John Kiesewetter: Media Beat

Forty years ago this weekend, the funniest man God ever created died at the age of 86. The secret word was Groucho.

I sure hope someone looked at Groucho Marx and said -- as he did in "A Day At The Races" -- "Either this man is dead, or my watch has stopped."

WNKU-FM won't be making a big deal about losing its original frequency (FM 89.7) at 8:59 a.m. Friday late Friday night, since the beloved station still will be heard until late October on Middletown's powerful WNKN-FM (105.9) and streaming.

But I will.... since "it's the beginning of the end," as I wrote earlier this week.

Update 8/17/17 at 8:40 p.m.:  Northern Kentucky University issued a press release Thursday evening stating WNKU's programming on 89.7 FM will end Friday morning at 8:59 a.m.

Original post: It's the beginning of the end.

WNKU-FM stops broadcasting on its original frequency (FM 89.7) at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 19 – although the station's beloved adult album alternative (Triple-A) format will continue to be heard throughout most of Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati on Middletown's powerful WNKN-FM (105.9) and streamed on line.

Didn't get a ticket to FC Cincinnati's sold-out U.S. Open Cup semi-final match Tuesday? You can see it on TV.

WSTR-TV (Channel 64) will broadcast the match with the New York Red Bulls live from University of Cincinnati's Nippert Stadium at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 15, and stream at fccincinnat.com/match-stream.

Let it snow in August? Tickets for the 98 Degrees Christmas concert Dec. 15 at the Aronoff Center -- to promote their new "Let It Snow" Christmas album --  go on sale Friday, Aug. 18.

Bruce Willis finally showed up for work Wednesday on "Reprisal"…  Actress Olivia Culpo wants to hang with the wife of Bengals quarterback A.J. McCarron… Director Brian A. Miller thanks us for letting him blow up the city… And producer Randall Emmett wants to shoot eight more movies in Ohio.

Isn't this great news? David Letterman will return to TV next year in a Netflix series.

Letterman, who ended his 33-year late-night career two years ago, will do six one-hour shows featuring a long conversation with a single guest, and "in-the-field segments in which he will explore topics on his own," Deadline says. 

What the Heck? "The Middle," ABC's Heck family sitcom set in a small Indiana town, will end its nine-year run during the 2017-18 TV season.

DeAnn Heline, a 1983 Lakota High School graduate, told the Television Critics Association Sunday that she and fellow co-creator/executive producer Eileen Heisler made the decision to end the Patricia Heaton situation comedy while talking to ABC executives last season.

WKRC-TV to the rescue again! WKRC-TV executives reversed a July decision and announced Monday they will broadcast the 40th anniversary Western & Southern/WEBN-FM Riverfest fireworks live at 9 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 3.

Two weeks ago, WKRC-TV (Channel 12) general manager Jon Lawhead was emphatic in a July 26 email to me by writing: "We are NOT carrying the fireworks."

WLW-AM's iconic diamond-shaped radio tower and historic transmitter building on Tylersville Road soon will be casting their shadows on retail stores, restaurants and offices beneath it.

The "Tower Park" planned unit development along Mason's booming Tylersville Road corridor was approved by city council earlier this year, a city staffer tells me.

It's official: WKRC-TV announced the hiring of former ESPN anchor Gary Miller at 7 p.m. Friday. He will start in mid-August, says Jon Lawhead, Sinclair group manager.

"Cincinnati is a big sports town. With our multi-station, multi-platform commitment to everything from high school sports, Reds, Bengals and FC Cincinnati, we think our viewers and users will agree that Gary's experience is a great addition to the team," Lawhead said in the station announcement.

Original post 8:45 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 3:

Film Cincinnati will celebrate its 30th anniversary by creating a movie "backlot" with directors setting up shots, extras moving from scene to scene, make-up artists and lots of props.