Marquee, CHSN: A possible merger?

Comcast impasse with both fueling speculation According to a report from the Puck newsletter, local regional sports networks CHSN (Chicago Sports Network) and Marquee may be seeking to merge.  CHSN and Marquee have a common enemy: Comcast, the largest cable provider in Chicago, had refused to add CHSN to its network and plans to move Marquee to a higher, more […]

The Media Notepad: Bulls, White Sox owner gains control of Stadium

Also: Richard Mline’s wife dies; DirecTV retains NFL Sunday Ticket….for business customers; Standard General-Tegna merger called off  Sports business website Front Office Sports reported Monday evening the owner of the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Bulls acquired a majority stake in Stadium, the multiplatform sports network seen on over-the-air digital channels and streaming. The network is based out of the […]

The Media Notepad: Cumulus Chicago’s Troy Hanson exits

Also: New Illinois member of Congress supports Standard General-Tegna; Toledo’s WNWO ends “local” newscasts; Phoenix’s basketball teams bail on Bally In what you can call a “weekend news dump”, Cumulus Chicago last Friday let Troy Hanson go from his positions at the cluster. During his time there, he wore several hats including PD of Q101 (WKQX), and VP of programming […]

Nexstar’s purchase of The CW fueled by….a Chicago casino? (updated)

Nexstar financial chief says money from sale of printing press property helped purchase The CW [Editor’s Note: This story was updated November 19.] It turns out there is a Chicago connection to the recent purchase of The CW network by Irving, Tex.-based Nexstar Media Group – and it involves a future casino in our town. As reported by Hollywood trade […]

The Media Notepad: WGN-TV scores ratings win in gubernatorial debates

Pritzker, Bailey showdown tops time slot in viewers, demos  Chicago viewers obviously love their politics: according to Nielsen in a press release from Nexstar’s WGN-TV, the first of two Illinois gubernatorial debates between incumbent Democrat J.B. Pritzker and Republican Darren Bailey was a big local ratings hit on October 6, winning the 7-8 p.m. time period with an exact total […]

Tegna sold to Standard General

    Beleaguered owner of St. Louis and Moline stations sold to hedge fund Financial hedge fund owner Standard General announced Tuesday it has acquired Virginia-based Tegna, Inc. for $8.6 billion. The deal means the company is being taking private, so it would no longer be trading on Wall Street. An affiliate of Standard General will pay $24 for each […]

The Media Notepad: Bears, NFL score ratings wins

Also: Don’t Bet Your Life; Bids made for Tegna; Johnny B to host RHOF ceremony The NFL continues to rack up impressive numbers at a time when viewers are abandoning linear TV in droves. Case in point: The Bears game on Sunday against the Bengals drew a household 22.9 rating and 60 share for Fox-owned WFLD-TV Chicago Sunday, easily making […]

Sinclair amends Tribune deal…again

Would keep WPIX New York but spin-off WGN to an LLC Maybe the fourth time’s the charm: Hunt Valley, Md. based Sinclair Broadcasting has filed another amended proposal to purchase Tribune Media. In their new filing with the FCC, Sinclair is proposing to sell 23 stations in 18 markets in order to satisfy the broadcast ownership rules. In the new […]