Also: Bulls, Blackhawks ratings continue to drop; don’t expect an announcement on a new Cubs network anytime soon. NBC Sports Chicago announced Thursday it has hired Kevin Cross as senior vice president and general manager of the regional sports network (RSN). He take a position once filled by Phil Bedella, who left in May 2017. He’ll report to NBC Sports […]
New entity not interested in reacquiring regional sports networks In a setback for Disney, “New Fox”, the entity formed after the bulk of the original 21st Century Fox was sold to the company, said in a filing Friday it has no plans to re-purchase the 22 regional sports networks, or RSNs put up for sale as part of the deal. […]
Deal calls for exclusive rights for all regular season, non-network games plus multi-platform streaming rights WGN likely loses rights After weeks of speculation, Comcast Corp.’s NBC Sports Chicago announced Wednesday it has struck a multi-year deal to continue carry Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago Bulls, and Chicago White Sox games well into the next decade beginning in October. The new pact reportedly […]
Year marked by scandals, futility, and other things 2018 wasn’t exactly a repeat of the last two horrendous years in the media world, but scandals and deceit still ruled the roost. Though not topping 2017’s Disney-Fox deal, 2018 had some mega transactions – though the second-biggest merger of 2017 went bust as Sinclair Broadcasting’s $4 billion deal to buy Tribune […]
Also: WKQX hires new morning personality, Carol Fowler out at the Sun-Times; Tamron Hall adds Hearst stations Can anyone in Chicago management keep a job these days? Weeks after the Blackhawks fired Joel Quennville, their United Center co-tenants did the same to Fred Hoiberg earlier this week after three and-a-half-seasons. The Bulls did make the playoffs the first two years […]
Welcome to the 13th annual T Dog Media Turkey Awards – celebrating the worst in media, sports, and life in general. We have 20 recipients this year just waiting to get their hands on these Golden Gobblers. And the losers are: President Trump. Well, duh. Megyn Kelly. NBC signed this former Fox News star for $69 million to get her […]
New interactive show compliments expanded post-game Bulls coverage We’re about to test the theory that just about anybody can get themselves a TV show. NBC Sports Chicago Thursday debuts Bulls Outsiders, a new program featuring Bulls analysis from a fans’ point of view. It features die-harders (and unknowns) Matt Peck, John Sabine, and David Waston. The show debuts after the […]
Emmys prove futile draw; so does MNF featuring Bears The Emmys were handing out trophies last night, but it won’t get one for Best Ratings Performance. According to Nielsen, last night’s Emmy Awards – airing on NBC this year on Monday because of Sunday Night Football – earned a 7.4 household rating in the metered markets, down from the 8.2 […]
The team plans to launch their own RSN in 2020 is full steam ahead After years of planning, it looks like the Chicago Cubs’ plan to launch their own regional sports network is one step closer to reality. As first reported by Bruce Levine at 670 The Score (WSCR-AM) Monday, the Cubs hired Mike McCarthy, a former president of New […]
Local teams tank and so does their ratings Like the weather, winter nights turned cold for each of the United Center’s tenants. The last-place finishes for both the Chicago Bulls and the Chicago Blackhawks in their respective divisions this past season not only had local sports fans tuning out, but looking ahead to baseball season earlier than usual. And bearing […]
Also: “Harry” canceled; SyFy strikes deal with C2E2; Olympics underperform in Chicago, falling behind even Bears games With the holidays behind us, it was back to normal in the latest Chicago PPM radio ratings as Entercom’s new Classic-Hip-Hop station 104.3 Jams (WBMX) continuing to rack up strong numbers. Despite a slight decline from last month, WBMX finished third among Chicago’s […]
Baseball team scores rights deal with Tribune-owned station Tribune Media announced Wednesday it signed a three-year deal to carry Chicago White Sox games over WGN-AM (720) starting this year. The news was highly anticipated as the baseball team’s and the Bulls’ deal with Cumulus’ WLS-AM fell apart after the Atlanta-based radio chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year. The […]
Multi-year deal shifts broadcasts away from WLS-AM Entercom-owned sports station WSCR-AM (The Score) announced Wednesday it has acquired the rights to air Chicago Bulls games for the rest of this season and future seasons. Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but the pact runs though the end of the 2020-21 season. No changes are being made to the broadcasts, […]
Chapter 11 forces company to dump pricey agreements. At last, I can sum up the sorry state of Chicago sports AND Chicago radio all in one post. In news breaking Friday and first reported by Robert Feder, Cumulus announced it was seeking to get out of money-losing contracts of the Chicago Bulls and Chicago White Sox in a filing with […]
Also: Tom Joyner loses home in Atlanta; Chicago sports hit a rough spot; the Crowd disbands; In yet another media merger, Meredith Corp. announced its acquisition of Time Inc. for $2.8 billion. The union brings together Time’s magazines (Time, Sports Illustrated, People, Entertainment Weekly, Fortune) with Meredith’s (Better Homes And Gardens, Family Circle, Midwest Living, etc.) Headquartered in Des Moines, […]
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