. “Repealing the national cap will provide essential relief for local broadcasters by restoring a healthy counterbalance to the growing leverage of national programmers. Increased scale will enable broadcasters to attract the capital and advertising revenue needed to sustain and produce trusted and community-focused news and programming.”

The news is a huge boon for two broadcasters – WGN-TV and WGN-AM owner Nexstar and Sinclair Broadcasting, with each having strong ties to the Trump Administration, who supports deregulation of the television business. Nexstar has a deal to buy rival Tegna, giving them 80 percent coverage across the country, but is being held up in the courts over antitrust issues with a similar scenario likely to play out with the Warner Bros. Discovery-Paramount merger. 

Some conservatives and the National Association of Broadcasters have long wanted to get rid of the cap; they believe the regulations are hamstringing them, as they point out that other platforms – first cable and satellite and now streaming – doesn’t face those kind of rules. 

Opposition to the changes came swift after they were announced. Already hit hard by cord-cutting, cable and satellite companies would have to fork out more to broadcasters, which could raise prices for consumers and more blackouts, who are cord-cutting for that very same reason. One of the leading proponents is DirecTV, which is suing to stop the Nexstar-Tegna merger, as is the lone FCC Democrat on the comission, Anna Gomez.

“This unlawful effort to hand control of the public airwaves to billionaire buddies of this administration will destroy local newsrooms, silence community reporting, and drive-up costs for the American families who depend on local stations for news and emergency alerts,” Gomez said. “A free and diverse media landscape depends on real limits on how much of the public airwaves any one company can control, and this FCC is now poised to allow local broadcasters to sell those airwaves off to the highest bidder. Congress set the 39 percent national ownership cap in federal law, and only Congress has the authority to raise or eliminate it. The Commission cannot waive away that limit simply because these corporate behemoths want to get out from under it.

And not all conservatives are on board – Chris Ruddy, who is CEO of right-leaning news network Newsmax also opposes lifting the cap, as other conservatives have long feared CBS, NBC, and ABC  with their alleged liberal bias, could also buy up stations.

The impact of this move would be far-reaching. With the ownership caps gone, the agency will likely turn to radio next, which varies by market size and how many stations they have. In Chicago and other large markets, no local broadcaster can own more than eight stations total, with no more than five on either band (AM or FM.) In recent weeks, Cumulus CEO Mary Berner met with Carr to talk about about eliminating the ownership caps in that medium. 

The interesting thing about what Carr said is what a few broadcasters have done in recent months to contradict the claims he and others are making. In February, Nexstar laid-off journalists at its big-market stations, including nine at WGN-TV, who replaced a skilled political expert and his weekly Sunday morning program with a shrill, worthless nightly fifteen-minute political show. Just last week, Sinclair CBS affiliate WKRC Cincinnati announced it was canceling its weekend morning newscasts in a cost-cutting move, and eliminated seven positions. And we’ve seen all too well what radio has done over the last two decades, as iHeart recently went through another round of layoffs. The Nexstar-Tegna merger would eliminate local news voices in St. Louis as a news voice was already eliminated in Indianapolis, where Scripps’ WRTV was sold to Circle City Broadcasting, owner of WISH-TV. As history has shown us, companies generally eliminate jobs – not increase them when companies are allowed to buy up their competition, as we may see with Warner-Paramount as these type of transactions create tons of debt. 

And we have seen this north of the border, where as reported here last week, Rogers closed six radio stations including all-news AM stations in Calgary and Vancouver, while Corus has laid off hundreds of employees, while its Global Network is planning to shutter local TV news operations in Calgary and Edmonton, and remotely producing its news content for these cities in Toronto – something that we will see more of here in the States – in fact, we’ve seen it already in Toledo.

The “case-by-case” approach is outright ridiculous, as it gives the FCC more power to pick what broadcaster can better serve the “public interest” in their town, something Carr refuses to define. For example, the FCC could allow Nexstar or Sinclair to buy a station in Detroit, but would reject NBC buying its affiliate WDIV, because Trump has ripped the network for coverage of him and his administration. So is Carr’s “public interest” better-aligned with the city that’s 75 percent Black? Or its mostly-white suburbs? I think we all know the answer. 

