Chicago Game Shows For the Fall

[ChrisLambert!]

Here's the Indianapolis lineup, save \"Street Smarts\" which looks to stay on WB4 at 4 am but no longer getting an additional run at 11 am...

Millionaire - ABC6, 11:30 am (opp. TPiR) and 7:00 pm; was 7pm only)
Pyramid  - CBS8, 10:00 am (was 12:30 pm on UPN23)
Feud - CBS8, 10:30 am (was 9 and 9:30 am on WB4)
Wheel - NBC13, 7:00 pm (no change)
J! - NBC13, 7:30 pm (ditto; both in 2nd year on 13 after having aired on 8 since their debuts)
H2 - ABC6, 1:35 am  (2:40 am Monday nights!; was 11 am on ABC6)

[trainman]

[quote name=\'bellbm\' date=\'Sep 1 2003, 08:53 PM\'] Oh, and to add insult to injury, WBBMs position on some cable systems in the city will be moving to Channel 22.  That will really help their ratings, as its buried among public access channels. [/quote]
 Judging by what the WBBM cable signal looks like at my friends' place in the Uptown neighborhood, and assuming that's not atypical, moving it to a channel where there's less interference certainly can't hurt the ratings.

[ChuckNet]

a barely-known UHF station that showed reruns of musty 50s shows, is probably America's least-watched network-owned station).

It was formerly religious outlet WGPR (\"Where God's Power Reigns\"), and could barely pull a 1 share on a good day in those days...seems like the CBS affiliation didn't changed much, which is why a B&C mid-90s ad for Jenny Jones bragged that a late run of her show was \"pulling a bigger share of women 18-49 in Detroit than Leno and Letterman combined\".

The 2nd least-watched CBS O&O? Prolly Ch. 58 in nearby Milwaukee, another result of Rupert Murdoch's $300M New World station group buyout of '94.

Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious \"Chuckie Baby\")

[uncamark]

This morning's Chicago Sun-Times reports that \"H2\" is ending up at 6 p.m. starting Sept. 15--but don't expect it there for long.

The problem here is that, thanks to Barker as a lead-in, WBBM's 11 a.m. newscast is their top-rated cast.  Obviously, Ahern is having second thoughts about wanting to screw up a good thing (and although game show fans would probably stick around for \"H2,\" there are those in the older demos who would complain about the \"dirty jokes\").  On the other hand, Ahern wants the station to try to be a player in news and he sees a 6 p.m. cast as proving that that it is a player.

This will not be resolved soon (but at least the potential Hobson's choice at 11 a.m. between \"H2\" and \"WWTBAM\" will be relieved until at least November sweeps--and in a way, how often lately have we had choices of game shows on *broadcast* stations lately?--and I don't mean Pax or cable, strictly established broadcast channels).

[Jimmy Owen]

WGPR was better before CBS.  Who could forget \"Auction Movie\"?  They also showed a few game shows, \"Dating Game\" and \"Treasure Hunt\" in 83 from the Barris rerun package.  \"Matchmaker,\" Combs \"Feud\" and some net shows that were rejected by the afills like \"Double Talk\" and \"Caesar's Challenge.\"  They also had wonderful movies and western series and off-net shows like \"Dark Shadows\" (music by Robert Cobert) and \"Mod Squad.\"  There were plans to stage a local game show called \"Countdown\" in 1975 which was to have been hosted by Detroit personality Conrad Patrick. To the best of my knowledge the show never aired.

[bellbm]

[quote name=\'Brandon Brooks\' date=\'Sep 1 2003, 11:50 PM\']

I just think that WBBM needs to get out of the news business all together.

A big 4 network with no news?  Yeah, right.

Their newscasts have consistenlty been last.

I'm a stickler for proof, therefore... How do you know this?

The new boss over there wants more news.

This ain't nothing new.  Many markets are trying this lame route.

I hope their return to news at 6PM scores lower ratings than Millionaire did. I'm sure it will be the same story as the 10PM News, CH 7 in 1st, Ch 5 in 2nd, then reruns of Friends and the Simpsons, then WBBM.

Again, how do you know this?

I don't know how Millionaire did in the ratings, but I doubt that a newscast will do better.

Then is everything you're saying speculation?

Brandon Brooks[/quote]
An exceprt from today's Chicago Tribune

"It seems like the strategy is working," said Channel 2 General Manager Joe Ahern. That strategy could be roughly defined as "Put Diann Burns on the air." Last year, in a high-profile defection, Burns was hired away from Channel 7 by Ahern to co-anchor with Antonio Mora, and the ratings gains began almost immediately.

Many local television insiders acknowledge that Burns has something to do with Channel 2's late-night gains, but some point out that she has not had the same effect in her 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. newscasts--5 p.m. is up by 13 percent, but 6 p.m. is down 61 percent from last year, when the slot was occupied by "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire."

