Cubs returning to WGN with new TV deal

he Cubs are on the verge of returning to WGN with a new local TV deal.

Industry sources expected the Cubs to make the long-awaited announcement – maybe as soon as this week – and finalize their broadcasting plans for the 2015 season.

WGN America already pulled the plug on the Cubs superstation, deciding to focus on original programming and transition away from Chicago sports broadcasting. That platform had helped turn the Cubs into a national brand and make Wrigley Field a tourist destination.

The Cubs had opted out of their deal with WGN, trying to sync up their staggered TV contracts with an eye on 2020, when Comcast SportsNet Chicago will no longer have exclusive cable rights.

The Cubs unveiled a new partnership with WLS-Channel 7 last month. The local ABC affiliate will air 25 games per season through 2019.

WGN is believed to be in position to add about 45 games to its schedule this season, presumably working off the same through-2019 template.

WSCR-AM 670 first reported the news on Tuesday. That Chicago outlet is part of the CBS family that will begin broadcasting Cubs games this year, with WBBM-AM 780 becoming the new flagship station. The move ended a relationship with WGN Radio that started in the 1920s.

The media portfolio has been a major priority for chairman Tom Ricketts and president of business operations Crane Kenney. It means more to the franchise’s bottom line than the $600 million Wrigleyville development.

President of baseball operations Theo Epstein has consistently pointed to the 2020 opportunity, calling the TV megadeal “the magic bullet, the paradigm-shifter that’s going to put us in a whole new level” and give the Cubs a big-market payroll again.

TV money has fueled the huge spending sprees in free agency, turning Major League Baseball into a roughly $9 billion industry. But this won’t necessarily be a slam-dunk decision for the Cubs.

There have been the franchise’s complicated business ties, from the ownership stake in CSN Chicago to the breakup of Tribune Co. into broadcasting and publishing assets.

There will be much larger forces at work, seeing if more consumers cut the cable cord, wondering about the business model shifting toward a la carte and waiting to see how Congress might get involved.

Between the emergence of Netflix and other streaming services – and questions about a sports-rights bubble – no one knows exactly what the TV landscape will look like a few years from now.

But you can catch the Cubs on WGN in 2015 (at least in the Chicago area).