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Ever heard of a designated, in-depth, investigative sports reporter at a local station? Me, neither. Peggy Kusinski is shifting roles. http://www.robertfeder.com/2016/08/22/sportscaster-peggy-kusinski-starting-new-chapter-for-nbc-5/

I forgot about that. As for Mondays, 7's cozy relationship with The U probably kills that possibility.

They have the one of the Hawks' six preseason games on Friday, 9/30, and WGN and WPWR each had a Bulls preseason match last year. All (the vast majority, anyway) MLB spring training exhibitions are day games (2 or 3 o'clock, depending on the time change).

I don't know that they wanted to lose those games, especially to their top competitor. The team exercised a renegotiation of the deal and was willing to let WGN keep like two thirds of their games at the same price, knowing they'd be pulling in 3 times as much from ABC 7. WGN pays $250K per game, CSN like twice that, and ABC drops three quarters of a million per game. WGN-TV just couldn't compete (the radio station, on the other hand, was happy to end their deal).

Two and a Half Men isn't the solution, for sure. That said, if they're willing to throw in some local programming and specials, in a addition to the sports, it gives me some hope that they're not entirely taking the easy/lazy way out. Speaking of the sports coverage, if their carriage agreements remain roughly the same, you can expect (not counting baseball preseason) close to 150 game telecasts each year, and like 80% of those falling in primetime. Heck, they might not even take as many day games next baseball season with their newfound freedom. I'd imagine they might even make a play for a Thursday night (non-NBC or CBS) Bears game every so often. So, even if the sitcoms are on like 3 weeknights a week, that's definitely not as bad as it could be. Octobers are gonna suck, though, no matter what.

I've always been indifferent about Lauer, and I don't want to come across as defending him, but he's merely the tip of the iceberg. Just like a professional sports team with undisciplined troublemakers, there is clearly a systemic problem within the ranks of the Today show that allow for such behavior and idiocy. Like sports, the more an on-air talent makes or the higher their profile is, the more they're allowed to get away with. Throw in the fact that NBC (News) has a horrific track record with handling personnel management on and off the air (Brian, Ann, Matt, Natalie, David, and before that Bryant, Katie, Jane, Deborah...pretty much everyone but Meredith), and it's a recipe for disaster.

Like 3 or 4 months ago, maybe 6.

I responded to the tweet, asking if the 6 will remain. We'll see.

Yeah, seeing that roster intact for another 25 years would've been very entertaining, though they would've had to hire someone to change diapers and mop up drool. That said, I still marvel at the fact that a top market station successfully locked its entire weekday operations in a time capsule for 7 years (06-13) with little more than an HD transition. Good times.

They must be short on reporters, because Stacey was out in the field. They'd normally slot her in a few of the broadcasts. Tanja Babich flew with the Blue Angels yesterday, so she likely wasn't free to anchor this morning, otherwise Judy would've come in this evening, like she did a few weeks back on a Friday.

Hmm...I mean, I guess that kinda makes sense. 6am is crowded, but the field is more beatable after 7, and I'm sure nothing would make WGN happier than destroying Good Day Chicago 7 days a week.

Well, we have an even better idea of what the first weeks of independence will be like on the old number 9. Fri 9/2: Wrigley 100 (from 2014, anniversary special) Mon 9/5-15: SportsFeed specials (TBA) Wed 9/14: LIVE Morning News special (TBA) Fri 9/16: Cubs Playoff Preview special (TBA) Mon 9/19: Last Man Standing debuts (8pm) As you might have guessed, the TBA's mean the time slot is unknown. Also unknown is whether SportsFeed will air every night, or just during the week. I'm also really excited to see what they come up with for the morning show special. Even if there are some old clips, I hope the only live bits aren't just segment introductions. Baseball will also air in M-F primetime on September 9, 12, 20, 21, 28 & 29. See it before they pull it... [MEDIA=vimeo]179477324[/MEDIA]

Oh, I agree. GMA did catch a little lightning in a bottle with their 2011-13 crew, but this guy was raised on Charlie, Diane, Robin, and Tony. Simpler, better times.

I mean, I haven't watched GMA with any regularity since they debuted those god-awful graphics and updated set (yes, it's that bad, to me), but I could better tell you who does what and when on ABC compared to the Today show. Heck, I don't think those anchors could tell you who's in or out and during what hour. To my knowledge, George and Robin anchor, with David, Lara and Amy (taking turns within any given week) as subs, with the latter getting more desk time than a year ago. That said, her news anchor duties have been diminished to pretty much the 8am TOTH (does she still do it at 7?). While it changes next month, Michael has been on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and Jesse on the other days. And finally, last I knew, the show has returned to focusing on the 2 leads to start the show, even though the profiles of some supporting characters have increased.

Who's on the desk these few days? I know Lara's out, but is he alongside Amy or Robin? I like him better with Amy, but I've never noticed any coldness with anyone else. Maybe he's just got some other stuff bothering him.

A mere child, David Muir with George Stephanopoulos' hairdo. There goes sleeping tonight.

I've heard 6-9 floating around a few times, and considering their weekday time frame and weekend competition, that wouldn't be too unreasonable. That said, a co-anchor, at minimum, will have to be added because I don't think the quasi-CLTV format will work for anything more than an hour.

One would think Sean or possibly Tom are up for it, and both would be deserving. And if we're talking underutilized, I'm still disappointed that we haven't seen Patrick Elwood on the desk since he's been there. As for the weekend morning show, it'll be interesting where they take it. They could continue to go the traditional route like they've done since it launched, or they could try to replicate the weekday formula, but that carries some risk. They've been pretty lucky assembling the early shift B-team, but lightning doesn't often strike thrice.

I know KTRK has been one of ABC's most struggling O&O's, and if this story gains any traction, they could be in for a bigger fight back to dominance...or even 1st place. http://www.chron.com/life/articleComments/Dave-Ward-says-he-was-ushered-out-at-KTRK-9136464.php?cmpid=twitter-mobile

Lara is going in for hip replacement surgery. The general recovery time is 4 to 6 weeks. Good luck to her, of course, but I wonder is there's ANY chance that she gets shelved/reassigned while she's gone...even though that move seems more like something out of the Today show playbook. [MEDIA=twitter]763711050608807936[/MEDIA]

A handful of ABC O&O's are doing it, too, plus my CBS station.

Why would it be canceled? This is just a show for the late morning kids block.

WLS- Alan, Rob, Hosea, Terrell, Ravi, Ben, Harpo, Groucho, another Rob, John, Paul, Ringo, still another Rob (but goes by Bobby), Fahey, Joel, John, Ron, Tim (during the dark years), HEY! Another Rob...

Just looking at my DVR, it says that the 4 o'clock hour is returning to Extra/News combo after the Olympics. Perhaps it's a typo, but you have to wonder if this really is just for the games (like they've had in previous years), and that the official launch will be in September (or sooner, as the original announcement did say August).

Jesse, perhaps?