‘The Middle’ To End With Season 9 On ABC

Renée Bargh Replacing Tracey Edmonds On ‘Extra’

NETWORK RATINGS ROUNDUP, JULY 24-30

Reality (And ‘Thrones’) Reigned In Ratings

Overall in primetime for the week, NBC averaged 4.7 million viewers in prime time. CBS was second with 4.3 million, ABC had 3.1 million, Fox had 1.7 million, Univision had 1.44 million, Telemundo had 1.39 million, Ion Television had 1.2 million, and the CW had 910,000.

BRAND CONNECTIONS

Audra McDonald Joins ‘Good Fight’ For Season 2

CBS All Access Orders Shows From Ferrell, Scott

FremantleMedia Adds Katrina Neylon In Global Role

Chuck Lorre: End In Sight For ‘Big Bang’

The end of the road for CBS’s The Big Bang Theory is coming into closer focus. The nerdy series ranks as TV’s most watched comedy among the advertiser-coveted adults 18-49 demographic and was renewed in March for its 11th and 12th seasons (48 episodes in total). “We never really figured to be at year 11, let alone what’s going to happen after 12. One could easily presume that would be the end of the series, but I’m just amazed we’re here,” co-creator Chuck Lorre said Tuesday.

CBS’s New Execs Hammered At TCA

CBS Entertainment chief Kelly Kahl and his new programming EVP, Thom Sherman, were peppered with questions about their slate’s comparative lack of female-fronted shows and series featuring people of color yesterday at the summer meeting of the Television Critics Association. “We are absolutely moving in the right direction,” said Kahl, citing a 60% lift in non-white series regulars and ongoing efforts to include more people of color behind the scenes. “We are making progress.”

DMA 66: WICHITA, KS

Estrella TV Adds KCTU Wichita As Newest Affiliate

Spanish-language broadcaster LBI Media said today that its Estrella TV Network has added a new affiliate in Wichita, Kan. Estrella TV has signed an affiliate agreement with KCTU-LD owned by […]

WEEKLY SYNDICATION RATINGS ROUNDUP

Weekly Gainers Few And Far Between

Only seven first-run syndicated shows reported weekly ratings gains in the frame ending July 23: Judge Judy, Family Feud, Wheel of Fortune, Celebrity Name Game, Entertainment Tonight, TMZ and Dish Nation.

OVERNIGHTS

‘Bachelorette: Men Tell All’ Tops Monday

Monday’s Bachelorette special The Men Tell All topped a narrow reality race, earning a 1.5 rating among adults 18-49 and 5.7 million viewers. With a new episode of To Tell The Truth (0.8 adults) at 10 p.m., ABC tied NBC for the night’s demo bragging rights.

Scripps Buys Katz Diginets For $302 Million

Scripps was already a 5% owner in a portion of the business, so its net purchase price is $292 million for Bounce, Grit, Escape and Laff. Founder Jonathan Katz will continue to lead the Katz networks business. The company, with about 130 employees, will remain based in the Atlanta area.

CBS, Imagine Team Up On First-Look TV Deal

CBS Corp. and Imagine TV Studios have partnered on a new, four-year first-look and co-financing deal for scripted and unscripted television and long-form digital programming. Under the terms of the deal, Imagine will partner with CBS to produce programming for CBS TV, CBS All Access and Showtime. CBS’s platforms will get a first look at new Imagine series, with CBS’s studio arm, CBS Television Studios, serving as production partner and worldwide distributor for any shows produced under the deal. Imagine will retain distribution rights in certain Asian territories

Latenight Comedians Say ‘Goodbye Mooch’

Seth Meyers, commenting on Anthony Scaramucci’s 10-day stint as the White House communications director, noted that his “last name is longer than his tenure.”

Marlee Matlin Joins ‘Quantico’ For Season 3

Sony Pictures TV Networks Buying Funimation

Carol Burnett Sets TV Return With Netflix

‘Big Bang’ Names New Showrunner For Season 11

Rebecca Daugherty To Head ABC Marketing

She takes over the role at ABC and ABC Studios previously held by Marla Provencio, who exited earlier this year.