Last November, the Cubs exercised an option in their contract with WGN to leave the network following the 2014 season. Their TV rights for 70 games went onto the open market, and with the 2014 season winding down, the team still doesn’t have an answer about where those games will be broadcast in 2015 according to the Chicago Tribune.
The club opted out of the contract in order to line up their two TV contracts (broadcast with WGN, cable with CSN Chicago) so both would expire in 2019, allowing the team to launch their own RSN for the 2020 season. However, no other Chicago networks have taken the bait, and negotiations haven’t gotten very far. In 2014, the team received roughly $500,000 per game on Comcast, and $250,000 per game on WGN, a total of around $60 million. While that’s obviously a nice chunk of change, it pales in comparison to the rights fees that some teams (most notably, the Dodgers) are getting with their new TV contracts and RSNs.
The Tribune is also reporting that the Cubs are in discussions with TPG Capital, a private equity firm that manages $66 billion in capital, to maximize their rights fees. However, the team might end up simply returning to WGN with their tails tucked between their legs, simply because there aren’t any other viable options in the current market. WGN is losing $200,000 per game under the current contract, and while the onrush of Cubs prospects could make them more appealing to viewers next season, there’s always the chance they could flame out and leave WGN in an even worse position than they were under this current contract.
As for the possibility of a new RSN launching in Chicago, there are still plenty of possibilities. Comcast is still the only RSN in Chicago and Fox, Time Warner, and Root (owned by an arm of DirecTV) could all be possibilities for the Cubs. The Cubs are also apparently considering a Cubs streaming network online, but the uncertainty about in-market streaming on MLB.tv could pump the brakes on that one until there’s more clarity.
A short-term return to WGN, with the Cubs possibly offsetting losses by the network, seems to be the most likely option to me. Comcast picking up the WGN contract seems logical until you realize that CSN already has a full slate of White Sox, Bulls, and Blackhawks games, and adding even more live content to the fray would really stretch the network thin. Did the Cubs overplay their hand? Maybe, and I’m not going to say they were in the wrong for what they did. The club expected there to be a significant demand for their games next season, but cratering ratings and continued struggles on the field have helped quiet that demand. There’s no chance in hell that the team is going to end up with half of their games not broadcast on local television next season, so something will get done – it just might not be the financial windfall the team expected a year ago.
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About Joe Lucia
I hate your favorite team. I also sort of hate most of my favorite teams.