I guess Channel 2 should go back to games at 6PM.  Its sort of like 1982 when CBS dumped Captain Kangaroo in favor of a morning news show.

[DrBear]

I don't know how this topic jumped, but...

CBS2 was big juju in the 80s in local news with Bill Kurtis (Mr. "American Justice" on A&E) and Walter Jacobson. Then Kurtis left for the black hole that is CBS early morning (although his version of CBS Morning News, with a new kid named Diane Sawyer, did pretty well) and Jacobson faded out, as did CBS overall and Channel 2 news.

Great theme music, tho.

[aaron sica]

[quote name=\'DrBear\' date=\'Mar 3 2004, 07:59 AM\'] Great theme music, tho. [/quote]
 Jumping even further...

I would imagine CBS2 from Chicago had the same great theme music that a lot of CBS O&O's (WCBS in NY included) had for their news...

[DrBear]

[quote name=\'aaron sica\' date=\'Mar 3 2004, 07:21 AM\'] I would imagine CBS2 from Chicago had the same great theme music that a lot of CBS O&O's (WCBS in NY included) had for their news... [/quote]
 Yup ... even the O&O in Green Bay used it. But it was written in Chicago (the original lyrics were "I'm from Chicago/Chicago's My Home" when CBS bought the rights to it and gave it the dramatic-buildup "Enforcer" treatment) One of the best two or three local news themes ever, along with the "Action News" that I think WPVI in Philly still uses ("Move Closer to Your World.")

[uncamark]

[quote name=\'DrBear\' date=\'Mar 3 2004, 01:15 PM\'][quote name=\'aaron sica\' date=\'Mar 3 2004, 07:21 AM\'] I would imagine CBS2 from Chicago had the same great theme music that a lot of CBS O&O's (WCBS in NY included) had for their news... [/quote]
Yup ... even the O&O in Green Bay used it. But it was written in Chicago (the original lyrics were "I'm from Chicago/Chicago's My Home" when CBS bought the rights to it and gave it the dramatic-buildup "Enforcer" treatment) One of the best two or three local news themes ever, along with the "Action News" that I think WPVI in Philly still uses ("Move Closer to Your World.")[/quote]
And that WBBM music was written by Dick Marx, who credits include most of the jingles from Leo Burnett's greatest ad campaigns (Jolly Green Giant, the Marlboro arrangements of "The Magnificent Seven," Pillsbury, Kellogg's, etc., etc.) and one of the all-time best pro sports team theme songs, the Chicago Black Hawks' "Here Come the Hawks."  He also wrote the theme music for Tribune Entertainment's version of the Siskel and Ebert show ("At the Movies").  Mr. Marx isn't with us any more, but you've heard of his son--the pop singer Richard Marx, who got a Grammy nomination this year for co-writing Luther Vandross' "Dance With My Father."

ObGameShows:  Tribune Entertainment syndicates "Feud."

[SRIV94]

[quote name=\'DrBear\' date=\'Mar 3 2004, 06:59 AM\'] Jacobson faded out, as did CBS overall and Channel 2 news.
 [/quote]
 Jacobson's still toiling in Chicago, albeit at Fox-owned WFLD.

Doug -- and the countdown to 400 continues

[ChuckNet]

Yup ... even the O&O in Green Bay used it. But it was written in Chicago (the original lyrics were "I'm from Chicago/Chicago's My Home" when CBS bought the rights to it and gave it the dramatic-buildup "Enforcer" treatment) One of the best two or three local news themes ever, along with the "Action News" that I think WPVI in Philly still uses ("Move Closer to Your World.")

No argument there...not to mention the Cool Hand Luke theme by Lalo Schifrin, which served as the basis for the Eyewitness News package on WABC in NY, WLS in Chicago, KABC in LA, etc. (the only O&O not to go w/this package and format was the aforementioned WPVI in Philly). However, when the licensing fees got too high, it was dumped a few years ago, and it's only used nowadays for the Nine Network National News in Australia(!).

Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby")

[DrBear]

[quote name=\'ChuckNet\' date=\'Mar 4 2004, 10:24 AM\'] It's only used nowadways for the Nine Network National News in Australia(!)

Chuck Donegan (The Illustrious "Chuckie Baby") [/quote]
 I've lost the link but there was a page of news clips from Australia; the Seven Network there had one that uses NBC's current theme ("The Mission" by John Williams) and was a copy of the old intro that NBC used, replacing the zoom into the Statue of Liberty with a zoom into the Sydney Harbor Bridge.

By the way (now that this topic has lost any game show connection it ever had) the third-best news theme of all time is the "Hello _____" (Channel 13 loves youuuu!) by Frank Gari, just ahead of the "Classical Gas" remix.