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Showing posts from October, 2012

Heartland Ministries moves WVHM translator closer to Madisonville

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Southern Gospel station to broadcast from tower at Madisonville Community College Benton, Ky.-based religious broadcaster Heartland Ministries has applied for a license to cover its relocated Southern Gospel translator station, W206BB-89.1 FM , which serves the northern part of Madisonville, Ky. W206BB, which rebroadcasts Heartland's WVHM with a 19-watt signal, has been moved from a tower east of Hanson to a tower on the campus of Madisonville Community College, where it can better serve its community of license. Heartland also owns and operates W235AC-94.9 FM, which carries WVHM's programming to the southern half of Madisonville. 

Gray Television reports record 3Q revenue

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WBKO owner posts 34% gain over same period in '11, credits 367% political ad surge Gray Television this morning announced its results for the third quarter of 2012, along with comparisons to the same period last year as well as the year to date. The company, which owns Bowling Green, Ky. ABC/Fox/CW affiliate WBKO and operates Nashville ABC affiliate WKRN for Young Broadcasting, posted record revenue for the quarter of $102.9 million; that's a 34% increase over the third quarter of 2011 and $17.6 million higher than the previous third quarter record in 2010. For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2012, Gray's revenue was $278.2 million ; the previous record for a nine-month period ended September 30 was $232.4 million set in the nine-month period ended September 30, 2008. Political advertising revenue increased $19.3 million, or 367%, to $24.5 million .  All other advertising categories were also up compared to 2011.  Retransmission consent reven

WEHT and WTVW: Now with even more HD

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If it's available in HD, both stations are broadcasting it in 720p UPDATE, 9 a.m.:   Fox44 WEVV was also all-HD before WEHT and WTVW; the station was all-HD (via W47EE-D, ch annel 47.1) from its launch on July 1, 2011. PREVIOUSLY: Back in August,  WEHT Local and Local 7 WTV W began airing news in high defin ition. Now, nearly three months later, the stations have become the latest in the market to transition to all-HD operation. What does this mean, exactly?  Simply put, it's this:  Everything that's available to the stations in HD - from commercials to syndicated shows like Family Feud, etc. - now makes its way to you in the clearer and cri sper format . The stations are broadcasting using the 720p format, the same as ABC uses for its network feed. WEHT and WTVW aren't the first stations in Evansville to make this move; the first (and until this week, only) station to be all-HD 24/7 was CBS44 WEVV, which switched over nearly four years ago.

All UK men's basketball games to be televised in HD

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For the first time in the University of Kentucky 's history, all of the school's men's basketball games this season will be televised in crystal-clear, sparkling high definition . Whether you'll be watching the Wildcats on the UK IMG Sports Network , Fox Sports South , the ESPN networks , CBS , SEC Network or Fox Sports Net , all of the games - even the two exhibition contests - will be in HD. In our part of the country, the following TV stations are part of the UK IMG Sports Network: EVANSVILLE - Local 7 WTVW PADUCAH - WDKA-My49 LOUISVILLE - WDRB/WMYO BOWLING GREEN - WBKO And the following stations are part of the SEC Network: EVANSVILLE - Local 7 WTVW PADUCAH - WDKA-My49 LOUISVILLE - WAVE 3 BOWLING GREEN - WBKO

NBC says Community's coming back, but not until February

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Network rolls out midseason schedule If you're a fan of Community , good news, sort of:  NBC announced on Tuesday that the show will have a fourth season, but it's not going to start any time soon. The show's season premiere has been scheduled for Feb. 7 - more than 3 months away . NBC also announced its midseason schedule, which includes the return of shows like The Biggest Loser (Jan. 6), Betty White’s Off Their Rockers (Jan. 8), Smash (Feb. 5), The Celebrity Apprentice (Mar. 3), The Voice and Revolution (both Mar. 25). Series premiere dates have also been set for mystery soap Deception (Jan. 7), White House-set comedy 1600 Penn (Jan. 10), and the Eva Longoria-produced reality show Ready for Love (Mar. 31). Parks and Recreation will move up an hour on Thursdays starting Jan. 17. Up All Night is going on hiatus while the single-camera comedy transforms into a multi-camera comedy that’s shot in front of a live audience.

