In today's trending Cubs news, the nine-decade partnership between the Chicago Cubs and the broadcasting network, WGN, is ending in acrimony and bitterness...on both sides.
As Gorden Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times was apt to point out, there are not a lot of markets left in baseball where the severing of ties between a franchise and the media company which broadcasts its games means this much. WGN and the Cubs have been synonymous since the 1920s - a fact which hasn't gone lost on WGN themselves.
“In my opinion, they’re making step after step after step that are PR nightmares,” WGN Radio president Jimmy de Castro told the Sun-Times on Wednesday after news hit that the Cubs had officially signed a seven-year contract to move their broadcasts to WBBM-AM and its CBS Radio affiliates. “At the same time, they’ve lost 35 games this year, 288 games in the last three years, and no one’s listening or watching.”
In truth, WGN opted out of its deal with the Cubs last October, citing losses to their bottom line and a decrease in market value.
They also declined to match WBBM-AM's offer - something which the Cubs aren't willing to let the public forget.
“It’s obvious we’re not immune to unfortunate comments and below-the-belt punches as of late, but WGN opted out, period,” Cubs spokesman Julian Green said in email correspondence with the Sun-Times. “We are taking steps, though. Some of those steps are tough with fans, but we’re taking step after step to build our organization and give Cubs fans a world championship."
"Like it or not, this deal puts us on track for future success.”
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