Oct. 19--Chicago Cubs fans may be disappointed after their team dropped the first two games of the National League Championship Series over the weekend in New York, but network executives couldn't be happier.
Saturday night's Cubs loss to the Mets averaged 7.9 million total viewers on TBS, the largest audience the network has ever had for an NLCS Game 1. In fact, the game was the most-viewed program on all of TV -- broadcast or cable -- for the night, according to Nielsen.
The series, which returns to Wrigley Field on Tuesday, will remain in prime time throughout the week, bumping the American League series between Kansas City and Toronto to the afternoon.
Cubs executives say the club's ratings success shows their competitive young playoff team is ready not only for prime time but also the planned launch of its own regional sports network five seasons from now.
"It really sets the stage for a launch of the Cubs-only network (for the 2020 season), when all of these core players will be in their prime, and our expectations for on the field performance will be just as good as it is today," Cubs President of Business Operations Crane Kenney said Friday.
The Cubs opted out of a longer-term agreement with Tribune Media's WGN-Ch. 9 two years ago, restructuring TV deals to sync up expiring broadcast and cable rights after the 2019 season, when the team will look to launch its own regional sports network.
Kenney said the team's strong performance gives it a "tail wind" as its discussions with four potential partners are ongoing, with an announcement expected no later than 2018.
The current contracts reduced WGN's portion of the schedule to 40 games, while ABC-owned WLS-Ch. 7 picked up 25 games. Comcast SportsNet Chicago -- a regional sports network launched in 2004 by Comcast partnering with the Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks and Bulls -- carries the bulk of the Cubs schedule.
National cable channel WGN America dropped local sports this season, ending nearly four decades of beaming Cubs baseball to far-flung places across the country.
Local TV partners enjoyed robust ratings as first-year Cubs manager Joe Maddon and a roster of talented young players turned into a playoff team with World Series aspirations. Positive prospects may give the team some leverage as it puts together a Cubs-only regional sports network.
The blueprint for the Cubs could well be the Los Angeles Dodgers, who launched SportsNet LA in 2014 with Time Warner Cable, earning the team a reported $8.35 billion over 25 years. The Dodgers were eliminated by the Mets in the Division Series last week.
There are indications that the prices that cable subscribers are willing to pay for local sports may have peaked with the Dodgers deal. For two full seasons, a majority of Los Angeles-area viewers couldn't watch Dodgers broadcasts because other cable and satellite operators refused to pay a premium for the regional sports network.
The broader trend of cord cutting continues to gain traction, with pay television services losing 625,000 subscribers in the second quarter, and more declines projected ahead, according to SNL Kagan. Sports are the most expensive component of the cable bundle.
ESPN charges $8.80 per subscriber, the most of any national cable network, according to SNL Kagan. But ESPN lost 3.2 million subscribers in just over a year, according to Nielsen, as viewers dropped cable or downgraded to less expensive packages.
Regional sports networks are also among the more expensive cable programming and likewise may be vulnerable to cord cutting in the years ahead.
Kenney remains bullish on potential demand for a Cubs-only regional sports network.
"If you take a look at the stars that are driving performance here, they're all players who, because of their contract, will be with us through the launch of our new network," Kenney said. "Now that we've seen the beginning of what should be a really incredible period of Cubs content, the timing lines up very nicely with our launch."
rchannick@tribpub.com
