Launch Schedules for Me-TV Milwaukee and Me-Too Chicago; WWE SmackDown Moves to MyNetworkTV

As we mentioned previously, Me-TV, a local channel airing classic TV in Chicago, will now launch in Milwaukee starting March 1! And today we have the full launch line-up for, and you'll see it here first! Among the programs airing weekdays are Green Acres, Happy Days, Cheers, Bewitched, Gilligan's Island, My Favorite Martian, Leave it to Beaver, The Honeymooners, Roseanne, I Love Lucy and Hawaii Five-0. Airing on weekends are programs like Petticoat Junction, Knight Rider, Mork & Mindy, Laverne & Shirley, Superman, Batman, Star Trek, and many more! The schedule is a bit similar in style to Me-TV in Chicago's schedule.
Remember Milwaukee digital television viewers will be able to receive Me-TV over the air on digital channel 58.3. Time Warner Cable and Charter Communications will also carry Me-TV on the digital tier of their cable systems serving Southeastern Wisconsin. So without further adieu, here is the FULL launch schedule for Me-TV Milwaukee! Certainly a classic TV paradise!
Moving on to Me-Too in Chicago. As we mentioned previously, Me-Too will be a spin-off station of Me-TV Chicago. Like Me-TV Chicago, Me-Too will air the original network versions of the timeless classics whenever possible. This means longer program segments and fewer commercial breaks. Many of the shows have not aired in these formats since the original network runs. Like Me-TV Chicago, Me-Too will showcase many dramas that have not been seen in decades including a "Noir at Night" Sunday night block, "Super Sonic Sunday" afternoon block, and "Saturday Night Pajama Party" block.
Beginning March 1, 2008, Chicago viewers will now have two choices for classic television programming: Me-TV on WWME-TV, Broadcast Channel 23 and Me-Too on the newly renamed WMEU-TV, Broadcast Channel 48.
Among the programs Me-Too will carry on weekdays are Webster, The Monkees, Partridge Family, The Facts of Life, I Love Lucy, Who's the Boss?, The Jeffersons, All in the Family, Star Trek, The A-Team and more! And on weekends we will see even more programs such as What's Happening!!, That's My Mama, Gimme a Break!, The Munsters, Square Pegs, One Day at a Time, The Brady Bunch, Gidget, Flying Nun, Knight Rider, Batman and many more!
Chicago just got even better with yet another classic TV channel. Nearly every other city in the nation has none and they have two! So here is the launch schedule for Me-Too Chicago!

MyNetworkTV and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) have announced a new broadcast television home for WWE SmackDown, scheduled to debut in Fall 2008.
The two-hour television program will be presented weekly on MyNetworkTV. WWE SmackDown will feature a star-studded cast of WWE Superstars, including Edge(R), Rey Mysterio(R), Batista(R), MVP, Kane(R) and Undertaker(R), as well as present all the action, excitement, drama and great athleticism that have made it for nine years one of the most popular programs among males on broadcast television, and one of the top ten English language prime time programs among Hispanic households.
The program currently airs on The CW on Friday nights and does close to 5 million each week.

Oh and Happy Birthday to Todd (owner and founder of SitcomsOnline). Hope you have a good one! If we have more news, we will return...so try to check in later tonight.

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.

ME-TV Chicago Fall Schedule; Dancing with the Stars: The Announcement

ME-TV this fall will bring on new shows, return some favorites, and some shows unfortunately will have to be dropped as a result. The new schedule starts Sept. 17. Among the new shows is the classic sitcom The Dick Van Dyke Show which will air everyday. Weekdays 7-8pm and 10:30pm and weekends 10-11pm. ME-TV is very happy they have acquired it and hope fans in Chicago will be pleased. The Cosby Show (6-7pm) and Cheers (8-9pm) will also join the Chicago local's weekday line-up. And Bonanza will join the weekday line-up at 1pm. Taxi will join the line-up on October 1 taking the 7:30pm weeknight slot. Shows leaving weekdays are Webster, Gimme a Break, All in the Family, Charlie's Angels, Brady Bunch, I Love Lucy, Leave it to Beaver, Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie. All of those will still air weekends but Webster, Gimme a Break, All in the Family and Charlie's Angels...so those shows are gone. Weekends will have a lot of new shows! Coming Saturdays are TJ Hooker and 21 Jump Street, while shows like Phil Silvers, Batman and Starsky & Hutch will be off the weekend line-up and the line-up completely. Peter Gunn will move from weekends to weeknights! On Sundays, we get some sitcoms that are returning like Facts of Life, Silver Spoons, One Day at a Time, Patty Duke Show, The Flying Nun, and Mary Tyler Moore. Sitcoms like The Partridge Family, Monkees, Gidget, and My Three Sons will be leaving the line-up, as will The Rockford Files.
For the full COMPLETE schedule, I urge you to click HERE! You people in Chicago-land are lucky!!

