Sinclair strikes deal to bring Cubs channel in 2020 We are now at a point where Cubs games are being shown in Des Moines but not in the Chicago area itself on cable. Thankfully, Marquee isn’t launching until February. As first reported by the Chicago Tribune Wednesday, the Chicago Cubs and Sinclair announced a carriage deal with cable provider Mediacom. […]
Predictable as a plot to a bad TV show, President Trump comes to town, bashes our city, picks up campaign cash, and leaves. We saw a weekend where Chicagoans were fed up with a prolonged teacher’s strike and the inept play of the once-hot Chicago Bears, particularly when it came to Mitch Trubisky and head coach Matt Nagy. And President […]
Also: Fox32/My50 goes up Schitt’s Creek; stunning fall from the top for The Mix; ABC closes Grand Hotel As expected, Dish has pulled the plug on NBC Sports Chicago October 1 as the satellite carrier continues to make life miserable for content providers – and subscribers. With the Cubs leaving the partnership effective October 1 for new upstart Marquee, new […]
WGN sports vanishes after a 71 year run Saturday night marked an end of an era as WGN-TV aired its final sports telecast featuring a game between the Detroit Tigers and Chicago White Sox. Many memorable moments were carried by WGN from Sammy Sosa hitting his 62nd home run to Mark McGuire’s 70th; from Ernie Banks’ 500th home run to […]
Awful presentation leads to lowest-rated Emmy show of all time When Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane had a disastrous stint hosting the Academy Awards in 2013, I noted: “There’s nothing like seeing Hollywood in smarmy, self-congratulatory mode while the public is abandoning broadcast prime-time network television and terrestrial radio for alternatives with movie attendance declining thanks to media consolidation, which […]
Bachelor in Paradise finale reason for the move (Editor’s Note: This story is updated as of September 17.) In a move panned by some – and praised by others (particularly reality TV fans), the Cubs and ABC-owned WLS-TV – ABC 7 – announced Thursday the station was pushing a previously-scheduled Tuesday 7:05 p.m. game between the team and the Cincinnati […]
Ratings up 14 percent despite downer of a game The NFL’s 100th season kicked off Thursday with the oldest, most storied rivalry in the league: The Green Bay Packers playing the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. But the results on the field were anything but grand as the Bears lost to the Packers 10-3 in a lackluster game panned on […]
Also: Access Hollywood adds another show; Sinclair closes on Fox RSN purchase; McHenry radio station with historic calls ceases broadcasting At long last, NBC 5 (WMAQ) is joining the local lifestyle programming game. Beginning September 6, the NBC-owned station launches Chicago Today, a weekly half-hour show featuring entertainment news, newsmakers, places around town, the latest technologies, and restaurants among other […]
Impasses with Fox, others and costs makes it tough for carriage If you are a Cubs fan and you are looking forward to watching Kris Bryant and Co. on their new Marquee Sports Network on Dish, let me give you a heads up: it’s not likely to happen. With nearly 150 games set to air exclusively on the Cubs’ new […]
ABC expands summer game show slate as game shows regain traction in popular culture Over the last few weeks, Jeopardy was dominating the headlines with James Holzhauer’s amazing winning streak earning over $2 million over his run, helping earn the show’s highest ratings in years. And though Jeopardy never really went away, the game show genre has had its ups […]
Launch on track for February 2020 After hiring him as a consultant, the Chicago Cubs and Sinclair Broadcast Group announced Tuesday the hiring of Michael McCarthy as the general manager of the new Marquee Sports Network, scheduled to launch next February. “We’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Mike and his proven ability to drive results over the past […]
Also: Extra doubles up on name and gets a new host; New York’s WPLJ ends run May 31; and more In a bizarre incident captured on live TV Tuesday night during a Miami Marlins-Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field, a fan displayed what is known as a “white supremacist hand sign” during a live shot. It occurred while Doug Glanville […]
Also: WLS-AM announces new PD; WBBM reigns supreme; New York’s WPIX sold One of Chicago’s prominent sports radio hosts has a new contract – and a new weekday slot. Longtime WSCR-AM (The Score) veteran Laurence Holmes is getting his own midday slot weekdays from noon to 2 p.m., beginning March 28 – coinciding with the start of the baseball season. […]
Sun-Times article talks about a future without sports on WGN as station, teams head into transition In 2016, WGN-TV decided to cut their ties to The CW and become an independent station once again, going all in on sports featuring the Cubs, White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks. Come October 2019, WGN might not have any sports on its schedule at […]
News comes as NBA ratings also slide If NBC Sports Chicago hopes to continue getting around $4.40 per subscriber fee once the Cubs depart for their own regional sports network, Chicago’s NBA team might want to improve – and fast. Ratings released at the All-Star break for NBA teams show the Bulls sitting among the lower tier of NBA teams, […]
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