The Media Notepad: White Sox for sale?
Also: WFMT host files suit after dismissal; Bally rebrands to FanDuel
As the Chicago White Sox are coming off their worst season in history and the new CHSN has distribution woes, now comes this piece of news: 88-year-old owner Jerry Reinsdorf is “open” to selling the team, something fans have long wanted.
But there’s a catch – the party in the running is a group headed by former Oakland A’s pitcher Dave Stewart, who may not commit to keeping the team in Chicago as the ownership group he’s involved in is Nashville-based. Reinsdorf is looking for public money to build a new stadium in the South Loop but received a chilly reception from lawmakers and Gov. JB Pritzker, and the play on the field this season didn’t help.
With the team’s Guaranteed Rate Field lease expiring at the end of this decade, a potential White Sox departure from the nation’s third-largest TV and radio market will likely have ramifications. CHSN – already behind the eight ball with no Xfinity deal, would be left with only the Blackhawks and Bulls (which Reinsdorf is not selling) and could potentially decimate the newly launched RSN.
Moreover, a White Sox departure would only further the narrative of Chicago as a declining city, as residents continue to leave due to crime, high taxes, political dysfunction, and a looming financial crisis with Chicago Public Schools, which is also seeking more money from the state. The city, Cook County, and Illinois would also lose tax revenue the team generates and fuel even more negative narratives about the South Side.
The future of the White Sox in Chicago is certain to be another headache for MLB, which is dealing with the A’s three-year stay in Sacramento while waiting to move to Las Vegas and the Tampa Bay Rays finding a temporary new home after Hurricane Milton damaged Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Speculated for months and now official, the Diamond Sports’ stable of regional sports networks is being renamed from Bally to FanDuel, named after the sports bettor owned by Ireland-based Flutter Entertainment, Inc. Starting Monday, the RSNs will transition to FanDuel Sports Network and whatever region the channel is located in (Kansas City, Detroit, Indiana, etc.)
“A large cohort of FanDuel customers are devoted RSN viewers, and this agreement allows us to further cement the FanDuel brand with sports fans and provides a unique vehicle to reward our users,” said Mike Raffensperger, FanDuel’s president of sports.
The rebranding was revealed in court documents filed Tuesday with the Bankruptcy Court. FanDuel would become a long-term naming rights partner if Diamond emerged from bankruptcy. FanDuel would also get the rights to buy up to five percent of the reorganized company.
FanDuel is one of numerous sports betting companies emerging after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gambling a decade ago as FanDuel’s competitors include DraftKings, BetRivers, and others. FanDuel operates the premium cable channel FanDuelTV (known until 2022 as TVG), primarily featuring horse racing and gambling programming. Monday-Friday strips Up & Adams, Run It Back, and The Ringer are all expected to appear on the RSNs. It isn’t known if FanDuel would air its sports betting shows in states where gambling is still illegal, such as California, Texas, Georgia, and Minnesota.
FanDuel also operates a free advertised-supported television (FAST) channel, FanDuel TV Extra.
The rebrand comes as Diamond has thirteen NBA and eight NHL teams under contract for 2024-25. The remaining MLB teams with FanDuel would have to renegotiate their contracts for the 2025 season as so far, has the rights to only two: the Atlanta Braves and the Miami Marlins, whose deal with FanDuel was announced Friday.
FanDuel RSNs airing high school sports will use distinct graphics, and the FanDuel name will be removed from the broadcasts.
Even with this rebrand, Diamond is still in an unstable place. Several RSNs are down to just one team carrying the entire channel – a situation not financially viable in an era of cord-cutting.
Classical music station WFMT is embroiled in a discrimination complaint with a former personality after firing longtime host Dennis Moore after 34 years, despite dealing, with a medical condition, according to the Sun-Times.
Moore filed the complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging WFMT violated the Americans with Disabilities Act. In a Facebook post, Moore claims his firing was due to his three-month medical leave, which he took in March and was scheduled to return on July 1 as the issues “were largely resolved.” Moore was the morning host at the station.
The 68-year-old Moore filed the complaint on September 24. Moore didn’t disclose his medical condition, only to say he had “sleep issues”. Moore was let go on July 23.
WFMT is owned by the non-profit Window To The World Communications, Inc. (WWCI), which also owns PBS member station WTTW, one of only two TV/radio combos left in Chicago. Moore blasted WWCI management in the post: “I believe that what happened to me is emblematic of the company’s treatment of WFMT employees and WWCI’s failure to act in the best interests of the radio station on various fronts. Many of my colleagues and I feel that for years now, WWCI’s leadership team and board have clearly prioritized WTTW/Channel 11 over WFMT, and morale at WFMT is lower than I’ve ever seen it.”
Moore wanted to work from home like other terrestrial radio classical music hosts, but WWCI management rejected the idea. Moore was asked to resign but refused.
The replies in Moore’s Facebook post were very supportive, and many blasted WFMT for his firing, not to mention the decline in the station’s quality since classical music stations aren’t immune to the challenges other genres are facing as audiences – one of the more affluent in radio – have more choices such as Sirius/XM and streaming music services.
WFMT declined to comment on the situation.
Over the last two years, WWCI has faced budget cuts – notably at WTTW, which saw its Chicago Tonight public affairs show cut back and folded its formerly separate Black Voices and Latino Voices shows into the program. No replacement was named for the since-departed Moore.
During the last PPM period, WFMT ranked 22nd but scored its highest number in months and is ahead of conservative talk WLS-AM and ’90s/00 Pop Throwbacks 100.3.