LOUISVILLE: WDRB adding weekend morning newscasts

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WDRB Weekend Morning News debut set for Jan. 19 Louisville-area TV viewers will soon have another choice for local news on the weekends. WDRB, the city's Fox affiliate, announced on Tuesday that it will debut the new WDRB Weekend Morning News on Saturday, Jan. 19.  The new morning newscasts will air every Saturday and Sunday from 6 to 9 a.m. ET (5 to 8 a.m. CT). Anchors for the new newscasts have not yet been named. “This is the next logical step for our news department,” said WDRB News Director Barry Fulmer. “We already lead the market by offering the most original local news Monday through Friday, and with this latest expansion, we’ll be able to make that claim seven days a week. The ratings show that WDRB in the Morning has been the clear No. 1 choice of weekday morning viewers for some time now, and that makes us confident that we can do just as well on Saturdays and Sundays.” The station's president and general manager, Bill Lamb, concurred with Fulmer. “For a

Shepherd named new weekend anchor at Eyewitness News

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David Shepherd , reporting for Eyewitness News David Shepherd, who is currently the lead political reporter at WEHT Local and Local 7 WTVW , will become the stations' new weekend news co-anchor starting next weekend. He replaces Lindsay Merwin , who has co-anchored the weekend newscasts with Shalah Sasse for both stations since last December. The new seat behind the anchor desk is familiar ground for Shepherd, who was WEHT's weekend anchor before the stations folded their operations together late last year. Congratulations, David!

BRIEF: Network newscasts expanding to 1 hour to cover Hurricane Sandy

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Nightline also set to go 1 hour UPDATE, 6:02 p.m.:  None of the Evansville network affiliates are airing the expanded Hurricane Sandy coverage. UPDATE, 4:30 p.m.:   CBS44 WEVV will NOT air the expanded half-hour of the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley.  The station WILL air the special report at 9 p.m. CT which CBS has planned to broadcast. ABC, CBS and NBC have decided to make adjustments to their programming this evening as Hurricane Sandy makes its way ashore somewhere near Atlantic City, N.J. All three networks will expand their evening newscasts to one hour tonight.  ABC will also extend Nightline to one hour following its affiliates' late newscasts. Other changes may be made to programming this evening ... stay tuned to your favorite network for the latest information.

Anderson Live won't return for third season

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Anderson Cooper Cooper's show hasn't been able to get ratings traction Warner Bros. has announced this afternoon that Anderson Live , the syndicated daytime talk show hosted by Anderson Cooper , will end its run at the end of the show's current season. “We are extremely proud of Anderson and the show that he and the entire production team have produced,” said a Warner Bros. spokesperson in a statement. “While we made significant changes to the format, set and produced it live in its second season, the series will not be coming back for a third season in a marketplace that has become increasingly difficult to break through.” The biggest problem the show has faced has been ratings.  The show was a weak performer in the 2011-12 season, and despite the changes made for this season, it just hasn't been able to make any headway among strong competition. Indeed, for the week ending, the show averaged a 1.1 rating nationally, down 15% from an already weak n

WNIN drops channel 9.3

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Radio station no longer simulcast on TV Over-the-air viewers of WNIN (ch. 9) may have noticed in the past few days that they have only two program choices instead of the three that we've become accustomed to. I'm told that the station dropped its 88.3 FM simulcast on channel 9.3 because its new encoder cannot accommodate the FM station. Of course, 88.3 remains available on the radio, as well as on WNIN's website ( wnin.org ) and TuneIn Radio .

NASHVILLE: Reborn TNN signs WSMV as flagship station

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Network set to return as diginet on Nov. 1   The Nashville Network (TNN) today announced it has signed an affiliation agreement with Meredith Corp.’s NBC affiliate WSMV in Nashville to be carry TNN on its ch. 4.2 subchannel when TNN relaunches as a broadcast network on Nov. 1. TNN will also be added to Comcast’s channel lineup in November. TNN, originally launched as a cable network featuring country music programming, is returning as a broadcast television network. Programming will include live, syndicated and first-run programming along with digitally restored content pulled from the vaults on Music Row. Doreen Wade, Vice President and General Manager of WSMV Nashville said: “We look forward to partnering once again with The Nashville Network. We cannot think of a better place for the return of the network with our shared history in delivering quality programming to the region.” Matt Winn, VP of TNN Television, said: “Finding the right partner to be

