The Cubs "are about to strike a deal" with WLS-ABC "to broadcast a portion of the team's schedule" through '19, according to Robert Channick of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. Beginning in April, the net is "expected to carry 25 games per season." WLS-ABC "would air games in primetime, daytime and weekends." Sources said that the deal is "expected to be finalized within days." Channick notes the Cubs last year "opted out of an agreement" with WGN-TV, "freeing up about 70 games on television next season and ostensibly pulling the plug on a relationship" that dates back to '48. The potential deal with a network-owned station is "something of a media curveball, with few industry observers pegging" WLS "as a player in the Cubs' drawn-out drama to find a new TV partner." It remains to be seen "where the balance of next season's television schedule ends up." But sources said that WGN-TV or CSN Chicago "may pick up the remaining displaced games." Sources said that the Cubs have been "exploring moving some portion of the TV schedule over to CSN." The Cubs have never aired on WLS, and "the timing may prove fortuitous for the station," with the signings of P Jon Lester and manager Joe Maddon (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 12/12).
