Summer 2008 TCA Cable Tour - July 8-11; NBC Universal Buys The Weather Channel; ION Reminds Us of Cooper

Monday, July 07, 2008

Summer 2008 TCA Cable Tour - July 8-11; NBC Universal Buys The Weather Channel; ION Reminds Us of Cooper

The cable portion of the summer 2008 TCA press tour starts tomorrow and runs until Friday. We will have a detailed look on every cable network that goes...of course if it is only interesting we will report it. But cable networks owned by media companies that also run broadcast networks, such as Walt Disney Co., NBC Universal, CBS Corp. and News Corp, will present their programming during the broadcast portion of the tour.
Up on Tuesday is: TV One, The Hallmark Channel, HDnet, BBC America, and Comcast's E!, style, & G4. Wednesday we have AMC, WE tv, MTV Networks (such as CMT, MTV, TV Land, VH1), National Geographic Channel, and A&E Networks (such as History and A&E). Thursday up at the panel are Discovery Networks (such as Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, TLC), ESPN, Sundance Channel, HBO, and GSN. Finally on Friday up are Turner Broadcasting (CNN, Cartoon Network, TNT, TBS), Fox Reality Channel, Starz, Lifetime, and IFC.

NBC Universal, Bain Capital and The Blackstone Group announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire The Weather Channel properties from Landmark Communications. The Weather Channel will be operated as a separate entity, based in Atlanta, with management services to be provided by NBC Universal.
The transaction includes The Weather Channel Networks, the third-most-distributed cable network, seen in more than 97% of cable television homes in the U.S.; The Weather Channel Interactive, which includes weather.com, the nation's leading weather website, with nearly 40 million unique visitors per month, and a leading mobile business; and Weather Services International, a global leader in weather forecasting, with more than 5,500 clients worldwide. The transaction is expected to be completed by year-end, and is subject to receipt of customary regulatory approvals. NBC Universal, Bain Capital and The Blackstone Group announced on June 13, 2008, that they had entered into exclusive negotiations to purchase The Weather Channel properties.
NBC Universal will probably have much more details when they are up at the 2008 summer TCA press tour in a few weeks.
Of course there is still no new deal for the SAG (the actors). So there could be a chance the broadcast portion of ther TCA tour could be scratched. The last statement SAG released was on July 2:
The Screen Actors Guild national negotiating committee met with AMPTP negotiators today to present a series of substantive questions on the employers' proposed package. Guild negotiators and staff will further analyze and review the AMPTP's responses over the next several days in order to prepare a response to management's proposal.
Let's hope they can settle this because I sure don't want to cover another strike. The recent WGA strike is still fresh in my mind.

Finally, ION issued a reminder press release today on something we have known for a long time. ION Television announced today that, through a deal with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, it will launch the sitcom Hangin' with Mr. Cooper on its weeknight schedule beginning with two back-to-back episodes, airing July 7th (tonight) from 5 p.m.–6 p.m. (ET/PT). The popular series, in a branded "Laugh Attack" hour, will then continue in this timeslot Mondays through Fridays.
More info.

Sitcoms Airing Tonight

Thursday, February 25

Young Sheldon - "Crappy Frozen Ice Cream and an Organ Grinder's Monkey" (CBS, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Sheldon and George Sr. dine with President Hagemeyer (Wendie Malick) and a university benefactor. Also, Georgie gives Missy some brotherly advice when Mary won’t let her go to the school dance, and Dale and June (Reba McEntire) convince Meemaw to attend their son’s wedding.

B Positive - "B Negative" (CBS, 8:30PM ET/PT)
Drew and Gina start thinking about their futures after Jerry (David Anthony Higgins) gets a surprise call that he’s receiving a new kidney.

Mom - "Whip-Its and Emotionally Attuned Babies" (CBS, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Bonnie has success creating a line of mocktails for Adam’s bar. Also, Jill finds herself attracted to Bonnie’s therapist, Trevor (Rainn Wilson).

The Unicorn - "In Memory Of..." (CBS, 9:30PM ET/PT)
Natalie realizes that her memories of her mom are starting to fade when Michelle and Delia have a memorial to honor Wade’s wife. Also, Forrest and Ben get competitive when their kids enter a fundraising contest at school.

Call Me Kat - "First Date" (Fox, 9:00PM ET/PT)
Kat deals with nerves over her first date with Oscar; Randi tries to figure out the perfect anniversary gift for Daniel.

Last Man Standing - "Grill in the Mist" (Fox, 9:30PM ET/PT)
In the wake of the pandemic, Mike and Kristin are forced to make some tough business decisions involving Outdoor Man; Jen helps Mandy get organized.

Mr. Mayor - "#Palmtreereform" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Neil's plan to save the city money on palm tree maintenance meets unexpected resistance; Tommy and Mikaela don't believe Jayden when he announces he's going to be a father.

Young Rock - "Depositions" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT)
With Carol's lawyer at Cloud 9 to depose the employees, Jonah tries to ease Glenn's nerves; Mateo enlists Sandra's help hiding the details of his work arrangement while Dina grows concerned about Garrett's behavior at customer service.

grown-ish - "Know Yourself" (Freeform, 8:00PM ET/PT)
Vivek has a new experience with Heidi; Aaron and Doug struggle to adjust their views on sexuality and masculinity; Nomi and her new baby, Luna, return to Cal U; Junior shows up to fight for Sky.

Complete TV Listings

Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of February 22)

Thursday, February 25

Steve Harvey (The Steve Harvey Show) - Catch Steve on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
Regina King (227/Leap of Faith) - Regina appears on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
David Spade (Rules of Engagement/8 Simple Rules/Just Shoot Me!) - David is a guest on Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
Jodie Foster (Paper Moon/Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice) - Jodie will be on The Late Late Show with James Corden at 12:37am on CBS. She also talks about The Mauritanian on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
Randall Park (Fresh Off the Boat) - Randall appears on A Little Late with Lilly Singh at 1:35am on NBC.
Kevin James (The Crew/Kevin Can Wait/The King of Queens) - Kevin is a guest on Conan at 11pm on TBS.
Soleil Moon Frye (Punky Brewster/Sabrina, the Teenage Witch) - Soleil will be on Watch What Happens: Live at 11pm on Bravo.
Michael Chiklis (Daddio) - Michael talks about the crime drama series Coyote on LIVE! with Kelly and Ryan, so check your listings.
Jane Fonda (Grace and Frankie) - Jane is a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, so check your local listings.
Nick Jonas (Jonas) - Nick talks about the new season of The Voice on E!'s Daily Pop at 11am.
Tia Mowry (Family Reunion/Instant Mom/The Game/Sister, Sister) - Tia talks about how she is taking charge of her health in 2021 on E!'s Daily Pop at 11am.
Maureen McCormick (The Brady Bunch/The Brady Brides) - Maureen talks about life as a Brady and how she is coping during the pandemic on The Dr. Oz Show, so check your local listings.