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 […]
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 […]
Rebuilding team has trouble drawing viewers; Cubs’ ratings grow; Cardinals top MLB In a signal the “rebuild” isn’t chugging along as it should, the Chicago White Sox’s season ratings fell into a ravine this season. According to Nielsen and Forbes, the White Sox fell into last place among Major League Baseball’s 29 teams, averaging a 0.68 household rating on NBC […]
But broadcast television is the winner, thanks to baseball, Bears, Tiger Despite a sunny Sunday afternoon, television turned out to be the biggest winner as viewers headed through the entrances to watch football, baseball, and Tiger Woods as homes using television (HUT) levels went through the roof. Big events certainly helped goose the numbers: in the Chicago area, you had […]
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 paper sell subscriptions – by using the public TV model The Sun-Times have found a new way to sell newspapers – going the pledge route. Taking a page from public television, the Chicago Sun-Times Monday published a front page with a blank canvas. The decision to do so illustrated the need for readers to support the long-term survival of […]
Eliminates beat coverage in cost-cutting move This is something you’d expect in a much smaller market. But not in sports-crazy Chicago. But this is what we have here, and as first reported by Robert Feder Thursday, the Chicago Tribune announced it has cut beat reporters for the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Blackhawks, despite the recent success of the latter […]
Three-year pact means no linear TV – for now If you want to watch Chicago Fire, you can still watch it on NBC. But if you want to watch the soccer team of the same name…well, you are out of luck – for now. The Major League Soccer team announced Friday it has struck a deal with the new over-the-top […]
Sale to the Educational Media Foundation ends 41 years of Rockin’ fun In a stunning development, Merlin Media has sold Classic Rock WLUP-FM to the Educational Media Foundation (EMF) for $21.5 million, a company specializing in Christian music with two automated formats: K-Love and Air 1. The sale means the end of one of Chicago’s most iconic radio station brands, […]
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 […]
Plus: L.A. Times, San Diego Union-Tribune sold; Mike Flannery gets his own Fox 32 news show; This week in Chicago bashing; White Sox snubbed again (Editor’s Note: Contains strong language. Reader discretion is advised.) The opening ceremonies of the 2018 Winter Olympics from South Korea dominated the ratings as expected for NBC, and even performed stronger than expected. According to […]
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, […]
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