And keep in mind Carr is going after ABC’s eight licenses in mostly blue cities, including Chicago’s WLS-TV under the guise of “DEI violations”, despite ABC 7’s spotless community track record. The “New York” and “Hollywood” comments are stupid, with Carr thinking NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani and West Hollywood liberals will control the airwaves with socialism, since conservatives outside of New York are complaining despite him having zero impact on their lives.

So when it comes to the “public interest”, Carr isn’t fooling anyone, stating it isn’t being served by the ownership caps being in place but with them potenially gone, Nexstar, Sinclair, and a few others can practically buy up stations around the country. The biggest threat to the linear TV ecosystem isn’t Netflix, it’s Brendan Carr who’s letting his boss and billionaire buddies seize control of the airwaves with their propangada under the guise of “local news”. 

Editor’s note: An earlier draft incorrectly stated Nexstar’s layoffs took place last year when they actually took place in February of this year, and mistakenly attributed WRTV’s former owner to Nexstar. T Dog Media apologies for the errors. 

The post Carr: FCC to ax national television ownership cap first appeared on T Dog Media.

Also: California and 11 other states sue to stop Paramount-WBD merger; syndicated version of GMFB comes to an end;

After tying Audacy’s WXRT for the top spot in the Nielsen PPMs in May, Hubbard’s Hot AC 101.9 The Mix (WTMX) have broken away and claimed it for themselves in June.

It was a banner survey for 101.9 The Mix, as the station finished with a year-high six share, ahead of WXRT, which remained flat from last month in second place. 101.9 The Mix also continued its dominance in the key adult 25-54 and 18-49 demos, finishing first for the sixth consecutive time (it was able to fend off iHeart’s Top 40 station WKSC, which stay in second place.) Among the adult 18-34 crowd, WTMX finished with its lowest rating since February, but still finished in the top five, landing in fourth place.

But the biggest story came from two radio stations with surprise surges.

Audacy’s Country outlet US 99 (WUSN-FM) scored its biggest overall numbers in a year, finishing fourth behind sister station WBBM Newsradio and iHeart’s AC outlet 93.9 The Lite, which came in fifth. US 99 was in the top five in all three demos: third in 25-54s (tying sister station WXRT), fifth among 18-49s, and an even better third among adults 18-34s. Credit the continued growing popularity of Country music, as Ella Langley’s hit song Choosin’ Texas topped the Billboard Hot 100 for the thirteenth non-consecutive week and currently holds three of the top four spots on the chart – not to mention the massive success of the Windy City Smokeout, which drew thousands of people to the United Center parking lots this past weekend.

Another surprise surge is truly a surprise. Power 92 – a Hip-Hop station based in nearby Hammond, Ind., scored its highest ratings in more than a decade with a 2.1 – a 75 percent surge from April, and ahead of iHeart’s floundering Rock 95.5 and Hubbard’s Throwback 100.3 millennial mess of a station. Power 92 has closed the gap on rival WGCI with Power 92 in 18th place overall, while WGCI is 16th – the smallest gap between the two since April 2009 as just last October, Power 92 finished 28th.  In a stunning result in the adult 18-34 demo, Power 92 surged ahead of WGCI, moving from tenth place to tie for fifth place with Hubbard’s The Drive, while WGCI fell from fourth place to seventh. In the 25-54 demo, Power 92 went to 23rd place in April to 9th last month to 7th in June – putting it just two notches behind WGCI, which came in fifth.

Going in reverse is The Drive, which fell to sixth place with a seventeen percent drop for the formerly top-rated station. While it did finish tie for fifth in the aformentioned 18-34 demo, it did not finish in the top ten in the key 25-54 demo.

In other news, WBEZ beat WGN-AM with a ninth-place finish to the latter tenth; WKSC retains its lead over B96 in the Top 40 arena (Kiss 103.5 finished first for the sixth consecutive time in the 18-34s); and Audacy’s The Score remained ahead of Good Karma Brands’ ESPN 1000 (WMVP-AM), whose ratings were made available again two months ago for unexplained reasons.

Cumulus’ WLS-AM/FM and Q101 remain absent from the survey as the company’s legal action against Nielsen continues.

