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 / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Monday, November 24

Everybody Loves Raymond: 30th Anniversary Reunion (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Hosted by Emmy Award-winning actor Ray Romano and series creator Phil Rosenthal and featuring cast members Brad Garrett, Patricia Heaton, Monica Horan, Madylin Sweeten and Sullivan Sweeten, this new entertainment special celebrates the legacy of the hit comedy with one of television's most beloved families.

DMV - "There Is No I in DMV" (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Barb takes the team on a field trip to the rival North Hollywood branch to learn the secrets of their success. She begins to doubt herself after meeting their charismatic manager, Beau (Randall Park). Meanwhile, Gregg and Vic get in Colette’s head that Noa prefers risk-takers.

St. Denis Medical - "A Strong Cup of Coffee" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Alex is eager to impress her old charge nurse, Pam, who comes back to St. Denis; Serena and Matt try to solve a patient's mystery illness.

The Paper - "Buddy and the Dude" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Ned tags along on Mare's consumer sting story after Esmeralda tells him a bunch of things that get in his head; Oscar has to stick his neck out in a budget meeting; Detrick and Nicole play two truths and a lie until it blows up.

TV We Love - "Cheers" (The CW, 9:00PM ET/PT)
A look back at the Boston bar "where everybody knows your name," with cast and creators of "Cheers" sharing the spark that made it one of TV's greatest comedies.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of November 24)

Monday, November 24

Jim Gaffigan (The Jim Gaffigan Show/My Boys/The Ellen Show/Welcome to New York) - Watch Jim on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC. Tamron Hall has A DAYTIME EXCLUSIVE with Jim, a superstar who has taken everyday life and turned it into something unforgettable, so check your local listings. He joins the Tam Fam to talk about his brand-new special Live from the Old Forester: The Bourbon Set, which was filmed live on Louisvilles Whiskey Row, as well as parenting his five kids and more.
Daniel Radcliffe (Miracle Workers) - Daniel appears on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC. He also talks about Merrily We Roll Along on NBC's Today in the 10am hour.
Taran Killam (Stumble/Single Parents) - Taran is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Brenda Song (Running Point/Dollface/Dads/The Suite Life on Deck/The Suite Life of Zack & Cody) - Brenda sits down with ABC News’ Will Ganss on ABC's GMA 3: What You Need to Know at 1pm.
Sherri Shepherd (Mr. Iglesias/Trial & Error/Sherri/Less Than Perfect/Suddenly Susan) - Sherri chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
Ke Huy Quan (Head of the Class/Together We Stand) - Ke stops by to talk Disney's Zootopia 2 on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Laurie Metcalf (The Conners/Roseanne/The McCarthys/The Norm Show) - Laurie drops by the studio to talk Little Bear Ridge Road on Live with Kelly and Mark, so check your local listings.
Hank Azaria (The Simpsons/Brockmire/Free Agents/Herman's Head) - NBC's Today catches up with Hank in the 9am hour.
Lunell (Crutch/Lopez) - Luenell tells Sherri about her role on Tracy Morgan's new Paramount+ show Crutch on Sherri, so check your local listings.
Jake Lacy (High Fidelity/The Office/Better with You) - Jake talks about Peacock's All Her Fault on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.