My latest Chicago Tribune column is on an unexpected option for Cubs TV next year.
You also could access the column via my Twitter feed at Sherman_Report.
An excerpt from the column:
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Chicago viewers might have to get up to speed on what a multicast station is to watch Cubs games next year.
As the Cubs sort out what to do with the WGN-9 portion of their 70 to 75 television games in 2015, the team is considering an option that is highly unconventional, if not a bit out there: Launching a version of a Cubs network on a multicast station, according to sources familiar with the situation.
This takes some explaining.
A multicast outlet is a sub-channel for local over-the-air broadcast stations. They became more prevalent with cable and satellite providers converting to digital platforms in the last decade. On Comcast’s channel guide, most of the multicast stations are bunched in the mid 300s. Currently, these stations mostly air classic TV shows such as “Bonanza” and “The Brady Bunch,” or syndicated programming such as cooking shows.
The Cubs reportedly are eager to start their own network. They currently can’t do it on cable because of terms of their deal with Comcast SportsNet, which runs through 2019.
However, the multicast stations aren’t considered cable; they are broadcast because they are transmitted over-the-air. That would provide the Cubs the opportunity to start some sort of a team-branded channel. The Cubs would produce the telecasts and sell and keep all the advertising revenue.
Crane Kenney, Cubs president for business operations, and WGN officials declined comment on the multicast possibility. A Cubs source said the team still is considering many options and isn’t close to making a final decision.
Why would the Cubs go the multicast route and leave a powerful and familiar station as WGN-9?
Last fall, the Cubs exercised an option to opt out of their deal with WGN, which ran through 2022. At a minimum, the team needed to sync up their TV contracts so they all conclude after 2019, enabling them to start a network with all their games in 2020 outside Major League Baseball’s national deals.
WGN, which pays the Cubs in the neighborhood of $250,000 per game, reportedly is losing as much as $200,000 per telecast because of record low ratings in recent years. The station wants to continue its long relationship with the Cubs, but also is anxious to stem some of the financial bleeding. Sources say WGN has offered the Cubs a new deal that would include a small rights fee and a revenue sharing component. Fees would remain low for poor ratings during the rebuilding process, but they could be much higher if viewers return in droves for a contending team.
According to sources, Kenney isn’t eager to sign a deal that would give the Cubs considerably less in guaranteed money, especially at a time when the Dodgers are doing a multi-billion dollar local TV contract.