Dancing with the Stars' fifth competition will start Sept. 24 on ABC and today they announced who will be in it! We had rumors of stars like Aaron Carter, Tori Spelling and Lou Ferigno coming on, but they didn't make it. Looks like some of TMZ's rumors were false. Rumors also swirled on stars like Mark Cuban, Wayne Newton and Jennie Garth, and those came true! Here is the announcement:
In a Dancing with the Stars first, twelve celebrities – six men and six women -- attempt to outshine one another on a fifth season of the hit series, which returns MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 (8:00-9:30 p.m., ET) on ABC. This marks the largest cast assembled to date. It includes an Emmy Award-winning actress, a Vegas icon, an Indy 500 champion, a Spice Girl, a daytime soap star, a Cheetah Girl and a former resident of 90210. As an added twist, viewers get a chance to size up the male vs. the female stars, as each gender hits the dance floor on separate nights during the first week of competition. The women will strut their stuff on Monday night, while the men show off their moves TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 (8:00-9:30 p.m., ET). One couple's fate will be determined the following night, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) on Dancing with the Stars the Results Show. Can the women outperform the men, or will the men dance circles around the women?
As announced today on Good Morning America, the twelve stars making their ballroom dancing debut are:
MELANIE BROWN – "Mel B.," a.k.a. "Scary Spice," is best known as a member of the Spice Girls, the hit British music group that put "girl power" on the map and took the world by storm in 1996. She is partnered with MAKSIM CHMERKOVSKIY, who returns for his fourth season.
SABRINA BRYAN – Actress and recording artist Sabrina Bryan starred as a member of an all-girl singing group in Disney Channel's original movie, The Cheetah Girls. She has also starred in The Bold and the Beautiful. Bryan is partnered with newcomer MARK BALLAS.
HELIO CASTRONEVES – The two-time Indianapolis 500 champion began the celebratory tradition of climbing the racetrack fence in 2001, racing for Team Penske. Castroneves teams with reigning champ JULIANNE HOUGH, who returns for her sophomore season.
MARK CUBAN – Cuban is the owner of the Dallas Mavericks NBA basketball team. He is the highly successful entrepreneur who founded HDNet, Broadcast.com and MicroSolutions. He is partnered with KYM JOHNSON, who returns for her third season.
JENNIE GARTH – Garth rose to stardom in the popular television series Beverly Hills: 90210. She since starred in the sitcom What I Like About You for four seasons. Garth's partner is newcomer DEREK HOUGH, brother of Season Four winner Julianne Hough.
JOSIE MARAN – Model/actress Josie Maran has graced the pages of some of the biggest magazines, including multiple covers for Glamour and appearances in Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue. Maran is paired with Season One winner ALEC MAZO, who makes his third appearance.
CAMERON MATHISON – Mathison joined the cast of All My Children in January 1989 as Ryan Lavery. His television credits also include The Drew Cary Show, CSI, JAG, What I Like About You, F/X: The Series. Mathison's partner is EDYTA SLIWINSKA, the only professional dancer to appear in all five seasons.
FLOYD MAYWEATHER -- "Pretty Boy" Floyd Mayweather is a six-time world champion in five different weight classes and the current RING and World Boxing Council Welterweight Champion of the World, with an astounding undefeated record of 38-0, with 24 knockouts. Mayweather teams with KARINA SMIRNOFF, who returns for her third season.
WAYNE NEWTON – The Legend, Mr. Las Vegas, is enjoying a career that few dare even dream about, having performed more live shows than any other single performer in Las Vegas history, with no signs of slowing down. He is partnered with two-time champ CHERYL BURKE.
MARIE OSMOND – Osmond won the hearts of fans as co-host of the popular variety program, The Donny & Marie Show. Osmond will be led by JONATHAN ROBERTS, who returns for his fourth season.
ALBERT REED – Model Albert Reed has been featured in national ad campaigns for Abercrombie & Fitch, Diesel Clothing, Arrow Clothing, Rayban and Reebok, to name a few. He teams up with ANNA TREBUNSKAYA, who returns for her second season.
JANE SEYMOUR - Actress/artist/author/activist/designer and Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning British born Jane Seymour is a star of motion pictures and television, including her six-season Western drama, Dr Quinn, Medicine Woman. She recently made steamy appearances on the ABC sitcom In Case of Emergency. Seymour is paired with TONY DOVOLANI, who returns for his fourth season.

Chicago's ME-TV Spring Line-Up; TV Land Awards Date Change

ME-TV in Chicago changes its schedule every season. Spring has now sprung and they will change their line-up a bit on Monday. Usually a whole lot changes but this season it isn't as much. This season will be called "Spring into Me." '80s Hawaiian drama Magnum, P.I. joins the line-up every afternoon at 1 p.m., but before it does, ME-TV will have a Hawaii marathon on Sunday featuring Hawaii Five-0 and Magnum, P.I. Also coming to the spring line-up on Monday are the returns of dramas Cagney & Lacey, Charlie's Angels and Eight is Enough to weekdays. Sitcoms Family Ties, Who's the Boss?, Diff'rent Strokes, and The Facts of Life will be off of weekdays, but they will move to Sundays. Webster and Gimme a Break! will remain on the weekday line-up.
Not many changes on Saturdays but the prime-time line-up will now be western themed. Sundays has a sitcom line-up from 1 to 7 p.m. featuring Leave it to Beaver, Dennis the Menace, My Three Sons, Father Knows Best, Partridge Family, Brady Bunch, Diff'rent Strokes, Facts of Life, Eight is Enough, Family Ties, Who's the Boss.
For the full line-up, click HERE.

TV Land has announced that they have changed the date of the TV Land Awards from Wednesday, April 25 to Sunday, April 22. No reason was given, but usually award shows are on Sundays, so maybe that is why they changed the day. This will be the network's fifth award show. This year it will be hosted by Kelly Ripa. More info will come soon on the awards but among the honorees will include a tribute to Lucille Ball and the cast of The Brady Bunch. My guess is Legend Award for Lucy and Pop Culure Award for the Bradys.
Also, don't forget to come back tomorrow afternoon or so for the TV Land Upfront news! Hopefully we have some acquisitions to announce and not just original series news!