Day 81: WGA's Strike; CBS Changes; RTN to Add 11 More Stations

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Day 81: WGA's Strike; CBS Changes; RTN to Add 11 More Stations

It is day 81 of the strike. Nothing new to report, but informal discussions between the writers and producers took place yesterday. Hopefully something comes out of it. NBC Universal executives confirmed Wednesday that the network currently does not have plans to cancel a batch of pilot scripts as CBS, Fox and The CW have done to dozens of projects in the wake of the writers' strike. But they are scaling back on their batches of pilot scripts from now on as the networks continue to institute budgetary cutbacks in the wake of the writers' strike, reports B&C.

CBS has announced a few schedule changes. The Power of 10, the primetime game show hosted by Drew Carey, will be pulled from the CBS schedule effective immediately. The show was airing Wednesdays at 8:00pm but has been coming in fourth place in its timeslot ever since American Idol returned. CBS will fill the void with repeats of sitcoms until further notice. Back-to-back repeats of Old Christine will air next week (Jan. 30), while Two and a Half Men and Big Bang Theory repeats will fill the hour on Feb. 6. Power of 10 could return to the air again by summer. Meanwhile, The Price is Right, the daytime game show hosted by Drew Carey, returns to prime time with six new specials to be broadcast on Fridays, beginning Feb. 22 from 8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT, on CBS and will be head-to-head vs NBC's 1 vs. 100 gameshow. These will be the first primetime specials to be broadcast since Carey took hosting reins from former host Bob Barker. During The Price is Right six-week primetime run, Ghost Whisperer repeats will move to 9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT. Moonlight will return to the schedule later this season.

Retro Television Network (RTN), which is nationally owned and distributed by Equity Media Holdings Corporation, announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Quincy Newspapers, Inc. (QNI) to launch RTN programming on 11 stations. The new affiliates will air on the digital streams of KWWL (Cedar Rapids/Waterloo/Iowa City/Dubuque, IA), WKOW (Madison, WI), WSJV (South Bend/Elkhart, IN), WVVA (Bluefield/Beckley/Oak Hill, WV), KXLT (Rochester, MN/Mason City, IA/Austin, MN), KTIV (Sioux City, IA), WREX (Rockford, IL), WXOW/WQOW (La Crosse/Eau Claire, WI) and WAOW/WYOW (Wausau/Rhinelander, WI).
As you all know by now, RTN is the first completely-customizable, national television network to provide a 24/7 digital feed of hit shows to each of its affiliates. The network's unique design allows each affiliate to remain in complete control while RTN runs the local and national master control from its central hub. RTN also offers customizable news and weather for each market, hosted by network-provided talent.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Sunday, December 22

Bob's Burgers - "The Nightmare 2 Days Before Christmas" (Fox, 7:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When the power goes out two days before Christmas, The Belchers must spend the holiday at Mr. Fischoeder's family's old hunting lodge.

Krapopolis - "Krapocalypse" (Fox, 7:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Tyrannis is stuck in a time loop trying to save the city.

The Simpsons - "The Man Who Flew Too Much" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT)
The new and improved Pin Pals travel to Capital City for their first ever state bowling championship.

Universal Basic Guys - "The Devil You Know" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Mark insists on teaching his son Darren how to throw a handmade boomerang that was gifted to Darren by his father; the two soon find themselves on a trek deep into the Jersey woods; David is the recipient of a sex doll that he swears he didn't order.

The Great North - "The Lies Aquatic Adventure" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
While Beef is away, the Tobin fishing boat goes missing; the Tobin siblings wildly speculate on what could have happened.

Krapopolis - "National Lampoon's The Odyssey!" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The family takes a vacation to Storgos for Shlub's mother's birthday.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Full-Frontal Dottie" (The CW, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Excited by her physical therapy progress, Dottie insists she is ready to return to MaxDot, much to Bob, Douglas and Christina's dismay.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of December 16)

Friday, December 20

Jason Bateman (Arrested Development/George and Leo/Chicago Sons/Simon/The Hogan Family/It's Your Move/Silver Spoons) - Watch Jason on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Sharon Horgan (Bad Sisters/HouseBroken/Catastrophe) - Sharon is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Dwayne Johnson (Young Rock) - Dwayne appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Colton Dunn (Superstore) and Diona Reasonover (Clipped) - Colton and Diona are guests on a repeat of After Midnight at 12:37am on CBS.
Zachary Quinto (Big Mouth/So Notorious) - NBC's Today catches up with Zachary in the 9am hour.
Billy Eichner (Friends from College/Difficult People/Parks and Recreation) - Billy talks about Mufasa: The Lion King on NBC's Today in the 10am hour. He can also be heard on The Morning Mash Up on SiriusXM.
Kerry Washington (UnPrisoned) - Kerry talks about The Six Triple Eight on CBS Mornings sometime between 7-9am and on Sherri, so check your local listings.
James Marsden (30 Rock) and Ben Schwartz (The Afterparty/Space Force/Parks and Recreation) - James and Ben talk about Sonic the Hedgehog 3 on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
Jamie Lee Curtis (The Sticky/Anything But Love/Operation Petticoat) - Jamie Lee chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Whitney Cummings (Whitney) - Whitney talks about Max's Fast Friends on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Henry Winkler (Barry/Arrested Development/Out of Practice/Monty/Happy Days) - Access Daily with Mario & Kit has the best of Henry and Kit Hoover, so check your local listings.
Howie Mandel (Good Grief) - The Talk celebrates 15 seasons with a special finale episode; friend of the show Howie Mandel makes his 21st appearance on the show when he stops by one last time with a surprise for the hosts on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.