Stunning deal builds streaming’s clout and is a huge blow to linear TV In a stunning deal with The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences – and one that could be the death knell to linear TV, Google’s YouTube – yes, the video portal where you can watch anything from cat videos to old commercials, has landed the Oscars […]
ESPN will likely take over in 2026 [Editor’s Note: This post was updated on August 6.] After months of talks and speculation, The Walt Disney Co.’s ESPN has agreed to acquire NFL Network in exchange for a ten percent stake in the cable network. The agreement is non-binding, as each partner could walk away from the deal at any time. ESPN […]
South Side native dies at 78 Longtime CBS Sports broadcaster Greg Gumbel passed away Friday afternoon at the age of 78 due to complications from cancer. Born in New Orleans and raised on Chicago’s South Side, Gumbel graduated from De La Salle High School and started his career at NBC-owned WMAQ-TV in 1973 as a sports anchor and interviewer, and […]
Also: Ramblin’ Ray gives up KCMO gig to focus on WLS-AM; Moffett Nathanson gives mixed reviews of upcoming NBCU cable spinoff Unlike other Chicago Sports embarrassments this year, this one was shown live in front of the largest audience of the season. The Bears’ major meltdown against the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving drew a record of 37.5 million viewers for CBS […]
Numbers were impressive; everything else…wasn’t [Editor’s Note: This post was updated on November 19 with additional information.] Even though boxing has seen better days, the sport received a jolt of energy thanks to Netflix and its heavily hyped matchup between 58-year-old Mike Tyson and 27-year-old YouTuber Jake Paul in front of a sold-out crowd at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, […]
Highly anticipated TV show takes center stage For Chicagoans, the Chicago Bears’ edition of Hard Knocks might be one of the most anticipated television shows to debut in recent years. The show is already being met with excitement from fans and those in local sports media, thanks to a trailer that dropped last week featuring rookie Bears QB Caleb Williams […]
Comes over Bears’ Chairman’s objections While former President Donald Trump’s 34 felony indictments were being handled down Thursday afternoon, the NFL snuck through this piece of news – the Chicago Bears will finally be featured on HBO’s Hard Knocks for a five-week run beginning August 6 and streaming on Max. “We are honored to feature such an iconic NFL franchise […]
Three-year deal marks first Big Four sports rights deal for streamer The world’s most dominant streamer is teaming up with the world’s most dominant sports league. In a landmark deal, Netflix announced Wednesday morning it has agreed to stream two Christmas Day games beginning with the 2024 season, and at least one game in 2025 and 2026. Like other cable […]
Deal includes Fox 32 and My50 Sony Pictures Television made their first deals for the two-hour syndicated version of NFL Network’s Good Morning Football by signing the Fox Television Stations group. Known in syndication as GMFB, Fox did sign their duopoly markets including Chicago, but several non-duopoly ones as well, including WITI Milwaukee, WAGA Atlanta, WTVT Tampa-St. Petersburg, and WTXF […]
Justice Department to analyze deal as the NFL pushes back The planned sports streaming venture proposed by Disney’s ESPN, Fox Corporation, and Warner Bros. Discovery could be finished before it even gets off the ground. Two significant developments took place this week as the Department of Justice (DOJ) is now looking at the proposed joint venture for anti-trust concerns. The […]
Kansas City Chiefs were not the only winners; so were CBS, Univision, and Paramount Global For the first time in nearly two decades, we have a repeat Super Bowl champion as the Kansas City Chiefs won Super Bowl LVIII in a thrilling game against the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime – the second overtime game in Super Bowl history. […]
Also: Timberwolves strike iHeartMedia deal; CBS affiliates decline Bears game in large numbers; Survivor names a tribe after an old media company Longtime Chicago radio veteran Rick O’Dell is the latest media figure to announce his retirement, doing so on Facebook. His final day is October 4. Currently the program director of MeTV FM (WRME-FM), O’Dell is best known for […]
Bears sink in ratings locally despite gains for football – pro and collegiate elsewhere Last year, Chicago football fans had hope the Bears would drastically improve as they finished 3-14 and earning the first draft pick, whom they traded to the Carolina Panthers to get even more draft picks and acquiring a few standout veterans such as DJ Moore and […]
This year’s Super Bowl was the second most-watched of all time Super Bowl LVII was indeed super in the ratings department, although it fell short on the one-yard line toward the record books. In the big game this this year were the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles, with each looking to win their second Super Bowl title in […]
Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapses on the field during 1st quarter A game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals with playoff implications was one of the most heavily-hyped NFL games of the year and the biggest Monday Night Football matchup in quite sometime, to be televised on not only ESPN but ABC and ESPN 2 (without a ManningCast […]
ABC ABC-Owned Stations ABC 7 Chicago American Idol CBS CBS Chicago CBS Media Ventures CBS News And Stations Chicago Bears Chicago Blackhawks Chicago Bulls Chicago Cubs Chicago White Sox ESPN Family Guy FCC Fox Fox 32 Fox Television Stations Los Angeles Milwaukee NBC NBC 5 NBC Owned Television Stations NBCUniversal Syndication Studios New York City Nexstar Media Group Radio Ratings Sinclair Inc. Syndication The Big Bang Theory The CW The Simpsons Tribune Media Warner Bros. WBBM-TV Chicago WCIU Chicago WFLD Chicago WGN-TV Chicago WGN Radio WLS-AM Chicago WLS-TV Chicago WMAQ Chicago WPWR Chicago