The Chicago Blackhawks and WGN-TV have announced a three-year extension of the station's television rights.Chicago Blackhawks' President John McDonough and Tribune Broadcasting President Larry Wert made the announcement Thursday on the WGN Midday News.
The Chicago Blackhawks and WGN-Ch.9 have agreed to a three-year extension of television broadcast rights, keeping NHL hockey games on the Tribune Co.-owned station through the 2018-19 season.
Blackhawks President & CEO, John McDonough, announced the agreement Thursday during the WGN noon news. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“'WGN-TV is synonymous with Chicago and is the perfect partner to continue help serve our expanding fan base,” McDonough said in a statement. “From Lloyd Pettit to Pat Foley, WGN-TV has been a highly-valued member of the Blackhawks family.”
The Blackhawks games have been on WGN-TV since 2008. Under the agreement, the Blackhawks will continue to air about 20 games per season on WGN-TV, with the bulk of their broadcast schedule remaining on Comcast SportsNet Chicago. The Blackhawks, White Sox, Bulls and Cubs are partners in CSN through the 2019 season. Comcast owns about 30 percent of the regi onal sports cable network.
The defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks, who advanced this week to the Western Conference finals, have been pulling in large television audiences all season, according to executives.
“There’s not a hotter sports franchise in Chicago,” said Larry Wert, president of Tribune Broadcasting. “We’re seeing some overnights (Nielsen television ratings) for some of these games at levels that were unthinkable just a few years ago. One of the games peaked at a 22 household rating in Chicago.”
The ratings number represents the percentage of television homes that watched the program.
Television ratings for Blackhawks games on WGN-TV are up more than 200 percent since 2008, according to executives. The team’s Jan. 5 game against San Jose set a hockey ratings record for the station, with more than 275,000 Chicago-area households tuned in.
The Blackhawks are averaging about a 4.5 ra ting on CSN this season, according to executives. By comparison, the rebuilding Cubs averaged a 1.7 rating last season on CSN.
While Blackhawks games do not air on national cable channel WGN America, negotiations are underway to expand the broadcasts into adjacent markets through affiliates, according to Wert.
Tribune Co.’s WGN-AM 720 has the radio rights to Blackhawks games through the 2018-19 season under a five-year deal struck last year. The playoffs are being simulcast on WGN-AM and 87.7 FM “The Game” (WGWG-LP), an all-sports station launched in February.
Chicago-based Tribune Co. is planning to spin off its eight daily newspapers, including the Chicago Tribune, to focus on its broadcasting and entertainment interests.
rchannick@tribune.com
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