2020-21 Syndication News

[nathannah 2446]

Last year's thread was created in March 2019, so I'd say this is long overdue for creation.

 

To start it out though, if your station was counting on Nick Cannon's new syndicated talk show this fall, it might be time to make new plans for the timeslot. ViacomCBS fired him from their networks after a decades-long relationship today for anti-Semetic remarks, and you know his Masked Singer hosting days are numbered since he had already burned one bridge with NBC involving his America's Got Talent duties.

 

Suffice to say with Wendy not going back into production anytime soon and everything with that show not COVID-related, Debmar-Mercury must be a mind-numbing place to work for right now in their talk show division.

[TexasTVNews 1377]

Does this mean his upcoming talk show will be scrapped, canceled, what?

[nathannah 2446]

It's in Debmar's court at this point to announce yes/no on going forward; since Fox Television Stations is the show's major affiliate base, if Fox takes him off Masked Singer based on MTV/VCBS's decision, that's enough of a signal where they'll have to follow Fox's lead.

 

D-M still probably has Jerry O'Connell signed as a Wendy guest host and he did the Fox test run last year; most likely he'd get the shot instead and with the pandemic, they could just create a quick set to replace whatever was being built (or just re-stick him in the Wendy space) out or have him home work on Zoom and buy time until January, when New York audiences could come back again.

[ColtFromGulfcoast 709]

https://www.whio.com/news/trending/nick-cannon-apologizes-anti-semitic-remarks-will-remain-host-masked-singer/PSC2TNWVUBCQRK6J45VKNIS67I/

 

Well, he still has his gig with the Masked Singer.

[Jase 1054]

1 hour ago, ColtFromGulfcoast said:

https://www.whio.com/news/trending/nick-cannon-apologizes-anti-semitic-remarks-will-remain-host-masked-singer/PSC2TNWVUBCQRK6J45VKNIS67I/

 

Well, he still has his gig with the Masked Singer.

He’s also an executive producer of TMS.

[KS-IL-IA 46]

Read into this what you will ...

 

https://radioinsight.com/headlines/191255/skyview-suspends-nick-cannon-radio-distribution/

[Glimmer 282]

Debmar-Mercury is pushing Nick Cannon’s talk show to fall 2021; though there were rumors before his comments that this would be the case

 

https://deadline.com/2020/07/nick-cannon-syndicated-talk-show-pushed-shut-down-anti-semitic-comments-lionsgate-stands-by-comedian-1202988577/

 

 

[Nelson R. 569]

3 minutes ago, Glimmer said:

Debmar-Mercury is pushing Nick Cannon’s talk show to fall 2021; though there were rumors before his comments that this would be the case

 

https://deadline.com/2020/07/nick-cannon-syndicated-talk-show-pushed-shut-down-anti-semitic-comments-lionsgate-stands-by-comedian-1202988577/

 

 

WBNX in Cleveland had already released their fall schedule and and it was on it...was scheduled at 3pm and 11pm.

https://www.wbnx.com/fall-schedule-2020

[KS-IL-IA 46]

1 hour ago, Nelson R. said:

WBNX in Cleveland had already released their fall schedule and and it was on it...was scheduled at 3pm and 11pm.

https://www.wbnx.com/fall-schedule-2020

 

You can always count on WBNX to have the first schedule release of anyone in the country!

 

 I didn't realize First 48 was going as a strip.

[T.L. Hughes 890]

4 hours ago, Nelson R. said:

WBNX in Cleveland had already released their fall schedule and and it was on it...was scheduled at 3pm and 11pm.

https://www.wbnx.com/fall-schedule-2020

I had to look up a few of the shows on that lineup 'cause I never heard of:

* Nightwatch (apparently a first responder reality show on A&E);

* Daily Flash (a morning show with the same format as the old morning version of The Daily Buzz, which I was surprised to find had been revived as a weekly program in 2017) and;

* Business First AM (financial news program with basically the same format as First Business, featuring that show's last host, Angela Miles)

 

Also, interesting, Through the Decades (the daily historical news and pop culture program on Decades, hosted by Bill Kurtis) is apparently being put in weekend syndication as an hour-long weekly. (WBNX is airing at 6:00am Saturdays this fall.)

[Nelson R. 569]

12 minutes ago, T.L. Hughes said:

I had to look up a few of the shows on that lineup 'cause I never heard of:

* Nightwatch (apparently a first responder reality show on A&E);

* Daily Flash (a morning show with the same format as the old morning version of The Daily Buzz, which I was surprised to find had been revived as a weekly program in 2017) and;

* Business First AM (financial news program with basically the same format as First Business, featuring that show's last host, Angela Miles)

 

Also, interesting, Through the Decades (the daily historical news and pop culture program on Decades, hosted by Bill Kurtis) is apparently being put in weekend syndication as an hour-long weekly. (WBNX is airing at 6:00am Saturdays this fall.)

