Chicago Radio: Cubs New Deal Worth $70M

Thursday 6/5/14 4pm Update:  It's official:  CBS RADIO and the Chicago Cubs announced today that WBBM Newsradio 780AM has been named as the team’s new flagship radio station beginning with the 2015 season.  Chicago’s all-news station will broadcast regular and postseason games, and select pre-season contests with Pat Hughes and Ron Coomer calling all game day action.

            

The broadcast rights agreement is part of a multi-year sports and entertainment partnership that also includes several promotional initiatives across all seven of CBS RADIO’s local Chicago stations and the Company’s digital and social platforms.  Additionally, the two parties will work jointly to create and produce live music events to be hosted at Wrigley Field.

Earlier Posting...

The CBS Radio group has scored a coup, agreeing to a seven-year contract with the Chicago Cubs for the exclusive rights to broadcast the team’s baseball games on Newsradio WBBM 780 AM / 105.9 FM beginning with the 2015 season, according to CBS Radio.

After the Cubs had long contract talks with numerous radio outlets, CBS was the choice of the team’s business executives.

This new deal could be worth as much as $70 million to the Cubs, according to Bruce Levine, who covers basbeall for WBBM.

Industry sources said that WGN Radio, which held exclusive rights to Cubs on the radio since the 1950s, refused to match the CBS offer. WGN had the right to retain and keep the Cubs on their airwaves in accordance with the current contract. The same sources said that due to the three years of losing by the Cubs at a record pace, WGN Radio was in the red by about $3 million-$4 million worth of revenue sales annually on the deal.

In the 1930s and ’40s, the Cubs allowed local radio stations to broadcast their home games for free. At one point in the mid-’30s, seven local Chicago radio station carried the broadcasts at the same time. The first broadcasts of Cubs games on the radio were in 1925 on WMAQ, which is its later years of existence was owned by CBS radio. WMAQ continued to broadcast Cubs games through 1941, and the franchise didn’t charge any fees for its radio rights until 1937.

Chicago Cubs and WGN: Jimmy de Castro explains the Cubs’ departure from WGN Radio: Click Here for audio.

Meanwhile, WGN-TV, the Cubs' television home since 1948, is on notice, and perhaps on the way out, according to The Chicago Tribune.

The Cubs exercised an option to end their agreement with WGN-TV last year, making the team a television free agent in 2015. One-third of the way through this season, the Cubs have yet to secure a television partner for next year, but sources say everything is in play, from starting their own digital-only channel to even returning to WGN under a new deal.

Also, M-C has learned the Cubs will air on WBBM 780 AM only, and not on it's simulcast outlet 105.9 FM. Listen for the all-news format to continue when the Cubbies air.  Also, if clustermate WSCR 670 AM loses its rights the Chicago White Sox, CBS Radio can transfer Cubs to it.