Cubs TV broadcast rights

[Banedon]

I didn't feel like searching for the old thread on this so it gets a new one. AT&T may be interested in regional sports networks after its Time-Warner deal.

 

https://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2018/06/25/Media/Sports-Media.aspx

 

EDIT: Here's another link if that one doesn't work for you cuz of a paywall: http://awfulannouncing.com/local-networks/att-reportedly-hopes-to-acquire-more-sports-rights-could-make-play-for-chicago-cubs-package.html

 

Another area of sporting interest is in Chicago where NBC Sports’ RSN has been trying to sign the Cubs to a rights deal. The Cubs’ current deal with NBC Sports Chicago ends after the 2019 season, and the two sides have been talking for months about an extension.

 

Now that AT&T’s Time Warner purchase is official, I would expect the Cubs to reach out to the new company, if it hasn’t already. After all, AT&T already is in the RSN business with three channels: AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain and AT&T SportsNet Southwest.

 

It’s way too early to handicap where the Cubs’ rights will go. But it seems obvious that the team — at a minimum — will look to use AT&T as leverage in its NBC Sports negotiations.

[Andy]

'The two sides have been talking about an extension' is an interesting way to say 'NBCSCH has been bringing up extension talk while the Cubs dodge their phone calls and start working on their network'.

[jersey cubs fan]

[Sammy Sofa]

Get in on that bubble while the getting's good, you mush-faced ghoul.

[NOLA]

And keep Len and JD.

[Cubswin11]

[UMFan83]

What kind of shows do these channels air when they aren’t showing games/pregame/postgame etc?

[Sammy Sofa]

What kind of shows do these channels air when they aren’t showing games/pregame/postgame etc?

 

Hardcore nudity.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

What kind of shows do these channels air when they aren’t showing games/pregame/postgame etc?

corner gas

[UMFan83]

What kind of shows do these channels air when they aren’t showing games/pregame/postgame etc?

 

Hardcore nudity.

 

Hoping there’s more dongs shown during the baseball portion of the programming

[imb]

What kind of shows do these channels air when they aren’t showing games/pregame/postgame etc?

 

it's just commercials for The General.

 

Anyway, some fans have always treated the "cubs network" thing like this deus ex machina that was gonna come make us an unstoppable juggernaut with a $500m payroll ... but it would be cool if it happened.

[Cubswin11]

What kind of shows do these channels air when they aren’t showing games/pregame/postgame etc?

Probably a lot of stuff like this. And of course the Bryce and KB reality show.

 

[Sammys Boombox]

So what ever came of all that debt service 2019 stuff?

[davell]

https://www.cubsinsider.com/2018/08/28/new-tv-deal-could-earn-cubs-additional-100-million-in-annual-revenue/

 

Pretty solid breakdown. Basically expects the new TV deal to give us an extra 100 mill or so a year.

[Regular Show]

https://www.cubsinsider.com/2018/08/28/new-tv-deal-could-earn-cubs-additional-100-million-in-annual-revenue/

 

Pretty solid breakdown. Basically expects the new TV deal to give us an extra 100 mill or so a year.

 

I almost guarantee the new TV deal will give the Cubs more than an extra 100 mil per year. Maybe substantially more. The Cubs are a huge draw and I think the fanbase is only getting larger.

[Sammy Sofa]

Well, can't argue with that, I guess.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Using the dodgers deal, which is such a terrible deal for the networks that it has led to massive blackouts, seems like a really bad benchmark when the team would be bearing the risk of starting the network. From some cursory googling, you would basically require ESPN-esque carriage fees with similar adoption in the chicago market to justify that 160 million payout.

[chibears55]

New tv deal gets them Bryce Harper

[emoji16]

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

[Sammy Sofa]

New tv deal gets them Bryce Harper

[emoji16]

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk

 

Hardcore Bryce Harper nudity quintuples their investment. It's a can't lose proposition.

[PackLandVA]

So if/when the Cubs have their own station, how will it work? Obviously it’s gotta be picked up by certain cable and sat dish companies. But would it be available to anyone assuming their cable/sat provider carries it? Or would it only be available to the Chicago market like NbCSports? If an out of market person wanted to get the Cubs games, would the mlb package be the only option?

[Cubswin11]

So if/when the Cubs have their own station, how will it work? Obviously it’s gotta be picked up by certain cable and sat dish companies. But would it be available to anyone assuming their cable/sat provider carries it? Or would it only be available to the Chicago market like NbCSports? If an out of market person wanted to get the Cubs games, would the mlb package be the only option?

Can you get whatever the Yankees or Dodgers have set up out of market or are their networks only available in market? I’d guess us out of market couldn’t get it and still would need to do MLBTV or Extra Innings or whatever it’s called through Dish/Direct TV to watch games. It would be sweet if you could get their network through an app/online or through Direct TV/Dish.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

So if/when the Cubs have their own station, how will it work? Obviously it’s gotta be picked up by certain cable and sat dish companies. But would it be available to anyone assuming their cable/sat provider carries it? Or would it only be available to the Chicago market like NbCSports? If an out of market person wanted to get the Cubs games, would the mlb package be the only option?

Can you get whatever the Yankees or Dodgers have set up out of market or are their networks only available in market? I’d guess us out of market couldn’t get it and still would need to do MLBTV or Extra Innings or whatever it’s called through Dish/Direct TV to watch games. It would be sweet if you could get their network through an app/online or through Direct TV/Dish.

 

 

In my experience, some satellite packages have a bunch of out of market RSNs, and while you can watch the programming the live games are blacked out. A Cubs network wouldn't do anything to out of market fans ability to watch games unless it really broke from convention(e.g. Cubs opting out of MLBAM revenue sharing and having their own streaming package, which MLB may not allow anyway).

[David]

Yeah, the Cubs having their own RSN doesn't change anything about the blackout restrictions. I don't anticipate that anything would change for out of "market" viewers.

[Banedon]

How long was the deal with ABC? Hoping those games go to this new network too.

[David]

How long was the deal with ABC? Hoping those games go to this new network too.

 

the abc deal and the wgn extension were both intentionally negotiated to end at the same time as CSN so they could move forward with a full slate with whatever they wound up doing