Apple lands their first major sports package A few months ago during a game, soon-to-retire Chicago Blackhawks broadcaster Pat Foley bemoaned the shift of sports from linear TV to streaming, pointing out the only way to watch the team’s next game was if you were an ESPN+ subscriber, as the NHL struck a deal last year with Disney for […]
Deal is for local stations, nothing more In a blow for local sports fans who are not subscribers to cable or DirecTV, Sinclair new carriage deal with Dish does not include the regional sports networks the company owns, branded Bally Sports Net. But it is good news for Dish subscribers who won’t have to suffer any program interruptions on 144 […]
Numerous stations still struggling as of Tuesday; station group facing a host of other problems A ransomware attack on Sinclair’s local stations has crippled the nation’s second-largest broadcast group. The attack has hampered e-mails, phone systems, and computer networks; affected stations’ traffic departments as they were unable to run commercials, costing stations ad revenue; and unable to produce graphics and […]
Featuring the White Sox and Yankees in Iowa was the highest-rated regular season game since 2005 If you build it, they will come. Well, they came all right – and proved to be a boon for Major League Baseball. The inaugural Field Of Dreams game – set in Dyersville, Iowa (located in the Cedar Rapids-Waterloo-Dubuque market) in a newly-built ballfield […]
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, […]
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 […]
Meanwhile, Chicago stations pre-empt regular programming for Jason Van Dyke verdict Note: All numbers are preliminary adult 18-49 demos, unless otherwise noted. Friday night saw the return (again) of “TGIF” brand to ABC, the beloved staple from the 1990s with family-friendly comedies and a game show. But the third time apparently isn’t the charm. Using TGIF for the first time […]
ESPN scores with MNF, tiebreaker baseball Note: All numbers are adult 18-49, unless noted CBS premiered two new multi-cam sitcoms Monday night with the heavily promoted The Neighborhood and Happy Together as part of their effort to retool their Monday night lineup. The results were positive for Neighborhood with the Cedric The Entertainer vehicle earning a 1.3 rating/6 share, while […]
Lackluster play continues trend of declining sports ratings locally With the Cubs’ shockingly poor play and the White Sox’s rebuild (there’s that word again), it isn’t any surprise the ratings for both Chicago baseball teams are down from last year as both teams resume play after the All-Star break. According to Crain’s Danny Ecker, the Cubs – who were 2016 […]
Fox, WFLD, MLB, advertisers also have reason to pop out the bubbly The Chicago Cubs’ World Series win is historic in many ways – and not just for the team. Wednesday night’s achievement – the first championship for the team since 1908, brought dividends for Fox, advertisers, the game of baseball, and over-the-air television in general. For one – the edge-of-your-seat, […]
Media outlets in Chicago, Cleveland expect major windfall – including stations carrying games Batten down the hatches, Chicagoans – the Cubs have did something they haven’t done in 71 years – make the World Series. Beginning tonight, the former lovable losers (now the lovable winners) will play Game 1 against the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field in the Fall Classic, […]
Cubs destroy competition off the field, including the once-mighty NFL – setting a cable TV record in the process Despite loss, Cubs clinch NL Central Even with a loss last night against the Milwaukee Brewers, the Cubs continue to roll with a dominant ratings performance on Comcast SportsNet Chicago. According to a press release, the Brewers-Cubs telecast Thursday night on […]
Four new series in fall; the rest in midseason. Editor’s Note: Fox made an important schedule change after the Upfronts took place, involving Pitch, Bones, and Prison Break. This article is being rewritten to reflect the changes. I also have some thoughts about Pitch. -T.H. Fox released its 2016-17 programming schedule Monday morning in advance of its upfront presentation the […]
Chicago ratings go on a roller coaster ride; ratings drop for fourth game The Chicago Cubs may have been swept out of the playoffs by the New York Mets, but Turner Sports was really the big winner in the series. The National League Championship Series between teams from two of the largest markets in the country brought in a record […]
Also: NBA adds Saturday Night games to ABC Two of Chicago’s sports franchises will have new radio homes in 2016. As first reported by Robert Feder on Thursday, The Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Bulls both struck deals with Cumulus Media’s WLS-AM starting with the 2016 season. Financial terms were not released, but the deals runs through 2021. Currently, […]