Developers to spend millions on WAZE owners' downtown STL properties

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Steve and Mike Roberts Roberts Tower, Mayfair Hotel among buildings to get makeover from Chicago and Cincinnati interests Just days after finally finding a buyer for one of their bankrupt TV stations ( WRBJ-TV in Jackson, Miss. ), WAZE-TV undertakers owners Mike and Steve Roberts are at long last getting some help with their flagship real estate properties in downtown St. Louis. The unfinished Roberts Tower The Post-Dispatch reports that UrbanStreet Group of Chicago and North American Properties of Cincinnati have agreed to spend about $16.5 million to develop new uses for Roberts Tower, Mayfair Hotel, Roberts Lofts on the Plaza and several empty buildings adjoining the lofts property. The deal, which was put together by CBRE, comes five months after the properties were put up for sale .  It's not clear if the $16.5 million infusion from UrbanStreet and North American indicates a sale of the properties or if the brothers will retain some ownership stake.

The Weekender for Oct. 21-26

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It's Friday, and because tomorrow is my birthday, I'm getting an early start on the celebration and taking the day off. All of this week's headlines can be found below for your convenience, as you've come to expect. Once you're done catching up, be sure to check out JDTVB's Facebook page , which now includes special exclusive items which aren't posted here, and follow me on Twitter for all the latest information, as well as comments on a host of other topics, too. Have a great weekend! Developers to spend millions on WAZE owners' downtown STL properties Rand to the rescue? Kentucky's junior senator buying ads in Indiana Senate race Final Indiana gubernatorial debate is tonight NASHVILLE BRIEF: Journal purchase of NewsChannel 5 gets FCC approval LOUISVILLE BRIEF: WLKY news director moves to Cincinnati Getting "COZI": NBC-owned TV stations starting their own classic TV network Ind. 8th District candidates

Rand to the rescue? Kentucky's junior senator buying ads in Indiana Senate race

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Paul says Mourdock is a "great candidate," p lans to run ad slamming Donnelly's foreign aid stance beginning Friday UPDATE, 5:45 p.m.:   The DSCC has released its ad, and it can be previewed at courierpress.com . UPDATE, 4:55 p.m.:   With Sen. Rand Paul releasing his ad for Richard Mourdock on Friday, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) has decided to do likewise for Mourdock's opponent, Democratic Rep. Joe Donnelly. The ad will feature Mourdock and Mitt Romney side-by-side. PREVIOUSLY: Just days after making a widely-publicized and controversial statement about his feelings on abortion and rape during the final televised debate of the campaign, and with the election less than two weeks away, Indiana's Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, Richard Mourdock , is getting some on-air help from a friend and potential colleague. Kentucky's junior U.S. Senator, Rand Paul , who - like Mourdock - is a Tea Party favorite, told WDRB-TV in

Final Indiana gubernatorial debate is tonight

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Boneham, Gregg and Pence to face off in Fort Wayne UPDATE, 6:11 p.m.:   No sooner had I posted the 6:10 update ... the debate finally hit the air. UPDATE, 6:10 p.m.:  Apparently there is a technical issue preventing the debate from being broadcast on WNIN and 14Xtra.  No luck with radio (WNIN-FM) or online ( tristatehomepage.com ), either, at least at this point. The three men who are in the running for Indiana's highest office will meet for their final broadcast debate of the 2012 election cycle tonight at 6 p.m. CT (7 ET). Libertarian Rupert Boneham , Democrat John Gregg and Republican Mike Pence , who are looking to take over for outgoing Gov. Mitch Daniels , will appear at the studios of WFWA-PBS 39 in Fort Wayne for tonight's debate, which will be seen and/or heard on the following stations in Southwestern Indiana: EVANSVILLE TV - WNIN-PBS 9.1 and WFIE-14Xtra (14.2) RADIO - WNIN-88.3 FM ONLINE - Tristatehomepage.com , WIKY.com , 14NEWS.com , WNIN

NASHVILLE BRIEF: Journal purchase of NewsChannel 5 gets FCC approval

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$215m sale of CBS affiliate was announced in early Sept. Journal Broadcast Group has received the all-clear from the FCC to go ahead with its purchase of Nashville CBS affiliate WTVF (NewsChannel 5) from Landmark Media Enterprises . The deal, which is worth a whopping $215 million in cash, was announced Sept. 4. It's not yet known if Journal plans to make any significant changes at the station, which has been owned by Landmark since 1994.

