Watch Local Stations from NYC, LA, Seattle and Now Chicago Online on ivi TV; NBC Previews Upcoming Sitcom Perfect Couples Tonight

Monday, December 20, 2010

Watch Local Stations from NYC, LA, Seattle and Now Chicago Online on ivi TV; NBC Previews Upcoming Sitcom Perfect Couples Tonight

ivi TV, the online cable system, has announced that it has added Chicago to its Seattle, New York, and Los Angeles broadcast channel offerings. The addition of 12 stations from the Chicago market brings the total number of OTA (over-the-air) channels available on ivi TV to an impressive 65, excluding international offerings ranging from Sport Italia to English-language news from China on CCTV9, among others.
ivi TV offers more content than Hulu and the ability to legally watch live major broadcast channels anywhere there's an Internet connection, including hit shows and popular sports programming from ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, The CW, PBS, and others from a growing number of local affiliates, all available from a downloadable app at ivi TV.
Consumers who live in other parts of the country can watch live local programming from their hometown or favorite city. People with no conventional cable access or left adrift by the shift to DTV can watch TV with ivi TV. As ivi TV rolls out new markets (Philadelphia might be next), the channels it includes from each respective market are available to all ivi TV subscribers, regardless of where they presently reside within the U.S.
After spending a week in Washington, D.C. meeting with lawmakers and the FCC to vocalize concerns over the proposed Comcast-NBC Universal merger and its likelihood to leave consumers with less high quality programming and higher rates, ivi TV keeps rolling out new markets to offer an affordable cable subscription with more choice and flexibility. A growing number of voices are rising in opposition to the Comcast-NBCU merger. ivi TV simply wants a level playing field and is calling on Congress and the FCC to ensure consumers don't become the ultimate victims in Comcast's conquests. ivi TV delivers what consumers have wanted for a long time -- the ability to watch live broadcast television on the Internet. For only $4.99 a month, consumers can watch popular TV programming from all the major stations anytime and anywhere they want. And the first month is FREE!
Among the cool stations you can watch are KTLA, WGN-TV (local Chicago), WPIX, national Me-TV Network, Me-Too (Chicago), RTV (Seattle affiliate), and the big guns like WABC. This is very cool and I wish this was around back in the '90s when local broadcast stations were better with lots of cool sitcoms. But ivi TV is certainly worth the buy if you aren't in Chicago (for Me-TV and Me-Too) or don't have a RTV affiliate. Me-TV Network is now a national network, but as of now Chicago, Milwaukee, and South Bend are the only markets carrying it, so now is your chance to preview Me-TV and if you like it, you should request it to your local affiliates to add it to their digital stations! Antenna TV launches on Jan. 1, and perhaps we will get it on ivi TV, as all four ivi TV markets will have an Antenna TV affiliate, so there is a good chance we will have one on ivi TV. If that is the case and you don't have Antenna TV scheduled to come to your market, like Me-TV, try it on ivi TV and request it to your local affiliate that they add it!

Try and test ivi TV out for a month at least, it is free for the first month and you can cancel at anytime. I don't think you should watch your favorite primetime network shows on here, but it is a good service with decent (but not great) video quality if you want to test something like Me-TV and Antenna TV, especially if your markets are not carrying them. I certainly enjoyed testing out Me-TV Network this weekend and watching cool local fare on Me-Too Chicago (like Gilligan's Island) and KTLA Los Angeles (like Dennis the Menace on the Antenna TV preview on KTLA).

NBC is previewing upcoming mid-season single-camera sitcom Perfect Couples tonight (Dec. 20) with a special airing after the finale of The Sing-Off, which airs from 8-10pm. NBC will not air the pilot of the sitcom, instead a later episode (titled "Perfect Tens") will air. The series will still premiere with the pilot episode on its actual premiere date on Thursday, Jan. 20 at 8:30pm. Tonight NBC is just going to have viewers "sample" the series. The sampling preview airs tonight at 10pm on NBC. A repeat of The Office will follow at 10:29pm.
Perfect Couples depicts the misadventures of three engaging couples as they struggle to find out what makes the ideal relationship -- and how to maintain it through humorous trial-and-error. The series explores their heroic journey in search of the perfect relationship without destroying each other in the process.
Dave (Kyle Bornheimer, Worst Week, Romantically Challenged) and Julia (Christine Woods, FLASHFORWARD) are the relatable, normal couple, but Julia's hope of remaining the cool, low-maintenance chick is tested by Dave's attempts to keep both his wife and his needy best friend Vance (David Walton, 100 Questions) equally happy. Vance, along with the neurotic Amy (Mary Elizabeth Ellis, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia"), are the high-passion, high-drama couple who bring out the best and worst in each other. The third duo features Rex (Hayes MacArthur, She's Out of My League), a reformed party guy, and, and his wife, Leigh (Olivia Munn, Attack of the Show), who considers herself as the group's mother hen. Believing that they are relationship experts, Rex and Leigh have attended every class and seminar on relationships -- and regard themselves as the "perfect couple."
On tonight's episode, after Dave (Kyle Bornheimer) is disappointed that Julia (Christine Woods) dresses down for him, they both decide to be "perfect 10s" and live it up with a night out. Meanwhile, an infestation of bed bugs misleads Amy (Mary Elizabeth Ellis) into thinking that Vance (David Walton) is not ready to commit to her, while Rex (Hayes MacArthur) and Leigh (Olivia Munn) plan an Italian vacation and struggle trying to adjust to the time difference.
We did not get a review copy of this episode, but we will have a review of the pilot episode closer to series launch on Jan. 20. So stay tuned! Sample if you want tonight, but people who have seen the pilot and an additional episode (not tonight's episode), haven't been too kind to this series. Our review will cover those two episodes (and we might give our thoughts on tonight's episode in that review, too).

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.