Wednesday, October 22, 2014

CBS to Launch Decades, A New Digital Subchannel; The CW Orders Full Seasons of The Flash, Jane the Virgin

Decades

The CBS Television Stations group and Weigel Broadcasting announced plans to launch Decades, a new national entertainment programming service for distribution across local television stations' digital subchannels – broadcast channels that utilize a local station's available spectrum to provide a companion to that station's primary channel. For example, in the New York market, WCBS-TV will continue to be available digitally as Channel 2.1 and Decades will be available as Channel 2.2. In addition to being available as an over-the-air broadcast channel, Decades will appear on numerous local cable systems and other multichannel video programming distribution services along with the stations’ primary channels.

I Love Lucy Star Trek Happy Days

Utilizing a library of more than 100 classic television series, including select titles from the CBS library such as I Love Lucy from the 1950s, Star Trek from the 1960s, Happy Days from the 1970s and Cheers from the 1980s, as well as a wide selection of theatrical and made-for-television movies and footage of historical news events from the archives of CBS News and Entertainment Tonight, Decades will provide viewers with a new way to experience our shared historical and cultural past. As the ultimate TV time machine, Decades will differentiate itself from other subchannel programming services by varying the classic series and movies that appear on the network every day.

Decades will take viewers into a daily time capsule presentation of entertainment, popular culture and news. The service will feature Decades Retrospecticals, a daily one-hour program that will be produced around the news events and cultural touchstones of a specific day, week or other time frame or theme. The TV series and movies presented each day will reflect that day's theme or commemorative event. For example, Decades will look back at classic series such as Happy Days and its "jump the shark" episode, explain its historical significance and then broadcast that episode. Viewers will also be taken back in time to rediscover events that shaped our world, such as the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, Neil Armstrong walking on the moon, the Beatles' U.S. debut on The Ed Sullivan Show and the birth of software and technology companies like Microsoft and Apple. Decades will connect these events to what people were watching on television, seeing at the movies and experiencing as a nation.

Decades is expected to debut during the second quarter of 2015, with the 16 CBS-owned stations that are part of the CBS Television Network serving as the new service's launch group. This includes the CBS stations serving New York City (WCBS), Los Angeles (KCBS), Chicago (WBBM), Philadelphia (KYW), Dallas (KTVT), San Francisco (KPIX), Boston (WBZ), Detroit (WWJ), Minneapolis-St. Paul (WCCO and its satellite stations KCCO and KCCW), Miami (WFOR), Denver (KCNC), Sacramento (KOVR), Pittsburgh (KDKA) and Baltimore (WJZ).


The Flash

The CW has given full season orders to its two hit freshman series, The Flash and Jane the Virgin. The Flash debuted as the most-watched series premiere ever on The CW, scoring 6.1 million viewers in Live + 3 Day Nielsen ratings, and was the network's highest-rated series premiere among adults 18-49 in more than five years, since The Vampire Diaries debuted in 2009. The most critically acclaimed new series of the season, Jane the Virgin, bowed with The CW's most-watched and highest-rated show in its time period in two years. TV Guide called Jane the Virgin the "#1 Must-See" new show of the season, and named star Gina Rodriguez the "most inspiring young actress on TV today." Tim Goodman of the Hollywood Reporter said Jane the Virgin was "by far the best network pilot –drama or comedy" this season.

Jane the Virgin


Sitcoms Airing Tonight / Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows

Friday, March 27

Happy's Place - "" (NBC, 8:00PM ET/PT)
When a woman inherits her late father's tavern, she's shocked to discover that it's co-owned by a half-sister she never knew existed... who has some interesting new ideas about how to run the family business.

Stumble - "Finals Week" (NBC, 8:30PM ET/PT) (Repeat)
Having missed cheer camp, the team must submit a skills tape in order to qualify for Daytona, but the headwinds are against Courteney, as making the tape falls right in the middle of finals week at Heådltston.

Complete TV Listings


Sitcom Stars on Talk Shows (Week of March 23)

Friday, March 27

  • Chelsea Handler (Are You There, Chelsea?) - Watch Chelsea on a repeat of Jimmy Kimmel Live! at 11:35pm on ABC.
  • Trey Parker and Matt Stone (Creators of South Park) - Trey and Matt are guests on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Andrew Rannells (Girls/The New Normal) - Andrew appears on a repeat of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert at 11:35pm on CBS.
  • Tony Shalhoub (We Are Men/Stark Raving Mad/Wings) - Tony is a guest on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Jenny Slate (The Great North/Big Mouth/Married/Bob's Burgers) - Jenny appears on a repeat of Late Night with Seth Meyers at 12:36am on NBC.
  • Amanda Peet (Brockmire/Togetherness/Bent) - Amanda chats with the ladies of The View on ABC at 11am ET/10am CT-PT.
  • John Leguizamo (The Brothers Garcia) - John talks about ABC News Live Prime with Linsey Davis at 7pm.
  • Jon Bernthal (The Class) and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear/Girls) - Jon and Ebon talk about Broadway's Dog Day Afternoon on NBC's Today sometime between 7-9am.
  • Valerie Bertinelli (Hot in Cleveland/Cafe Americain/Sydney/One Day at a Time) - Drew has a special food news with Joey Chestnut, Sunny Anderson and Valerie on The Drew Barrymore Show, so check your local listings.
  • Melissa Peterman (Happy's Place/Young Sheldon/Baby Daddy/Working Class/Reba) - Kit and Melissa check out How to Train Your Dragon: Isle of Berk on Access Daily with Mario & Kit, so check your local listings.


New on DVD and Blu-ray

Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray) Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD) St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

07/22 - Bewitched - The Complete Series - 60th Anniversary Special Edition (Blu-ray)
08/26 - The Huckleberry Hound Show - The Complete Original Series (Blu-ray)
09/30 - Touché Turtle and Dum Dum - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
10/07 - Georgie & Mandy's First Marriage - The Complete First Season (DVD)
10/14 - Curb Your Enthusiasm - The Complete Series (Blu-ray) (DVD)
10/28 - St. Denis Medical - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/04 - Happy's Place - Season One (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - Rick and Morty - Season 8 (Blu-ray) (DVD)
11/11 - SpongeBob SquarePants - The Complete Fifteenth Season (DVD)
11/11 - Two and a Half Men - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/02 - Tom and Jerry - The Golden Era Anthology (1940-1958) (Blu-ray) (DVD)
12/16 - Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
12/16 - Wally Gator - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
01/20 - The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Golden Age Collection (Blu-ray)
01/27 - The New Fred and Barney Show - The Complete Series (Blu-ray)
02/11 - Tom and Jerry - The Complete CinemaScope Collection (Blu-ray)
03/24 - Looney Tunes Collector's Vault - Volume 2 (Blu-ray)

More Recent and Upcoming TV DVD and Blu-ray Releases / TV Shows on DVD, Blu-ray and Prime Video / DVD Reviews Archive


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