The Cubs seemingly have been talking forever about starting their own TV network, which theoretically would allow them to add millions to the team payroll and help the Cubs stay competitive on an annual basis.
"There are a few brands that have the brand equity to carry their own channel," business operations president Crane Kenney told Forbes last year. "Our brand is big enough that it can carry a channel on its own."
That was in the pre-Joe Maddon era when the Cubs were still a fifth-place team with no real buzz.
They since have fast-forwarded into a championship caliber club under Maddon, and Kenney told the Cubs' new Chicago radio outlet, WSCR-AM 670, Wednesday that the oft-rumored network is becoming a reality.
"We'll move over and launch our own channel in 2020," Kenney said. "Maybe the one thing I do know is how to put these things together."
That's good news for baseball operations president Theo Epstein, who may be able to use some of that additional revenue toward ending the Cubs' championship drought.
But asked about it at the general managers meetings, Epstein said a Cubs network is "just one option" on the table.
"My understanding is we would be open to a deal earlier than (2020) as long as a good one presents itself," he said. "I trust our people to deliver the right deal at the right time."
The Cubs deal with CSN runs through 2019.
If the Cubs left CSN for their own network, it's unknown what affect it would have on the White Sox, whose deal also runs through 2019, a team spokesman said. Both teams are part owners of CSN, along with the Bulls and Blackhawks.
Do the Sox have any plans to start their own network?
"I have no idea," general manager Rick Hahn replied. "That's not my area. … I know from a baseball standpoint what we have to spend and what we're looking to do from a personnel standpoint. But the TV side and the business side I don't spend a lot of time on."
Certainly the Sox would benefit greatly from a larger TV contract, as teams like the Rangers and Angels have. Just last summer the Cardinals announced a 15-year deal with Fox Sports Midwest that will guarantee the team more than $1 billion.
"Across the game you've seen clubs in recent years negotiate new local TV contracts that prove maybe a boon to them from a payroll standpoint," Hahn said. "That's not something we're looking at in '16 or as far as I know in the foreseeable future."
The Sox don't have the brand equity to which Kenney was referring in the Forbes interview, making it unlikely they could start their own network.
But even a Cubs network might be a tough sell. It obviously would require 24-hour programming, even when the teams aren't playing in the fall and winter months.
Would you spend your winter watching reruns of Cubs' games and canned profiles of former players?
Of course, the Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers all own networks, and Epstein won two championships with the aid of NESN revenues.
"It was a beneficial setup," Epstein said. "But this is a different scenario because we're looking prospectively at something new."
Despite the influx of cash, having your own network isn't a panacea for teams. The Dodgers-Time Warner Cable joint-ownership network, SportsNet LA, provides them $8.35 billion over 25 years, and helped them increase their payroll to a major-league record $310 million, according to the Los Angeles Times.
"I don't think we'll ever be facing that type of a scenario," Epstein said of the Dodgers' bloated payroll.
Despite all their resources, the Dodgers failed to win a playoff series in 2015. Perhaps worse, most of their fans haven't been able to watch their games the last two years because the network's distributor, co-owner Time Warner Cable, reportedly was asking for a monthly $4 per subscriber fee, which rival cable and satellite TV operators balked at paying.
Commissioner Rob Manfred addressed the dispute Tuesday, saying: "My concern could not be higher. I think the Dodgers and the Los Angeles market are crucial to Major League Baseball and its reach. This has gone on a long time. I'm hopeful that there are dynamics in play beyond baseball, in terms of corporate activity that may create some flexibility, and hopefully we will get a resolution in time for the 2016 season."
The Cubs have plenty of time to make sure they won't run into the same issues when they're ready to start up their own network.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...llivan-baseball-spt-1112-20151111-column.html
"There are a few brands that have the brand equity to carry their own channel," business operations president Crane Kenney told Forbes last year. "Our brand is big enough that it can carry a channel on its own."
That was in the pre-Joe Maddon era when the Cubs were still a fifth-place team with no real buzz.
They since have fast-forwarded into a championship caliber club under Maddon, and Kenney told the Cubs' new Chicago radio outlet, WSCR-AM 670, Wednesday that the oft-rumored network is becoming a reality.
"We'll move over and launch our own channel in 2020," Kenney said. "Maybe the one thing I do know is how to put these things together."
That's good news for baseball operations president Theo Epstein, who may be able to use some of that additional revenue toward ending the Cubs' championship drought.
But asked about it at the general managers meetings, Epstein said a Cubs network is "just one option" on the table.
"My understanding is we would be open to a deal earlier than (2020) as long as a good one presents itself," he said. "I trust our people to deliver the right deal at the right time."
The Cubs deal with CSN runs through 2019.
If the Cubs left CSN for their own network, it's unknown what affect it would have on the White Sox, whose deal also runs through 2019, a team spokesman said. Both teams are part owners of CSN, along with the Bulls and Blackhawks.
Do the Sox have any plans to start their own network?
"I have no idea," general manager Rick Hahn replied. "That's not my area. … I know from a baseball standpoint what we have to spend and what we're looking to do from a personnel standpoint. But the TV side and the business side I don't spend a lot of time on."
Certainly the Sox would benefit greatly from a larger TV contract, as teams like the Rangers and Angels have. Just last summer the Cardinals announced a 15-year deal with Fox Sports Midwest that will guarantee the team more than $1 billion.
"Across the game you've seen clubs in recent years negotiate new local TV contracts that prove maybe a boon to them from a payroll standpoint," Hahn said. "That's not something we're looking at in '16 or as far as I know in the foreseeable future."
The Sox don't have the brand equity to which Kenney was referring in the Forbes interview, making it unlikely they could start their own network.
But even a Cubs network might be a tough sell. It obviously would require 24-hour programming, even when the teams aren't playing in the fall and winter months.
Would you spend your winter watching reruns of Cubs' games and canned profiles of former players?
Of course, the Yankees, Red Sox and Dodgers all own networks, and Epstein won two championships with the aid of NESN revenues.
"It was a beneficial setup," Epstein said. "But this is a different scenario because we're looking prospectively at something new."
Despite the influx of cash, having your own network isn't a panacea for teams. The Dodgers-Time Warner Cable joint-ownership network, SportsNet LA, provides them $8.35 billion over 25 years, and helped them increase their payroll to a major-league record $310 million, according to the Los Angeles Times.
"I don't think we'll ever be facing that type of a scenario," Epstein said of the Dodgers' bloated payroll.
Despite all their resources, the Dodgers failed to win a playoff series in 2015. Perhaps worse, most of their fans haven't been able to watch their games the last two years because the network's distributor, co-owner Time Warner Cable, reportedly was asking for a monthly $4 per subscriber fee, which rival cable and satellite TV operators balked at paying.
Commissioner Rob Manfred addressed the dispute Tuesday, saying: "My concern could not be higher. I think the Dodgers and the Los Angeles market are crucial to Major League Baseball and its reach. This has gone on a long time. I'm hopeful that there are dynamics in play beyond baseball, in terms of corporate activity that may create some flexibility, and hopefully we will get a resolution in time for the 2016 season."
The Cubs have plenty of time to make sure they won't run into the same issues when they're ready to start up their own network.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sport...llivan-baseball-spt-1112-20151111-column.html