LOUISVILLE BRIEF: WLKY news director moves to Cincinnati

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Neelly takes over as ND at WLWT; Stahlman now heads WLKY's news department Hearst Television has done some shuffling in its news departments in Cincinnati and Louisville . First, to Cincinnati and WLWT goes Mike Neelly , the longtime news director at Louisville's WLKY .  Neelly, who's been with WLKY for 15 years (and news director for the past 12 of those), replaces Stacy Owen at WLWT, who recently left for KNBC in Los Angeles. Replacing Neelly at WLKY is his longtime assistant, Andrea Stahlman .  Stahlman, a graduate of Notre Dame with nearly 19 years of service at WLKY (she started as the station's weekend assignment editor in December 1993), has been the CBS affiliate's assistant ND since 2000.

Getting "COZI": NBC-owned TV stations starting their own classic TV network

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NBC 's company-owned TV stations announced on Wednesday that they're joining the classic TV fray with a new network called COZI TV , which will debut in January on the 10 stations owned by the network in the nation's largest markets. The new network, which will compete with established rivals such as Weigel's Me-TV , Tribune's Antenna TV and Luken Communications' RTV , will also be available to local stations nationwide - although it's not immediately clear if that means just-NBC-affiliated local stations or all stations - when it debuts in early 2013. COZI will offer programs familiar to many classic TV fans like Magnum, P.I. , The Bionic Woman , Charlie’s Angels , Highway to Heaven , Lone Ranger and The Six Million Dollar Man , along with classic movies and exclusive original programming that is currently under development. “COZI TV will break the mold in the multicast space by combining three popular programming genres – hit movies, kno

Ind. 8th District candidates set to debate tonight

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Vincennes forum to be broadcast by WVUT, WVUB UPDATE, 7 p.m.:   The Libertarian candidate, Bart Gadau, did not come to Vincennes for the debate. The candidates for Indiana's 8th District U.S. House seat are scheduled to debate the issues in Vincennes at 7 p.m. CT (8 ET) this evening. The incumbent, Republican Larry Bucshon , will face off against Democratic candidate Dave Crooks and Libertarian Bart Gadau in tonight's broadcast debate, which is sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Knox and Vigo Counties. The debate will be held at Vincennes University and televised live on WVUT-TV 22.1 and on the radio on WVUB-91.1 FM .  Online viewers can see the debate by clicking here.

BRIEF: Nexstar to offer $200M in new senior notes

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Nexstar Broadcasting has announced plans to offer $200 million in new senior notes. The company will use the proceeds from the sale of the notes to buy back its outstanding seven percent senior subordinated and senior subordinated PIK notes due in 2014.  Nexstar also plans to refinance a portion of its existing senior secured credit facilities and pay related fees and expenses. In other news, Nexstar plans to release its third quarter financial results on Tuesday, Nov. 6. EDITOR'S NOTE:   Nexstar owns Evansville ABC affiliate WEHT (ch. 25) and Terre Haute NBC affiliate WTWO (ch. 2), and operates Evansville independent station WTVW (ch. 7) and Terre Haute ABC affiliate WAWV (ch. 38) for Mission Broadcasting.

Chicago Bears reach new multi-year radio deal with CBS

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The Chicago Bears and CBS Radio Chicago announced Wednesday morning that they have reached a new multi-year deal that will keep the NFL team on WBBM Newsradio 780 AM - 105.9 FM and its sister stations in the Windy City. WBBM has been the radio home of the Bears since 2000. In Southwestern Indiana, the Bears' games can also be heard on WFML-96.7 FM in Vincennes, which is the only Bears radio affiliate located in the Tri-State. “We are happy to continue our outstanding partnership with WBBM ... and excited to create new opportunities with the other stations in the CBS Radio Chicago family,” Bears president and CEO Ted Phillips said.  “We want to continue to add unique content offerings for our diverse fan base, and CBS Radio Chicago provides an excellent fit to help us achieve this goal.” “WBBM ... has been the ‘Voice of the Bears’ for the last 13 seasons and we look forward with great excitement to the years ahead,” said Rod Zimmerman, senior VP and market m

