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

Sunday, August 9

Last Man Standing - "Yours, Wine, and Ours" (Fox, 7:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
After a chat with Bonnie, Mike struggles to balance his need for "me time" and finding common hobbies with Vanessa.

Duncanville - "Witch Day" (Fox, 7:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
The town celebrates its annual Witch Day, which involves pronouncing a mortified Duncan the "town virgin" for the big ceremony; Annie and Jack steal a dead woman's chili recipe.

The Simpsons - "Warrin' Priests" (Fox, 8:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Bode, a young charismatic new preacher, comes to town and shakes things up at church, Reverend Lovejoy investigates his mysterious past.

Bless the Harts - "Cremains of the Day" (Fox, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Violet, David and Leonard take Wayne on a ghost hunt to cure his fear of ghosts; Jenny and Betty honor Jenny's late father on his favorite holiday.

Bob's Burgers - "Three Girls and a Little Wharfy" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Louise skeptically joins Jessica and fifth-grader Megan in their search for Wharfy, a mythical sea monster; Bob takes an online master class by a world-renowned chef.

Family Guy - "Absolutely Babulous" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
When Stewie receives a participation medal in his school's toddler games, he begins to question everything he has ever won; Peter causes a fight between Lois' parents and must repair the damage he caused.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of August 3)

Friday, August 7

Joel McHale (Community/The Great Indoors) - Joel guest hosts a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Laura Benanti (The Detour/Go On) - Laura is a guest on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
Josh Gad (Avenue 5/1600 Penn/Back to You) - Josh appears on a repeat of The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS.
Tony Shalhoub (We Are Men/Wings) - Tony is a guest on a repeat of A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
Regina King (227) - Regina appears on a repeat of The Talk on CBS at 2pm ET/1pm CT-PT.
Julie Bowen (Modern Family) - Julie is a guest on a repeat of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Lena Waithe (Master of None) - Lena appears on a repeat of The Wendy Williams Show, so check your local listings.
Eva Marcille (Born Again Virgin) - Eva guest hosts a repeat of The Real, so check your local listings.
Kim Fields (Living Single/The Facts of Life/Baby, I'm Back) - Kim is a guest on a repeat of The Real, so check your local listings.
Sofia Vergara (Modern Family/The Knights of Prosperity/Hot Properties) - Sofia appears on a repeat of The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Terry Crews (Brooklyn Nine-Nine/Are We There Yet/Everybody Hates Chris) - Terry is a guest on a repeat of The Kelly Clarkson Show, so check your local listings.
Dennis Quaid (Merry Happy Whatever) - Dennis talks about his new podcast The Dennissance on a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Holly Robinson Peete (Hangin' Mr. Cooper/For Your Love) - Holly is a guest on a repeat of Tamron Hall, so check your local listings.
Christopher Meloni (Surviving Jack/The Fanelli Boys) - Christopher talks about Hulu's Maxxx on a repeat of Access Daily, so check your local listings.
Raven-Symoné (Raven's Home/That's So Raven/Hangin' with Mr. Cooper/The Cosby Show) - Raven-Symoné talks about her new album The Reintroduction on a repeat of Access Daily, so check your local listings.