WGN No More?

[jstraw]

 

Holy hell, is that Rick Danko singing the role of Irwin?


 

[AlexV]

New minor league affiliate:

Ours or just out there?


Minor league team names and logos are the best.

[jstraw]

 

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="jstraw" data-cid="303596" data-time="1478569074">
New minor league affiliate:

Ours or just out there?


Minor league team names and logos are the best.
 


</blockquote>
I really don't know. Google image search magic.

[VanSlawAndCottoCheese]

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="VanSlawAndCottoCheese" data-cid="303602" data-time="1478570577">

Holy hell, is that Rick Danko singing the role of Irwin?

 </blockquote>


Good ear. He did all the songs.

[jstraw]

 

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="jstraw" data-cid="303604" data-time="1478573231">
 

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="VanSlawAndCottoCheese" data-cid="303602" data-time="1478570577">
 

Holy hell, is that Rick Danko singing the role of Irwin?

 </blockquote>


Good ear. He did all the songs.
 


</blockquote>
Co-wrote them too. And Ricky Fataar is one of the musicians!

[VanSlawAndCottoCheese]

 

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="VanSlawAndCottoCheese" data-cid="303612" data-time="1478578580">
<div>
 

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="jstraw" data-cid="303604" data-time="1478573231">
 

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="VanSlawAndCottoCheese" data-cid="303602" data-time="1478570577">
 

Holy hell, is that Rick Danko singing the role of Irwin?

 </blockquote>


Good ear. He did all the songs.
 


</blockquote>
Co-wrote them too. And Ricky Fataar is one of the musicians!

 

</div>
</blockquote>
 

That's a bridge too Fataar for me.

[VanSlawAndCottoCheese]

Good ol' Canuck cartoons. Like this chestnut:

 

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WHZTC1ljA84" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[jstraw]

 

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="jstraw" data-cid="303613" data-time="1478578915">
<div>
 

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="VanSlawAndCottoCheese" data-cid="303612" data-time="1478578580">
<div>
 

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="jstraw" data-cid="303604" data-time="1478573231">
 

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="VanSlawAndCottoCheese" data-cid="303602" data-time="1478570577">
 

Holy hell, is that Rick Danko singing the role of Irwin?

 </blockquote>


Good ear. He did all the songs.
 


</blockquote>
Co-wrote them too. And Ricky Fataar is one of the musicians!

 

</div>
</blockquote>
 

That's a bridge too Fataar for me.

 

</div>
</blockquote>
Stig O'Hara

[rok]

January 14, 2017

Will Cubs fans get to live-stream games this year?


DANNY ECKER ON SPORTS


Cubs brass took to the podium today at the team's 32nd annual fan convention downtown with a series of updates on the franchise's business operations.


After officials thanked about a thousand fans attending the event at the Sheraton Grand hotel, this year's Q&A session revealed a few new details about ongoing renovations at Wrigley Field, developments on game-watching and the team's pitch to Major League Baseball about hosting the All-Star Game at the Friendly Confines for the first time since 1990.


Here are a few key takeaways and quotes from the panel:


* You may be able to live-stream Cubs games in-market this year.


Team President of Business Operations Crane Kenney told the crowd that Comcast parent NBCUniversal and MLB "have come together to reach an agreement to allow our games to be streamed" in 2017. He was referring to authenticated streaming, the same kind of offering that CSN Chicago offers for Bulls and Blackhawks games to customers that have a cable subscription. MLB already has such a deal with Fox Sports regional networks to stream games on mobile devices, but Comcast markets like Chicago have been waiting for that deal to be finalized. Unfortunately for fans, Kenney back-tracked a bit in a media scrum after the Q&A. "Every time I say it's a done deal, it's not," he said. "They seem to have reached an agreement. We're the ones that are pushing hard for them to solve it because our fans want it. . . .I would say we're cautiously optimistic."


* Negotiations on a new local broadcasting rights deal are "picking up"


The Cubs president didn't back down from his publicly stated plan to launch a Cubs channel when the team's contract with CSN Chicago expires at the end of 2019. But discussions are ongoing with potential financial, distribution and programming partners about how that might be structured.


Said Kenney: "Things are changing quickly in the landscape. You're watching ESPN lose (subscribers) every quarter, people are cutting the cord, there are cord-nevers, cord-shavers, light packaging from people like Comcast and others. So the marketplace is kind of in a moment of shifting. . . .Now we're a couple years away (from the end of the contract) and the market's beginning to understand a little more what over-the-top (network) means, what light packaging means. With our ratings, we've been very active in conversations. I wouldn't say something is going to happen by Opening Day, but I'd say the pace of conversations has picked up."


* The team is pushing MLB to give it the 2020 All-Star Game


During the Q&A, Kenney told the crowd the team is aiming to host the midsummer classic in 2020 when the Wrigley Field renovation is complete. But he also argued the Cubs are at a disadvantage because the league tends to award the event "to cities that have supported clubs through public financing." There are bigger hurdles to clear, however, when it comes to security and "a few other things that are more procedural around the ballpark," he said. That could refer to the team gaining better control of the branding environment around the ballparkone of the reasons it joined with MLB to sue a few dozen knock-off apparel vendors that sell on the streets outside Wrigley on game days.


"We should get the All-Star Game," Kenney told reporters. "The city wants it, we want it, but we've got to convince (MLB Commissioner Rob) Manfred that we've earned it. It's a little bit of politics. He has a very open mind to Wrigley getting an All-Star Game at some point. . . .We've got a great partnership with Mayor Emanuel and he understands the value of this team in this market, and he would like nothing more than to see an All-Star Game. So we're working closely with them to make an appeal to the commissioner to bring it in 2020."