CBS gives full-season orders to Vegas and Elementary

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Shows are #1 and #2 among new network programs for the season CBS announced Tuesday afternoon that it's ordered "back nine" episodes (which will make full season orders) to television's top two freshman series — Vegas and Elementary . “Vegas and Elementary have opened strong, delivering big audiences and winning performances in important time periods,” said Nina Tassler, CBS Entertainment's president.  “Each of the shows hasrich characters, big stars and a unique visual style that have stood out in the crowd, helping make two of our strongest nights even stronger.” Vegas, which stars Randy Quaid and Michael Chiklis, is the #1 new series of the season and ranked sixth overall.  It's a winner in its Tuesday time period in viewers and key demographics and has improved the year-ago time period by 8 percent in viewers. Elementary, starring Jonny Lee Miller, Lucy Liu, Aidan Quinn and Jon Michael Hill, is the #2 new series of the season, ranked ninth

Indiana Broadcasters Association names Spectrum Awards finalists

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SW Ind. radio well-represented; Evansville TV stations shut out again The Indiana Broadcasters Association will dole out its 2012 Spectrum Awards on Nov. 10 in Indianapolis, and several Southwestern Indiana radio stations are among this year's finalists.  However, in what's becoming something of a sorry trend, Evansville's TV stations were once again not represented. Among the radio stations on the list are stations from Evansville, Huntingburg, Jasper and Vincennes .  WVUB-91.1 FM and WIKY-104.1 FM received the most nominations, with Blazer 91.1 getting six nominations and WIKY five. On the TV side, Terre Haute TV station WTWO-NBC 2 received seven nominations, and WTHI-TV has eight. See the list of radio finalists from our part of the state after the jump, or click here for the statewide list .

OMG! The Insider is changing!

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CBS Television Distribution teams up with Yahoo! to enhance, rename popular syndie new s show CBS Television Distribution (CTD) and Yahoo! announced on Tuesday that they've reached a deal combining the broadcasting power of The Insider with the online reach of Yahoo! . As part of the deal, entertainment newsmagazine The Insider will be renamed omg! Insider in January.   Kevin Frazier and Brooke Anderson will continue to host the TV show, as well as draw on Yahoo! talent such as Kristen Aldridge (omg! NOW) and Michael Yo (The Yo Show on Yahoo!). In addition, Yahoo!'s popular omg! entertainment news site , visited by nearly 30 million users each month, will be the exclusive home to video provided by the TV show.  omg! Insider will be a true web and on-air collaboration that aims to reinvent how consumers access entertainment news across screens. Online, Yahoo!'s omg! will provide continually updated coverage, including video clips, celebrity interviews, photo galleries

WAZE's owners sell Mississippi CW station to TBN

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Steve and Mike Roberts have sold one of their bankrupt stations Local CW affiliate still up for sale, STL newspaper reports UPDATE #2, WEDNESDAY 3:15 p.m.:  The latest word on the sale of WRBJ is that the judge in the Roberts Broadcasting bankruptcy case - presumably Judge Barry Schermer, who was handling the case at last check - will have to approve the deal.  That's in addition to the usual FCC scrutiny that station sales receive. UPDATE, 12:45 p.m.:   According to today's roundup of station sales at TVNewsCheck , TBN is paying $1.5 million for WRBJ. Of course, WRBJ has been fully built-out and is a digital operation, unlike WAZE, which is analog-only and consists - for legal purposes, anyway - of three low-power stations (channels 4, 5 and 17). PREVIOUSLY: It's been months since we've heard anything from Roberts Broadcasting , the bankrupt St. Louis-based owner of WAZE-LP , Evansville's CW affiliate, but that changed Tuesday morning with a report fr

BRIEF: Time for a paint job at 'KTG

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Station to reduce power until paint work on its tower is done From our friends at Power Rock 93.9 KTG (WKTG-93.9 FM, Madisonville) comes word that the station will be reducing its power today as a crew climbs its tower to give it a new coat of paint: In just a bit we may be going to shorten our broadcast range for a short period while we have some brave men climb our huge tower and paint the thing! Some of our fans out in the fringe areas may lose us for a short time but as soon as those dudes get off the big stick, we'll be back rocking at full volume! Stay tuned ...