I had never heard of any of those shows either. 
 

And it looks like Dr. Oz is headed to another station in Cleveland, as it is not on the fall schedule.

[nathannah 2446]

1 hour ago, T.L. Hughes said:

* Business First AM (financial news program with basically the same format as First Business, featuring that show's last host, Angela Miles)

 

Also, interesting, Through the Decades (the daily historical news and pop culture program on Decades, hosted by Bill Kurtis) is apparently being put in weekend syndication as an hour-long weekly. (WBNX is airing at 6:00am Saturdays this fall.)

 

 

BFAM has been continuing since 2014; Weigel dropped production responsibilities at the time but the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (and all of the show's contributors) wanted to keep it on the air, so they assumed responsibility with it and I think Trifecta distributes it; it's also on SBTV for 'sane time of the day' viewing.

 

And in many cases, subchannels do allow distribution of their prime programming on main stations (remember the many This TV movies over the years WDIV used for make-good marathons on NBC Saturday nights); WDJT has used it as a late night show for a couple years after they dumped off The Doctors to the Station Formerly Known as WCGV.

 

6 hours ago, Glimmer said:

Debmar-Mercury is pushing Nick Cannon’s talk show to fall 2021; though there were rumors before his comments that this would be the case

 

https://deadline.com/2020/07/nick-cannon-syndicated-talk-show-pushed-shut-down-anti-semitic-comments-lionsgate-stands-by-comedian-1202988577/

 

 

Even without the comments, launching without a studio audience just seemed like it wasn't going to work out. Now we wait to hear whether Drew's show starts in September, be it no-audience or a Zoom format. And D-M's statement understood the gravity of what happened and what they hope Nick will realize before September of next year.

[Nelson R. 569]

14 hours ago, mrschimpf said:

BFAM has been continuing since 2014; Weigel dropped production responsibilities at the time but the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (and all of the show's contributors) wanted to keep it on the air, so they assumed responsibility with it and I think Trifecta distributes it; it's also on SBTV for 'sane time of the day' viewing.

 

And in many cases, subchannels do allow distribution of their prime programming on main stations (remember the many This TV movies over the years WDIV used for make-good marathons on NBC Saturday nights); WDJT has used it as a late night show for a couple years after they dumped off The Doctors to the Station Formerly Known as WCGV.

 

Even without the comments, launching without a studio audience just seemed like it wasn't going to work out. Now we wait to hear whether Drew's show starts in September, be it no-audience or a Zoom format. And D-M's statement understood the gravity of what happened and what they hope Nick will realize before September of next year.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Drew waited a year as well. 

[Megatron81 263]

Will not know where Nick Cannon was going in West Michigan until next year. Just waiting on where Drew Barrymore will be on this fall which she can do that on Zoom or in studio without anyone other than the crew and the guest. Business First AM is on WXMI Fox17 at 4AM which leads into the local news.

[KS-IL-IA 46]

Was it ever really discussed what Drew's format was going to be? More celebrity- or topic-driven?

[Nelson R. 569]

13 hours ago, Megatron81 said:

Will not know where Nick Cannon was going in West Michigan until next year. Just waiting on where Drew Barrymore will be on this fall which she can do that on Zoom or in studio without anyone other than the crew and the guest. Business First AM is on WXMI Fox17 at 4AM which leads into the local news.

 

1 hour ago, KS-IL-IA said:

Was it ever really discussed what Drew's format was going to be? More celebrity- or topic-driven?

https://deadline.com/2020/01/the-drew-barrymore-show-has-been-cleared-by-cbs-in-85-of-u-s-natpe-1202836822/
 

Here are the station groups that as of January had signed on to carry her show. So that might help you take a guess. Based on that, I would think that WJZY or WMYT is likely to have her on in Charlotte despite the fact the Nexstar trade hadn’t yet gone through when that was announced, I definitely don’t see WBTV ditching QC in the Morning or QC at 3, WCNC doesn’t have room, unless they ditched Charlotte Today and cut their midday news back to 30 minutes. WMYT has plenty of room with Chicago PD (the syndicated version), Caught in Providence and America Says all leaving their schedule. Plus they likely were going to have Nick Cannon this fall, they were still FTS stations when that deal was announced. But this is all speculation.

 

It doesn’t say what format in that article.

[ColtFromGulfcoast 709]

I was looking at the WBNX schedule and saw Millionaire and it actually had me thinking. 

 

Since Disney was the one that sent Millionaire out to replace Cops, why didn't they just try to syndicate repeats of Windy City Live instead to gain traction for eventually taking that national when things calm down ??? I mean, it pretty much is what Kelly and Ryan used to be  before it was Kelly and Ryan. Couldn't Disney just do that again???  

 

WCL also has many nationally known guests so that helps. I understand they're  not producing new ones due to the disease but this is something that they need to think about in the future. 