* Those outfield lights at Wrigley Field might not be happening


Kenney said the team is rethinking the two outfield light poles it had planned to install as part of the stadium renovation to improve visibility for outfielders. A new rendering of the ballpark plan shows no light poles. "One of the things we've learned with the analysis of it is they would be less effective than we thought they'd be," he said. "So they're being evaluated. . . .I would say the evaluation is siding on the side of not including them, but it hasn't been ruled out entirely." What he didn't say: The poles might also further block the views of some rooftop buildings across the street that the Ricketts family now owns and operates.


* Uploading selfies at Wrigley will still be really difficult this year


Asked about slow Wi-Fi and cellular service in Wrigley Field, Cubs Vice President Carl Rice told the crowd that nothing will change this season. But he said the team is in the process of installing a new "robust" Wi-Fi and distributed antenna system both inside and outside the ballpark that will be ready in 2018.


* You may be able to re-sell your Cubs tickets closer to game time


Cubs Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Colin Faulkner said the team is considering changing its deal with online resale partner StubHub stipulating that fans can't re-sell tickets within six hours of the start of a game. That was a policy the Cubs instituted several years ago when the team was awful and tickets were re-selling for a fraction of face value on game days. That has changed in a big way now, with tickets reselling for more than face value on the secondary market. Faulkner said the team hasn't determined what it will do for this year, but said it is looking at changing the policy.

[Kid]

I assume that will only cover CSN games, and not WGN or WLS.

[rok]

It's official.


chicagobusiness.com


January 19, 2017

Cubs, Sox games to be live-streamed in Chicago market


Danny Ecker on Sports

CSN Chicago's Cubs and White Sox games will be live-streamed online and on mobile devices this season, free to those who get the network in their cable package.


In a long-awaited deal between Major League Baseball and CSN parent company NBCUniversal, both teams' games will be live-streamed on CSNChicago.com and through the NBC Sports app, the companies announced today.


Similar to how it works for CSN's Bulls and Blackhawks games, fans who get CSN Chicago can live-stream games the network broadcasts by logging in online or on the NBSC Sports app by using their cable provider username and password.


CSN Chicago broadcast more than 80 Cubs games and 107 White Sox games last year.


Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it includes three CSN regional networks that carry MLB teams: CSN Chicago (Cubs and Sox), CSN Bay Area (San Francisco Giants and Oakland A's) and CSN Philadelphia (Philadelphia Phillies).


Those networks pay MLB a rights fee to live-stream the games, a model launched last year in a deal between the league and Fox-owned regional networks that carry MLB teams. Each of those Fox regional networks pays $2 million a year per team for those rights, according to Sports Business Journal.


CSN Chicago is making the investment makes to meet fans' growing expectation to watch anywhere on any platform, a concept known as "TV Everywhere."


That has become increasingly important for cable networks as more customers drop or trim their cable packages in favor of subscription streaming options like Netflix and Hulu. The number of cable TV subscribers nationwide has dropped more than 12 percent since 2011 to just under 53 million, according to New York research firm Evercore ISI International Equities.


The live-streaming offering also gives CSN Chicagowhich is co-owned by the Bulls, Blackhawks, Cubs and Sox along with NBCUniversala new platform on which it can sell advertising, something it can now do for all four of its team partners.


"This is a significant moment for the network to have all four teams" available for live-streaming, said T.K. Gore, CSN Chicago's director of digital. "There's value for the fans, distribution partners, sponsors and advertisers."


PASSWORD SHARING


Baseball fans have been able to stream games online since 2002 through MLB.tv, a league-run streaming service that cost $109.99 last year for a full season of access to all MLB games. It also introduced a package to subscribe to a single team's games for $84.99.


But under those options, users previously were be blacked out from live-streaming the games if they are in the market where they are televised. That changed under a lawsuit settlement last year, allowing MLB.tv users to still live-stream games in-market as long as they prove they subscribe to the network showing the games on TV.


With the CSN Chicago deal in place, those cable subscribers no longer need an MLB.tv account to live-stream Cubs and Sox games.


One challenge CSN Chicago and MLB could face with the new live-streaming offering is password-sharing, especially given that the Cubs' fan base stretches nationwide. Those fans theoretically could log in to the live-streaming offering using credentials of a friend who subscribes to CSN Chicago and watch games for free, avoiding the fees they would otherwise have to pay to watch games through MLB.tv.


That's something the Cubs may look to address on their own after the 2019 season when their local broadcasting rights deals expire with CSN Chicago, WGN-TV/Channel 9 and WLS-TV/Channel 7. The team is considering launching its own network to reach its nationwide audience.


Gore said he is not concerned about password-sharing. "I believe in the technology that we and NBC Sports Group have built" to police live-streaming services, although it is unclear whether the CSN Chicago offering would prevent multiple concurrent logins to the streaming service.

[rok]

Wasn't sure where else to post this. DeJesus replaces Hollandsworth as CSN pre/post-game analyst. I don't know much about David as a broadcaster, but if this means more Kim around town, I support this with all of my being.

http://www.robertfeder.com/2017/03/22/ro...o-analyst/

[Kid]

http://twitter.com/KimDeJesus9/status/84...3468065792

[Butcher]

what? Is that real?

[funkster]

I would bet it is.  I follow her on Snapchat and I have to say, it's pretty clear she likes the attention from male fans she gets.  She loves showing off that cleavage.