America Now showing huge ratings gains for Raycom

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Louisville ratings for show up 74% compared to last year I've never been completely sold on "syndicating from within," as companies like Raycom have done with America Now and others, especially when there are so many good syndicated programs out there (including one that hasn't managed to make its way into the Evansville market despite being perhaps the one that was most-talked-about this year ... hmmm ...). But in numbers newly released, it's clear that America Now is working - and drawing more eyes to the stations where it's broadcast. Hosted by Bill Rancic and Leeza Gibbons, the joint venture between Raycom and ITV Studios America, which is now in its third season, has improved its position in 14 metered TV markets - including Louisville - by an average of 20% over last year.  It's bringing in some 137,000 viewers a day (good for a 1.2 rating and 3 share versus a 1.0/3 last year) in just those 14 out of the 45 markets where the show can

Unusual WUSI-TV channel swap should be fixed, says executive director

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Petrowich says no plans ex ist to make both WSIU and WUSI show up as channel 8 UPDATE, 2:32 p.m.: In the original version of this story, I inadvertently misspelled Greg Petrowich's name.  I've now corrected that, and I apologize for the error. Over the past couple of weeks, I've noticed - and some readers have as well - that WUSI-TV out of Olney mysteriously changed from channels 16.1 through 16.4 over the air to 8.1 through 8.4, mirroring WSIU-TV , its sister station in Carbondale. It created some confusion - and not just for those of us who watch!  Greg Petrowich, executive director of WSIU Public Broadcasting, said it shouldn't have happened at all, and they're not even sure what caused it. " We have no plan or intent" to make both stations channel 8, he told me via email Friday. Petrowich says they've reset things at the transmitter site, and things should be back to normal.

Success means third season is a "go" for The X Factor

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Fox announced on Monday that the network has ordered a third season of The X Factor . “I couldn't be happier about The X Factor already being renewed for another season,” said Simon Cowell. “I am so proud of the show and the team who have made it this season." “This season, Simon and the producers took an already strong show and made it absolutely fantastic,” said Mike Darnell, Fox's president of Alternative Entertainment. “We feel great about the show and I’m thrilled to bring it back next year for Season Three.” Season to date,  the show is averaging a 3.9 rating among adults 18-49 and 10.6 million total viewers.  The show is a Top 15 this fall among adults 18-49 and 18-34. It's also a Top 5 entertainment program among teens this season. Following schedule changes due to the rain-delayed MLB NLCS game last week, the highly anticipated conclusion of the “Judges’ Homes” round of The X Factor will air at a special time Tuesday night at 8:30 p.m. CT (9:30 ET). Simon

ABC closing up Private Practice

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Show will end after 13-episode sixth season wraps ABC has decided to retire Private Practice after a short, 13-episode sixth season. The move, which was announced Friday, came as the network was ordering more episodes of Grey's Anatomy, Modern Family, The Middle and Castle. The show's creator, Shonda Rhimes, said she's "sad" that the show won't make it through another full season. "There was a lot of discussion and debate but, in the end, the guys at the network and the studio and I all decided that (the show) was reaching its finish line," she wrote on Twitter.  Rhimes did admonish her followers to watch the remaining episodes, which she called "a creative renaissance."

Me-TV Tri-State wants your holiday greetings

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15-second viewer videos to air between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day Have you ever wanted to share holiday greetings with your family and friends on TV?  You're in luck: One local station is giving you a chance. WTSN/WYYW , Evansville's Me-TV affiliate, is asking viewers to send in 15-second videos, and all you have to say is: "Happy Holidays from Me-TV Tri-State & ________ (your name)!" If you're interested, shoot your video and send it to videos@wtsn36.com by November 11.  They'll run between Thanksgiving Day and New Year's Day.