The battle to stop the merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery has ratcheted up as twelve state attorney generals, led by California and New York, have sued to keep the union from happening due to anti trust concerns.

“Today, I am leading a coalition of states in challenging the proposed merger of Warner Bros. and Paramount and asking the court to block the deal. The unlawful merger of these two entertainment behemoths would lead to higher prices, lower quality, and less content for film and television, harming movie theaters, basic cable distributors, and ultimately, audiences on every sofa and movie theater seat in the U.S.,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta.

Surprisingly, Illinois is not a part of the lawsuit, at least at this current time. Illinois is home to Chicago, the nation’s third-largest television and radio market in the country.

Not deterred, Paramount officials said they will defend the merger, and even take it up all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary, which in recent years have favored big business. Paramount argues the merger would be “pro-competitive”, but would come with a lot of debt – more than $80 billion, which would likely lead to thousands of job losses.

“The lawsuit filed by the state attorneys general, in the most generous light, reflects a fundamentally flawed application of the antitrust laws and is wrong on both the facts and the law,” Paramount’s statement said. “Delaying this transaction will only harm entertainment workers who have already suffered over recent years as technology has disrupted their livelihood and cost California tens of thousands of entertainment jobs.” Paramount also said the lawsuit only serves to protect Netflix.

Despite the litigation, Paramount still plans to close on its $111 billion acquisition by the end of September, as the merger has cleared regulatory hurdles in 24 countries, including the U.S. The states have also filed a temporary restraining order to put any merger activity on hold. That would be important for the states, as Paramount would have to pay a penalty of 25 cents per share (or $650 million) to WBD shareholders for every financial quarter after September 30 if the deal isn’t closed.

This case is being watched closely as if this merger survives these legal challenges, more merger and acquisition activity will follow. One company with a very keen interest is Nexstar, whose merger with Tegna is currently held up in the courts due to the same antitrust concerns – especially if the U.S. Supreme Court steps in, which would be completely unprecedented.

In news that doesn’t really come as a surprise, the clock has run out on NFL Network’s GMFB: Overtime as the daily strip is coming to an end after two seasons.

The GMFB spin-off premiered in September 2024, airing on the NFL Network, first-run syndication via Sony, and the Roku Channel. In syndication, Fox was the flagship station group, including Fox Chicago Plus (WPWR.)

But the show’s future came into question after the NFL took a ten percent stake in ESPN, and as part of the agreement, gave the Disney-owned cable network full control of the NFL Network. With contracts up for local stations and Roku in a few weeks, ESPN decided not to continue, although the main GMFB – or Good Morning Football, will continue on NFL Network.

ESPN declined comment on the cancellation.

According to Nielsen, GMFB: Overtime ranked 113th out of 124 syndicated shows for the third week in June, and ranked 122nd out of 131 shows in December 2025, as the NFL playoff race was in full gear. Airing in the late mornings, GMFB: Overtime aired live in some markets; in others, it was delayed into other dayparts, including late-night and overnight time slots, often making the breaking news on the show hours-old and dated. In Chicago, WPWR expanded the show to two hours (12 p.m.- 2 p.m.) this season, but its sister stations in New York and Los Angeles reduced GMFB: Overtime from two hours to one.

With GMFB’s departure, this means local stations will need even more time to fill as Sherri, The Kelly Clarkson Show, Access Live, and Access Hollywood will also vanish from schedules in September.

GMFB: Overtime’s final syndication and Roku Channel airings are tentatively scheduled for August 28.

The post The Media Notepad: 101.9 The Mix wins, but it’s Power 92 who shines first appeared on T Dog Media.

NBA Team to have all games over-the-air

[Editor’s Note: This post was updated on July 15. See below for details.]

After FanDuel Sports Wisconsin and the rest of its related regional sports sister networks went belly up, thirteen NBA teams were suddenly homeless. Now the first deal has been made which makes the games accessible to over-the-air viewers. 

