With the Cubs in the midst of a pennant race, the
Tribune Co., which owns the team and controls its broadcast
rights, "finds itself with a problem," according to Michael
Hirsley of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. Beginning in August, "more
than a third" of the team's 52 remaining games are scheduled
to be aired on cable station CLTV, which reaches 1.7 million
Chicago homes, rather than on WGN, which reaches 3.1 million
area homes and "many more as a superstation in other parts
of the country." As a result, Tribune Broadcasting "will
pull back to WGN some of the Cubs games it moved to CLTV."
Tribune CO. Exec VP/Media Operations James Dowdle said, "It
looks like there will definitely be games moved." Hirsley
added that the Tribune Co. and WGN "have taken an abundance
of complaints and criticism" for moving games to CLTV this
season, cutting the number of WGN Cubs broadcasts to 92.
Complaints "poured in" last Tuesday night, when WGN carried
WB programming instead of a Cubs-Braves game which featured
rookie P Kerry Wood against P Greg Maddux. While Cubs
broadcasts on WGN have averaged a 5.3 rating this season,
the WB programs also "have fared well," even as reruns
(CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 7/25).
