From radio to TV, to TV passing off as radio, we're bailing out the water here... LA MEGA STAYING?: If we've said it once, we've said it a thousand times...or maybe it only SEEMS like a thousand times. We have frequently cautioned fans of first, alt-rock "87.7 Cleveland's Sound" and then, Spanish-language CHR "La Mega 87.7", not to become too attached to a radio signal at 87.7 on the FM dial. Just one example, from our item when it was announced that "La Mega" would be displacing … [Read more...]
More Sports And Radio, Plus TV
Posted on October 7, 2014 · 1 Comment
The influence of LeBron James continues to affect local media... CAVS TO FM: There'll be less music on iHeart[/former Clear Channel] rock/talk WMMS/100.7 in Cleveland, and more balls. That's because WMMS has become the FM flagship of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers. You know, that little team at Quicken Loans Arena that may actually win a lot more games because of the return of hometown superstar LeBron James this year. The announcement was tweeted by Erika Lauren, of the station's afternoon … [Read more...]
Rumors And Reality
Posted on September 25, 2014 · 3 Comments
And let's start with the rumblings first... CBS SALE?: The folks at the Halle Building are probably used to it by now...their big boss is once again making noises about leaving below major market radio, selling off its stations in even large markets like Cleveland. But will it ever happen? Cleveland would certainly be a candidate, if CBS boss Les Moonves is looking to concentrate solely on markets like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, and wants to exit markets below, say, the top 15 … [Read more...]
Chilly Catchup
Posted on September 15, 2014 · Leave a Comment
As we write this, temperatures are pushing close to 40 degrees in the early morning hours. Time to grab a space heater... CHICAGO SPECULATION: Former Cleveland radio personality Maxwell is out of a job in Chicago. The former Clear Channel rock/talk WMMS/100.7 afternoon driver, who had a cup of coffee in mornings at CBS Radio classic rock WNCX/98.5, is no longer hosting mornings at Cumulus classic rock WLUP/97.9 "The Loop" in Chicago. Chicago media reporting guru Robert Feder has details … [Read more...]
Answering Your Browns Questions
Posted on September 7, 2014 · 2 Comments
UPDATE 9/7/14 6:05 PM: As you probably know by now, WOIO/19 returned to local DirecTV subscribers at around noon Sunday, an hour before the Browns/Steelers game...as both sides say they reached an "agreement in principle"... ----- As of this writing, at about 10 AM on Sunday, DirecTV and Raycom Media haven't solved their dispute which has Raycom's WOIO/19 here off the satellite service. That means unless it's solved before kickoff, today's NFL season opener between the Cleveland Browns and … [Read more...]
All Bets Are Really Off
Posted on September 5, 2014 · 5 Comments
When SportsTime Ohio successfully pursued veteran sportscaster Bruce Drennan for a TV sports talk show, he was coming out of federal prison after being convicted of tax charges related to sports betting. Thus, the name of his new show, "All Bets Are Off", must have seemed clever to someone at the network owned at the time by Dolan family (owners of the Cleveland Indians). It, and the "Vegas sign theme" logo, never was all that clever, and finally, it's gone from the show airing on today's … [Read more...]
New Leader, New Job
Posted on August 29, 2014 · Leave a Comment
WEWS BRINGS HOME NEW ND: It's been just over five months since Scripps ABC affiliate WEWS/5 "NewsChannel 5" news director Jill Manuel left the station for "bigger opportunties in another market" (Chicago), as a station memo said at the time. Her replacement will have no trouble finding his way around Cleveland, or even 3001 Euclid Avenue. Jeff Harris has been news director at Scripps' sister ABC station in Denver, KMGH/7...but heads back to Cleveland to take over the news reins at WEWS. … [Read more...]
The Gone And The Now
Posted on August 27, 2014 · Leave a Comment
Another Cleveland TV news personality is heading for the Big Apple, and another TV type is incoming from a smaller market... NEW YORK STATE OF MIND: We watched as former "Fox 8 News" anchor Stacey Bell left the anchor desk at Tribune Fox affiliate WJW/8 for Long Island NY, where she joined Cablevision all-news channel "News 12"...then later, made the big jump to New York City's NBC O&O, WNBC/4. She'll be joined on the air in New York soon by a fast-rising Cleveland TV news star who is … [Read more...]
Sports And People
Posted on August 23, 2014 · 2 Comments
And let's start with a helpful item for sports fans tonight... BROWNS VS. GLADIATORS: No, the NFL's Cleveland Browns won't be tangling with the Arena Football League's Cleveland Gladiators in downtown Cleveland tonight. But on the radio dial, even with the Gladiators going for a league crown, the Browns obviously win that battle. CBS Radio sports WKRK/92.3 "The Fan" is the arena football team's flagship radio station, and has been carrying Gladiators games all season long, with Doug … [Read more...]
CBS Shakeup In Indy…Here?
Posted on August 13, 2014 · 3 Comments
First, let's make this rather clear. As far as we know, there are no network affiliation change plans in the works at any Cleveland TV station, let alone at Tribune Fox affiliate WJW/8 "Fox 8". But Tribune's recent move in the Indianapolis market is causing some to wonder...could it happen here? Tribune announced that starting on January 1, 2015, it would take the CBS affiliation for now-CW affiliate WTTV/4 in Indianapolis (WTTV/4 Bloomington IN-WTTK/29 Kokomo IN) from the market's … [Read more...]