The Milwaukee Bucks struck a deal with Rincon Broadcasting Group to televise all non-nationally televised games for next season. Bucks games will air on WVTV Ch. 24.1, or “My 24”, the branding of the former WCGV-TV. The games will air on Milwaukee-area cable and satellite providers and YouTubeTV with pregame and postgame shows with a network of affiliates throughout the state of Wisconsin. Previously, ten over-the-air games were broadcast over Weigel independent station WMLW with a statewide network, produced by the now-defunct regional sports network Fan Duel Sports Wisconsin, who carried the team. Good Karma Brands, which owns ESPN 94.5 FM in Milwaukee and ESPN 1000 in Chicago, will handle marketing and advertising sales. 

The Bucks joins the Detroit Pistons (with WMYD) and Miami Heat (with WPLG) among former FanDuel Sports teams with over-the-air deals for all of their non-network games for next season.

“This season marks an exciting return to our roots as we bring Bucks basketball back to full-season over-the-air television for the first time in more than three decades,” said Bucks and Fiserv Forum President Josh Glessing. “We’re grateful to our partners at Rincon Broadcasting Group for helping us make Bucks games more accessible to our fans throughout Wisconsin.”

“We’re excited to bring the Bucks back to MY24,” Rincon Broadcasting Group CEO Kern Dant said. “This is more than a television partnership. It’s the return of a Milwaukee tradition. Welcome home, Bucks fans.”

The Bucks also plan a direct-to-consumer streaming option, with details available at a later date. The move is similar to what other NBA teams have made in recent years, including the Phoenix Suns among others, with games being made for free over-the-air and a paid streaming service. 

The original WCGV was the home to the Bucks (mostly road games) between 1988 to 1994. Signing on in 1980, WCGV was initially a part-time pay-TV subscription station (similar to Chicago’s ON-TV) before becoming a full-time independent and was Fox’s founding affiliate when the network signed on in 1987, and carried The Late Show With David Letterman in its first year on the air. Months after losing the rights to Bucks games, they also lost the Fox affiliation to ex-CBS affiliate WITI in the New World deal. The station signed with UPN shortly thereafter and shifted to MyNetworkTV in 2006 when UPN and The WB merged to become The CW, thus the “My 24” branding (many My Network TV stations have since ditched the “My” branding, including Fox-owned WPWR Chicago, which shifted from “My 50” to Fox Chicago Plus in September 2024.)

In 2018, the original WCGV signed off after then-owner Sinclair Broadcasting surrendered its license to the FCC in the spectrum auction and became a virtually-mapped subchannel of sister station WVTV, which it and WCGV had been run together since 1995. 

Last year, Rincon Broadcasting acquired WVTV and four other stations from Sinclair, with three in downstate Illinois.

Like their rivals down I-94 the Chicago Bulls, the Bucks are now undergoing a rebuild as the team traded thirteen-year veteran Giannis A to the Miami Heat, who led then to their 2021 NBA title, their first in 50 years. The Bucks finished 32-50 last season, and is not expected to become a factor in the NBA playoff race this upcoming season. The first game in the new package started today, with the Bucks playing a Summer League game against the San Antonio Spurs, with upcoming games in Phoenix and Charlotte later this week.

An earlier draft incorrectly stated the Milwaukee Bucks were the first former Fan Duel team to strike a broadcast deal when they were actually the third, following the Pistons and Heat. T Dog Media apologizes for the errors.

The post Milwaukee Bucks score over-the-air TV deal with Rincon Broadcasting Group first appeared on T Dog Media.

There were changes at Hubbard Broadcasting’s The Drive (WDRV/WWDV-FM) over the last week, with longtime personality Bob Stroud announcing his retirement after more than 40 years in Chicago radio. 

Among one of the first voices heard on the station when it launched in March 2001, Stroud had cut back his schedule in recent years, reduced to his 10 at 10 segment, picking ten songs to play at 10 a.m centered around a year or a particular theme. On his final segment June 30, Stroud featured songs from the Beatles, Jim Steinman, Jimmy Buffett, and the Blues Brothers’ Sweet Home Chicago. He began the segment at the former WLUP-FM in 1993 (The 10 at 10 feature will continue on The Drive without Stroud.)

