Strike Update; ME-TV Coming to Milwaukee, Chicago to Launch ME-Too; RTN Coming to Illinois

Monday, February 11, 2008

Strike Update; ME-TV Coming to Milwaukee, Chicago to Launch ME-Too; RTN Coming to Illinois

Well we all know the strike is just about over. Yesterday I mentioned that they had a press conference. So what happened in it? They announced a vote will be held on Tuesday. A yes vote means they are voting to end the strike immediately; a no vote means they are voting to continue the strike during the ratification process.
So the strike has unofficially ended, but it won't be official until after this vote. It is widely expected that the WGA members will indeed vote yes on the new deal and the writers would return to work Wednesday.
So today is technically still day 99 of the strike. And tomorrow is day 100, the last day technically of the strike. How cool is it that this will all end officially on day 100. We will have more on the vote and more details this week.

You all know about ME-TV in Chicago. The local Chicago station (WWME-23) that airs classic TV, well now the same people will bring ME-TV in Milwaukee! ME-TV will launch in Milwaukee March 1 with a lineup that will include programs such as I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, The Dick Van Dyke Show and Lost in Space.
ME-TV in Milwaukee will be on a new digital subchannel on Channel 58.3 (WDJT). In addition to being available over the air at 58.3, it will have a spot on the Time Warner and Charter digital lineups. For the record, Channel 58's less-than-full power sister channel, WMLW-TV - Channel 41 over the air and Channel 7 on Time Warner Cable - airs at 58.2.
Stay tuned right here on the News Blog for the launch schedule for this new ME-TV station in Milwaukee! We will be the first to post it, I'm sure.

Sticking with ME-TV, ME-TV in Chicago is still going strong. It just launched its new Chill with Me winter line-up and added shows such as Gilligan's Island and My Favorite Martian. Now, WWME (ME-TV Chicago) has announced it intends to add classic reruns to WFBT-Ch. 48 and rename it WMEU-TV beginning March 1. WWME-23 has called itself ME-TV. WFBT-48 will call itself ME-Too.
Besides being broadcast and carried by some area cable providers, the channels also will be available on digital sub-channels belonging to sister station WCIU-Ch. 26, WCIU-DT 26.2 and 26.3 respectively.
Between ME-TV and ME-Too, more than 100 different series will be aired! Having ME-Too will allow development of targeted blocks of programming for different demographics. It also will create a classic program stream when sports preempts regularly scheduled shows.
Among the shows we will see will be a Saturday night "pajama party" lineup will feature sitcoms Square Pegs, Silver Spoons, Facts of Life, The Monkees, The Brady Bunch and The Partridge Family. Also we can expect a Sunday "Noir at Night" block of Route 66, Naked City, 77 Sunset Strip and Boris Karloff's Thriller.
Let's hope ME-TV and ME-Too expand to more cities. It would be nice to have at least a ME-TV in most markets...Chicago and Milwaukee are very lucky! I hope we get one in New York!
As we said about ME-TV Milwaukee's launch schedule, stay tuned right here on the News Blog for the launch schedule for Chicago's ME-Too! We will be the first to post it, I'm sure.

Meanwhile, something similar to ME-TV is of course Retro Television Network. RTN is now well over in 50 different markets and growing each day! Retro Television Network announced that it will partner with GOCOM Media of Illinois to bring RTN programming to Champaign/Springfield/Decatur, IL. The network will launch early next year on one of the digital streams of WRSP/WBUI.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Monday, May 29

The Neighborhood - "Welcome to What Used to be the Neighborhood" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Calvin’s favorite restaurant closes and is replaced by a flashy pet spa, he worries the community is losing too many small businesses and starts a campaign to only buy local. Also, Tina helps Necie prepare a special surprise for Marty.

Bob Hearts Abishola - "Your Father's Kingdom" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Abishola turns to Gloria and Kemi when Bob mortgages their home to pay for a new factory space. Also, Kemi worries that she and Chukwuemeka are losing their spark.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of May 29)

Monday, May 29

Seth Rogen (Platonic/Undeclared) - Watch Seth on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Nicole Byer (Grand Crew/Loosely Exactly Nicole) - Nicole is a guest on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Keanu Reaves (Swedish Dicks) - Keanu appears on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
Melanie Lynskey (Two and a Half Men/Togetherness) - Melanie is a guest on a repeat of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35pm on NBC.
James Spader (The Office) - James appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Ms. Pat (The Ms. Pat Show) - Ms. Pat is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Amanda Peet (Brockmire/Togetherness/Bent) - Amanda appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Brett Gelman (Fleabag/Married/Go On) - Brett is a guest on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Tichina Arnold (The Neighborhood/Survivor's Remorse/Happily Divorced/Everybody Hates Chris/Martin) - Tichina appears on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Kristin Chenoweth (Schmigadoon!/Trial & Error/Kristin) - Kristin is a guest on a repeat of The Jennifer Hudson Show, so check your local listings.
John Leguizamo (The Brothers Garcia) - John talks about MSNBC's Leguizamo Does America on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Eric McCormack (Will & Grace) - Eric talks about Shudder and AMC+'s Slasher: Ripper on a repeat of Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.
Method Man (Method & Red) - Method Man tells Sherri about his role in Sanaa Lathan’s directorial debut, On the Come Up, on a repeat of Sherri, so check your local listings.