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All signs point to Cubs launching RSN

The Blackhawks, Bulls and White Sox are nearing an extension with NBC Sports Chicago, presenting the clearest signal yet that the Cubs will go out on their own to launch a regional sports network.

A deal with NBC Sports Chicago and the Blackhawks (owned by Rocky Wirtz) and the Bulls and the White Sox (both owned by Jerry Reinsdorf) is said to still be several weeks, if not months, away. But talks are progressing amicably as the RSN contemplates a future without the highly rated Cubs.

The Blackhawks deal is up at the end of this season, so the team needs to have a new deal in place by the team’s opening game in October 2019.

The Cubs still could cut a deal to remain part of NBC Sports Chicago with the other three teams, but that scenario does not look likely, according to sources. While executives from the Cubs and NBC Sports talk regularly, the two sides have not sat down for formal negotiations in months and have no meetings planned for the near future.

Cubs executives have been open about their desire to control their local media rights when their current deal ends in 2020, spending much of the past three years discussing such a move publicly. The team has placed packages of games on WGN, the local ABC affiliate and Facebook.

Currently, the four teams own 20 percent each of NBC Sports Chicago, with NBC Sports Group holding the remaining 20 percent. It’s not known how the ownership of a three-team RSN would be allotted.

The pay-TV industry has plenty of examples of teams that have launched their own RSN. Some, like the Yankees’ YES Network and the Red Sox’s NESN, have been successful. Others, like the Dodgers’ Spectrum SportsNet LA and the Astros’ CSN Houston, have struggled to get enough distribution to be successful.

It remains to be seen whether Comcast, the dominant cable system in the Chicago area, would be persuaded to carry a new Cubs RSN, especially if the team spurns Comcast to launch it.

The Cubs are banking on the idea that their popularity in Chicago will convince pay-TV distributors to carry the channel. The team’s 4.38 regular-season rating in 2018 was MLB’s seventh-highest local cable number, a significant distinction for such a big market. By comparison, the Yankees posted their highest local rating in six seasons with a 3.62.

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