Stroud began his career in career in 1977 at a Sarasota, Fla. station, and arrived in Chicago two years later at the former WMET-FM (now WCHI-FM/Rock 95.5) and since worked at WLUP-AM, WXCD-FM (now WLS-FM), WXRT, before landing at The Drive.

Meanwhile, The Drive added new nighttime personality Lauren “Lern” Elwell, who’ll voice track the shift from St. Louis sister station KSHE-FM, where she’ll remain middays and on KPNT-FM’s morning show. 

“I am beyond thrilled to be back in the state where my radio journey began”, she said in a statement. “I’ve always loved working in rock radio, and adding the legendary WDRV call letters to my career is incredibly exciting. I can’t wait to connect with listeners across Chicago, work alongside this amazing team, and make some unforgettable memories.”

Elwell replaces the syndicated Alice’s Attic with host Alice Cooper, which was dropped by the station.

Fox 32 (WFLD-TV) has lost another anchor – this time, its Dawn Hasbrouck, who stunned viewers June 30 when she announced she was stepping down from the chair. Hasbrouck had been with the Fox-owned station for sixteen years, anchoring the Good Day Chicago morning show in 2010 and succeeded Robin Robinson as co-anchor of the 9 p.m. newscast in 2013, and adding the 5 p.m. shift when that newscast launched three years later. 

Hasbrouck is the latest person to exit the station in recent months; in June, longtime anchor Slvyia Perez also announced her departure. Others who left recently include Lou Canellis, Paris Schutz (both went to NBC 5), and Tina Nguyen, who announced her departure on Instagram after two years. 

Hasbrouck’s ex-co-anchor Scott Schneider was fired in March, as was reporter Nate Rodgers last year.

But there are some additions: Fox 32 announced on Wednesday the hiring of Devan Kaney as the new Bears beat reporter, succeeding Cassie Carlson in the role, as she was promoted to main sports anchor to replace Canellis. Kaney was previously at sister station WTXF Philadelphia, and also added Sam Panayotovich to the sports team. This comes as VP Of News Content Sean O’Hair continues to overhaul the news department. 

CNBC is back broadcasting from Chicago, as the Versant-owned network opened a new studio inside the CBOE Global Markets trading floor. 

Similar to what they they have inside the New York Stock Exchange, the Jack Morton-designed studio is right into he middle of the action near the S&P 500 index options pit. The studio is part of a multi-year deal Versant and CBOE made four months ago, in an effort to expand CNBC’s coverage of the options market. 

On June 25, CNBC’s Kelly Evans and Brian Sullivan inaugurated coverage from the new studio, which also included Chicago correspondents Rick Santelli, Phil LeBeau, and Oliver Renick, who’ll be the regular anchor at the studio, reporting throughout the day, branded as CNBC @ CBOE.

Launched in 1973 by the Chicago Board of Trade (whose building once housed WCIU-TV, which aired the Stock Market Observer), CBOE stands for Chicago Board Options Exchange, and still has an open outcry trading floor, which means yes, they still yell and trade on the floor like they did at NYSE before computers took over.

Guests on the two-hour broadcast included Ariel Investments co-CEO John Rogers; Ryan Sports Development CEO Pat Ryan, Jr.; and Chicago Fedral Reserve President Austan Goolsbee.

CNBC was part of the spinoff of NBCUniversal’s old cable networks into Versant, which was made official January 2. Last week, Comcast announced it was spinning off NBCUniversal back into its own company.

More proof the United States isn’t alone in seeing traditional media properties struggle for revelance: On Monday, Rogers Communications in Canada announced they were closing six AM radio stations in Canada: two each in Vancouver and Calgary; one in Halifax, Nova Scotia; and another in Kitchener, Ont. Four news stations are being shuttered, with one sports talk station each in Calgary and Vancouver. Rogers plans to return all six licenses to the CRTC. 

The Vancouver station, CISL-AM, carried Canucks hockey games; those will shift to a yet-to-be named FM music station Rogers owns in the market. Rogers opted not to find a new home for Flames games in Calgary as CFFR-AM goes dark, meaning the team won’t have a radio home for next season, as it currently stands. 

The news was part of layoffs at the Toronto-based conglomerate, with 230 jobs eliminated. It was reported that all six ceased broadcasting Tuesday morning.

