Talk of changes to Channel 9’s daytime

Craig Ferguson

Craig Ferguson

While WLS-Channel 7 is certain to keep “Windy City Live” on its weekday schedule at 11 a.m., and WCIU-Channel 26 will continue “You & Me This Morning” at 6 a.m., could there be another locally produced daytime talk show coming to Chicago television this fall?

WGN-Channel 9, which already airs 54 hours a week of live local news, is considering jumping into the daily talk show business, too.

With the Tribune Broadcasting station losing the syndicated “Rachael Ray Show” to ABC 7 this fall, replacing it with a local talker in the 10 a.m. hour could be a profitable bridge between “WGN Morning News” (which airs from 4 to 10 a.m.) and “WGN Midday News” (which airs from 11 a..m. to 1 p.m.).

Greg Easterly, new president and general manager of WGN, aired an information-entertainment hybrid called “New Day Cleveland” between morning news blocks at his former station, WJW-TV, and is said to be a fan of the idea here. While it’s possible WGN could replace Rachael Ray with another syndicated show at 10 a.m., Easterly said: “We will continue to explore locally produced options as well.”

Another candidate for the time slot is “Celebrity Name Game,” a new syndicated pop-culture game show hosted by Craig Ferguson. Produced by Courteney Cox and David Arquette, and based on the board game Identity Crisis, the show was picked up by Tribune Broadcasting stations nationwide.

Also leaving WGN’s daytime lineup is “The Test,” which has been airing at 3 p.m. and was canceled after one season in syndication.