 

 

Fox needs to stop beating around the bush with the Q as well and roll that out nationally once and for all rather than just during the summer and to selected cities.

[Nelson R. 569]

12 minutes ago, ColtFromGulfcoast said:

I was looking at the WBNX schedule and saw Millionaire and it actually had me thinking. 

 

Since Disney was the one that sent Millionaire out to replace Cops, why didn't they just try to syndicate repeats of Windy City Live instead to gain traction for eventually taking that national when things calm down ??? I mean, it pretty much is what Kelly and Ryan used to be  before it was Kelly and Ryan. Couldn't Disney just do that again???  

 

WCL also has many nationally known guests so that helps. I understand they're  not producing new ones due to the disease but this is something that they need to think about in the future. 

 

 

Fox needs to stop beating around the bush with the Q as well and roll that out nationally once and for all rather than just during the summer and to selected cities.

And didn’t Oprah also start out on just the ABC Chicago station?

[ColtFromGulfcoast 709]

1 minute ago, Nelson R. said:

And didn’t Oprah also start out on just the ABC Chicago station?

She did.

[24994J 5585]

5 minutes ago, ColtFromGulfcoast said:

Since Disney was the one that sent Millionaire out to replace Cops, why didn't they just try to syndicate repeats of Windy City Live instead to gain traction for eventually taking that national when things calm down ??? I mean, it pretty much is what Kelly and Ryan used to be  before it was Kelly and Ryan. Couldn't Disney just do that again???  

 

WCL also has many nationally known guests so that helps. I understand they're  not producing new ones due to the disease but this is something that they need to think about in the future.

 

As a frequent WCL viewer & TV observer that respects and realizes the need for locally-based, quality, non-news programming, I gotta say, that would be a tough ask. So much of the show would have to be retooled. Whether in format, guest booking, audience recruiting, production quality, etc., Windy City Live needs A LOT (not a little) help. As producers have changed over the years and contributors have moved on, the show has increasingly felt a little too low-rent considering it's peak era. Running Local-ish bits and sponsored segments has given an impression of a lower operating budget. Sparsely-filled seats and frequent audience members imply waning interest. There used to be a rule of only getting tickets once a season. In recent years, though, that had gradually been reduced to no limit on number of visits. The set got a little refresh last summer, but still feels a little too shabby going into season 10. Ryan and Val are still a top-notch pair together, though the host with the weaker presence in 2011 has become the more well-rounded personality, and the other has become a bit too much of a diva, especially since Ji Suk Yi was fired as the third wheel.

 

Does it still win its time slot? Yes. COULD it be groomed for a larger audience? Yes. Would a pump in the arm financially help clean up some problems? Absolutely, but many of the issues are creative-focused, and would require a change in leadership.

 

Besides, they'd probably have to change the name, anyway. By that point, you'd be looking as a name, set, and format change, and with the low interest of getting guests to Chicago (Steve Harvey, etc.), they'd be scouting out just the hosts, and then you might as well just ship them to either coast.

[nathannah 2446]

The problem with Chicago syndication is, outside Judge Mathis, Chicago is now looked at as a 'budget' option for shows you'd rather just test rather than the full-budget programs you get in New York or Los Angeles, or as Chicago learned with the Universal Trash Triad, Connecticut's tax credits are much more worthwhile to go for than trying to work with the Illinois Legislature on anything without arm-twisting. The last non-Harvey talk show effort from Chicago, the second corpse-shambling version of iVillageLive after its failure as a Universal Studios-originated show, bombed and never got non-NBC pickup because everyone just saw it as an infomercial for the Apprentice and the contestants who hosted that show, likely cheaply. Outside NBC and ABC, you just aren't going to see anyone else interested in Chicago syndication as they don't have a presence or the studio room to do so; Tribune is gone and Nexstar is all in on News Nation, CBS's Block 37 adventures haven't got them out of the basement, and Fox's studio presence is just as much as they need for WFLD's news department and the Fox News Chicago bureau, with Weigel just happy to get the spectrum-bait stations across the country to spread their O&O subchannels onto owned presences rather than producing new programming.

[24994J 5585]

Heck yes to all of that. 

 

Anything national that might come from Chicago wouldn't require celebrity guests, sizable audiences, and other large production standards. Oprah and Donahue were different animals from a different era, but sleepers like At the Movies are the type of fare that could have a shot in these times, but that's not likely going to turn into top tier, daily strips.

[TexasTVNews 1377]

There's rumors that Hot Bench is canceled, can anybody confirm or deny that the show is renewed or canceled.

[Nelson R. 569]

5 hours ago, TexasTVNews said:

There's rumors that Hot Bench is canceled, can anybody confirm or deny that the show is renewed or canceled.

Haven’t heard that one. The Katz page says it’s signed through next year.

[ScottJ 134]

Broadcasting & Cable posted an interview with the Hot Bench executive producer yesterday. He mentioned launching Season 7 on September 14.