“The media business continues to face headwinds driven by declining advertising revenue and changing audience habits,” a Rogers Sports & Media spokesperson said in a statement. “These changes are part of our plan to focus our investment in areas that will drive growth long-term.”

This follows a pattern of AM shutdowns north of the border, with rival Bell Media pulling the plug on stations in Vancouver, Calgary, and Hamilton, Ont. three years ago.

It’s not lost on anyone that on the same day, Rogers announced it was buying the rest of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment it didn’t own for $4.3 billion, meaning the conglomerate will have a sports monopoly in Toronto, with the Blue Jays, Raptors, Maple Leafs, and others in their stable (just ask Cubs fans how they felt about the Tribune Co’s. 27-year ownership of the team, which produced only two playoff wins and zero World Series titles.)

Much like the U.S., media companies in Canada are struggling with changes in how viewers and listeners are consuming content. In the states, the number of AM stations fell seven percent from 2015 as smaller stations went dark and surrendered their licenses to the FCC. Some newer car models – especially electric vehicles, aren’t including AM radio. Congress has proposed legislation mandating AM radios in newer cars, but so far, legislation has stalled.

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Bizarre attack brings attention to safety of news crews in the field 

A news crew from CBS-owned WBBM-TV were attacked near the Adler Planetarium on Monday by three men. 

The crew were were prepping for a live shot from the South Loop landmark before 4:30 p.m. when a white tow truck pulled up and three men were seen getting out of the truck and shouted racial slurs. One of the assailants ordered a dog to attack the crew, but declined, so the men vandalized the news van, shattering the front windshield when an orange traffic cone and damaged a news camera, causing over $100,000 in damage. The crew, which consisted of a cameraman (who is Black) and a reporter, were not harmed.

The three men sped off in their tow truck, but were later spotted in the Brighton Park neighborhood, aiming a gun at pedestrians. Police noticed, and found the tow truck driving erratically , and led the three on a brief chase before crashing their vehicle at 36th and California and were taken into custody. They were in court Thursday to be arraigned

The three men who were charged were: Jon Twist, 37; Rafael Salinas, 29; and William Hureta, 41. Twist was charged with a hate crime and criminal damage to property; all three have extensive criminal records, with Hureta serving six years in prison for aggravated battery with a firearm. They were ordered detained by a judge Thursday. 

Video later released show one of the men carrying an assault rifle; it was found outside the truck when the men were arrested. 

“There is no place for violence, intimidation, or hate. The safety of our journalists is non-negotiable, and we remain committed to ensuring they can do their jobs without fear or threat,” said CBS Chicago and WWJ-TV Detroit GM Jennifer Lyons, who runs both stations for the CBS News And Stations Group. She said she was “deeply disturbed about the attacks on our colleagues.”

The National Association of Black Journalists also weighed in, stating: “This attack underscores the very real risks journalists continue to face and reinforces the need for all of us to stand together in defense of a free and independent press,” said Chicago Chapter President Brandon Pope said.

The incident received considerable play in Chicago press circles, with CBS Chicago’s competitors reporting on the story.

This incident comes as journalists are increasingly being attacked around the globe, and especially in America. In January, ABC 7 reporter Leah Hope was attacked by a assailant in her car near the station on State Street.

Nearly a decade ago, several news crews in the San Francisco Bay Area were robbed of their equipment – even on-air. In August 2023, a Univision Chicago (WGBO) news truck was robbed in the early-morning hours at Division and Milwaukee and an ABC 7 crew was robbed on the West Side. In 2020, several news crews were attacked across the country during the George Floyd unrest. 

Last year, a CBS Chicago reporter was in her car when ICE threw a gas canister in it while covering the unrest outside the agency’s detention center in west Suburban Broadview.

In July 1990, an unidentified local TV Black camerman was on the receiving end of racial slurs while covering a tense Village Board meeting in southwest suburban Oak Lawn over whether or not to censure a trustee who made racially disparaging remarks about Black people on Chicago’s South Side. Oak Lawn, which at the time was 96 percent white, has since become more diverse. 