AMC returns to Dish as companies finally end months-long blackout

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AMC is already back; Sundance, WEtv and IFC se t to return on Nov. 1 Just in time for the second episode of The Walking Dead 's new season, AMC is finally back on for Dish Network customers. The companies, which acrimoniously broke off relations at the beginning of July , reached a new deal - the terms of which won't be disclosed, of course - which will give customers back what they've been (justifiably) upset about losing. In a statement, AMC CEO Josh Sapan said, “We are glad to partner again with Dish Network and are delighted to bring back our popular channels and programming to their customers.” Dish will also begin carrying the Fuse network.  No word on when that one will become available. MORE READING: The New York Times: "AMC Networks and Dish Reach Deal for Return of Channels"

The Weekender for Oct. 15-19

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It's Friday, and that means it's time to look back at the week in TV and radio. As usual, all of this week's headlines can be found below for your convenience. Once you're done catching up, be sure to check out JDTVB's Facebook page , which now includes special exclusive items which aren't posted here, and follow me on Twitter for all the latest information, as well as comments on a host of other topics, too. Have a great weekend! NBC cans Animal Practice Ky. radio station owner elected to BMI board of directors 93.5 The Wolf midday host named PA announcer for Purple Aces men's basketball TERRE HAUTE: News 10 going HD on Monday Cubs TV analyst Brenly says he won't be back for '13 season The Amusement Park debuts on WYIR-LP Second of three Indiana gubernatorial debates is tonight The Weather Channel lays off 7% of employees, according to report SOUTHERN ILLINOIS: SIU/Youngstown State football game to air Saturday on

NBC cans Animal Practice

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Sorry, monkey, you're out: Whitney is taking over at 7 CT Wed. nights Whitney returns to take over the time slot on Nov. 14 UPDATE, 2:30 a.m. FRIDAY: I goofed, folks. Animal Practice is actually the third show of the season to be canceled.  Last Friday, while my wife and I were celebrating our 10th anniversary, NBC pulled the plug on a show it hadn't even brought to air!   Perhaps we can take this as a good sign that NBC is finally figuring out which shows are going to bomb before they ruin our TV viewing.  It's about damn time. PREVIOUSLY: NBC announced this afternoon that it's canceled the low-rated sitcom Animal Practice , although the network has decided to burn off a couple more episodes. Starting Nov. 14, Whitney - a fairly popular show that NBC had delayed just last week - will return and take over the 7 p.m. CT Wednesday slot. Interestingly, Animal Practice is only the second show of the season to be canceled so far.   CBS was first to kill o

Ky. radio station owner elected to BMI board of directors

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BMI , a leading music rights management company, has elected a Kentucky radio station owner to its board of directors. Steve Newberry , president and CEO of Glasgow, Ky.-based Commonwealth Broadcasting Corp. , was elected during BMI's annual shareholder meeting in Nashville earlier this week. Commonwealth owns 22 radio stations across Kentucky, including three in the Tri-State - adult contemporary WTTL-106.9 FM (Madisonville), country WWKY-97.7 FM (Providence) and sports talk WTTL-1310 AM (Madisonville). Newberry is an active broadcaster, having served in high positions with the National Association of Broadcasters, the Kentucky Broadcasters Association and the Kentucky Authority for Educational Television, among his many affiliations.  Last year, he received the National Radio Award, the industry’s highest leadership honor. Founded by broadcasters in 1939 as a competitive force in the licensing of music, BMI is widely credited with shepherding the creation

93.5 The Wolf midday host named PA announcer for Purple Aces men's basketball

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Tommy Mason Tommy Mason takes over for John MacCauley, longtime announcer who died suddenly in August UPDATE, 10:17 a.m.:  See below. The University of Evansville athletics department announced Wednesday evening that Tommy Mason will assume public address duties for Purple Aces men’s basketball this season. Mason, who is the midday host on Evansville country station 93.5 The Wolf (WLFW) and PA announcer for the Evansville IceMen , takes over for the late John MacCauley , who died unexpectedly in August.  MacCauley had been the Aces' announcer for 27 years. "It is an honor for me to be able to assume this position,” Mason said.  “There is a reason John was doing this for 27 years and I want to do my best to continue the legacy that he has started.” Mason is no stranger to UE athletics; he's handled PA duties for other sports since 2006 and has been the men's basketball team's on-court announcer for the past five years. "Tommy has a stro