The Media Notepad: Ravi Baichwal out at ABC 7
Also: WBEZ announces fill-ins after Simons’ departure; Fox closes its acquisition of Roku
Ravi Baichwal, a two-decade veteran anchor and reporter at ABC 7 (ABC-owned WLS-TV) is out as his contract was not renewed.
“After 20 years with ABC 7, Ravi Baichwal has moved on following the conclusion of his contract,” the station’s spokesperson told the Chicago Tribune. “We wish him well in his next chapter.”
A Toronto native, Baichwal arrived in Chicago in 2006 via CTV News in Canada, now owned by Bell Media. In 2023, he was promoted to lead anchor at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Baichwal also won several Emmy awards for his work. Perhaps his most notable moment came on December 23, 2007 when a car came crashing into the studio on State Street while he was on the air during the station’s 10 p.m. newscast – one of many incidents that’s occurred at or near the building over the years (including a recent shooting that killed one and injured another.)
Baichwal had been absent from the station’s newscasts in recent weeks.
His departure came on the same week parent company Disney announced company-wide layoffs, including at ABC’s owned stations, which continue to battle the FCC’s Brendan Carr over the group’s television licenses. It isn’t known if Baichwal’s release was related to those cuts.
Mark Rivera has replaced Baichwal at 5 and 6 alongside Cheryl Burton and Judy Hsu, respectively.
Chicago Public Media’s WBEZ announced Friday it’s replacing Sasha Ann Simons’ role on their daily show In The Loop in the interim with rotating hosts on a monthly basis.
Starting Monday and lasting through November, the host is Chicago City Hall reporter Mariah Woelfel; December’s host is engagement reporter Araceil Gomez-Aldana (she reports from Chicago neighborhoods, engaging with residents on issues involving numerous issues that affect them); and in January 2027, Curious City editor Susan An becomes host, as she answers questions about how Chicago works on a wide number of issues, from its history to transportation.
“We’re excited that three trusted voices from WBEZ will continue to bring listeners the news, culture and conversations they have come to expect from ‘In the Loop,’” said executive producer Dan Tucker. “We’re also deeply grateful to Sasha-Ann for the curiosity, warmth and thoughtful interviews she’s brought to the program for the last six years.”
The move gives WBEZ time to find a permanent replacement. The Chicago Bulls and CHSN are similarity using interim fill-in commentators alongside Adam Amin this season on a rotating basis after Stacey King died in June at the age of 59.
Simons announced her departure last month after arriving at WBEZ in 2020 from Washington, D.C., as she and her family now plans to head back east. In the recent October PPMs, WBEZ finished in a tenth-place tie with Nexstar’s WGN-AM as the two news/talk stations were also tied in the same position the previous month with each down a tenth of a point.
Fox Corporation’s deal to acquire Roku, Inc. closed on Thursday, several months after the deal was announced – but with some concessions.
Analyzing the deal on anti-trust, the Justice Department agreed to approve the deal on these conditions:
– Remain open to rivals, agreeing to carry non-Fox content for the next three years
– Not modifying Roku’s search engines to favor Fox content or its other platforms over competitors
– To allow streamers to modify their apps on the platform
– To maintain existing safeguards prohibiting them from sharing sensitive information about rival content providers and consumers using Roku devices and related products for the next three years
There were concerns regarding Fox having too much power control over connected TV devices, one several members of Congress were worried about. But in the end, the Justice Department was satisfied with Fox’s plans for Roku, given the number of content being provided by a large number of entities would not harm competition, given there is already other choices, including set-top boxes from Apple TV, Xumo, and Amazon Fire, and built-in connected TV portals from set manufacturers, including Samsung, LG, and Walmart’s Vizio.
“The closing of this acquisition advances the long-term strategy of FOX. Beginning today, our top priority for the combined company is to continue to relentlessly serve audiences and partners, while reinforcing the openness and choice that is the essence of the Roku platform,” said Lachlan K. Murdoch, executive chair and chief executive officer of Fox Corporation. “Our shared entrepreneurial passion and clear conviction toward building the future together with our new Roku colleagues gives us great confidence in the opportunities ahead of us.”
Exiting Roku are Roku Media President Charlie Collier, who left Fox to take the role; and general counsel Chris Handman. Mike Bidgoli takes over as the new president of Tubi, replacing Anjili Sud, who’s exiting to take another role outside of the company. Paul Cheesbrough will now oversee the entire Fox digital empire as co-chair and CEO of Fox Digital Platforms.
With the acquisition, Roku joins the company under the Fox Digital Platforms umbrella, which includes Tubi, Fox One, and Red Seat Ventures, with Roku bringing Quibi, vMVPDs Frendly TV and Howdy, and FAST portals The Roku Channel and Tubi. Roku stated that 100 million customers access their connected TV platform worldwide.
Fox owns 29 local TV stations nationwide, including WFLD-TV and WPWR-TV here.