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Separation to be completed next year

Fifteen years after buying NBCUniversal, Comcast Corp. announced Monday it was separating its businesses, spinning off NBCUniversal into its own, publicly-traded company. This comes at a time when streaming is becoming a dominant force in how viewers watch television, and amid growing pressure from rivals such as Netflix and Amazon. The split, which does not require neither party to pay any taxes, is expected to take up to a year to complete.

The split means Comcast will no longer own NBC, its owned-stations including Chicago’s WMAQ and WSNS-TV, Peacock, Telemundo, The UK’s Sky, Universal’s theme parks, Universal’s film and television operations, NBC’s regional sports networks, NBCSN, and Bravo, but will retain a 19.9 percent minority stake. Current Comcast co-CEO Mike Cavanaugh will become CEO of NBCUniversal and former Comcast CFO Michael Angelakis becomes the new CEO of Comcast, which will now solely focus on its broadband business. Comcast shareholders will own stock in both companies.

“As we look ahead, it has become clear that our technology and media businesses each have compelling opportunities in front of them that are distinct in nature and best pursued with dedicated focus, strategic flexibility, and tailored investment priorities,” said Comcast co-CEO and chair Brian Roberts, discussing plans with investors on a conference call Monday. “That is why today we announced an important next step in Comcast’s evolution. Our plan to create two separate companies, Comcast and NBCUniversal.”

Wall Street seemed to be receptive to the news; Comcast shares surged 17 percent in early Monday morning trading. Comcast’s stock had been struggling in the last year, dropping as much as 30 percent.

The split is reminiscent of the one Viacom and CBS did in 2005 to get more properties out of their properties; Viacom focused on its then-growing cable properties and the Paramount movie studio, while the newly named CBS Corporation had everything else, with then-CEO Sumner Redstone helming both companies. After his passing, daughter Shari Redstone reunited the two in 2019 and was sold to David Ellison’s Skydance in 2024.

Other media splits saw News Corp. separating its print from its film and television businesses into 21st Century Fox, which most of it was acquired by Disney in 2019. After Tribune Co. left Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the company separated into Tribune Media and Tribune Publishing as the former was purchased by Nexstar and the latter was swallowed up by Alden Global Capital.

In January, Comcast spun-off its cable networks into a separate company known as Versant.

This is the latest move by a media company as the ecosystem continues to change at a rapid pace. Two weeks ago, Fox announced its acquisition of Roku for $22 billion, and Paramount is buying Warner Bros. for more than $100 billion.

Announced in December 2009, Comcast purchased NBCUniversal, and closed  a little over a year later after FCC approval. NBC was able to merge with Universal Studios in 2004 after General Electric agreed to give up control of the network to Comcast, which took a 51 percent stake and a full stake in 2013.

Monday’s announcement instantly increased speculation on the new Comcast possibly being swallowed up by another company, perhaps Charter as consolidation continues to ramp up in the media industry as companies are looking to build up scale. However, any deal from a telecommunications suitor could face stiff opposition, especially in blue states like Illinois as a merger between  cable companies would need approval from all fifty states’ public service commissions. Meanwhile, NBC being acquired by, say Paramount or Disney, would face numerous barriers, including an FCC rule barring the major broadcast networks being owned by each other – not to mention the large number of debt any acquisition would occur.

On the conference call, Roberts stated a sale of a newly-spunoff Comcast and NBCUniversal or the two buying additional properties isn’t in the cards – at least right now. “This is the right move to put each company in the strongest position to create value, fully monetize its assets, and aggressively pursue its own organic growth strategies,” he said.

NBCUniversal also owns a trove of sports rights, including the NFL and recently returned the NBA and Major League Baseball to its portfolio. Locally, WMAQ has snared some major talent in the past year, with Chuck Goudie, Paris Schutz, and Lou Canellis joining the news team, and unveiled a new $70 million, state-of-the-art newsroom at the NBC Tower.

The split could be subject to approval by regulators – which may include the FCC, because of 47 television stations licenses NBC holds through the network and Telemundo as FCC Chairman Brendan Carr is on the warpath against DEI and “news distortion” as NBC has been targeted by President Trump over what he calls “fake news”. When Viacom and CBS split, it didn’t go under any FCC review. But with this current administration, anything can happen.

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