Stay out of Cubs business!

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

He should.

http://chicago.suntimes.com/sports/ald-ed-burke-urges-cubs-not-to-create-their-own-tv-network/

Burke urges Cubs not to ‘leave fans behind’ with TV network

A die-hard Sox fan who is also the City Council’s most powerful alderman on Wednesday urged the world champion Cubs not to create their own regional sports network with fees so high they would “leave fans behind.”

The resolution introduced by Ald. Edward Burke (14th), chairman of the City Council’s Finance Committee, is proof positive of how popular the Cubs have become. Burke is a South Sider who seldom, if ever, sets foot in Wrigley Field.

Now, Burke is positioning himself as the champion for Cubs fans by sticking his nose into the private business of the billionaire Ricketts family that owns the Cubs.

At Wednesday’s City Council meeting, Burke introduced a resolution aimed at pressuring the Cubs not to follow the lead of the Dodgers and Yankees by creating their own regional sports network. That could happen after the 2019 season, when agreements for local television rights are due to expire.

The resolution notes that, if the Cubs have a “similar experience to what happened” to the Dodgers, “half of all Cubs fans would be unable to watch any games.” That’s because they could not afford the “costly premium package” including a Cubs channel that approached $6 a month in New York and Los Angeles.
Burke openly acknowledged that the City Council has no legal authority to compel the Cubs to renew their contract with Comcast SportsNet.

But by publicly championing the issue, he hopes to pressure the Cubs to proceed with caution and in the best interests of die-hard fans.

“Fans here in Chicago would like to have the opportunity to watch the Cubs. And many of ’em don’t have that opportunity and can’t afford to go to the games because they can’t afford the ticket prices . . . since they’ve also increased their ticket prices,” he said.

Burke reminded team officials that the City Council approved the Cubs’ plan to put up two video scoreboards, four other outfield signs, extend the Wrigley footprint onto public streets and sidewalks without compensating Chicago taxpayers, and play more night games.

Aldermen also approved the Cubs’ ambitious plan to renovate Wrigley Field and develop the land around Wrigley Field with a hotel, an office building and open-air plaza with even more signage.

“I hope that they take note of the fact that they’ve had a lot of support from the members of the City Council. And they should keep the plight of the working women and men of Chicago who are fans [in mind] as they go ahead with this plan that’s gonna make it tougher for fans watch the Cubs,” Burke said.

“They, I’m sure, are gonna be coming back here in the future [for approvals], and it’s something to be considered,” he added.

In an emailed statement, Cubs spokesman Julian Green wrote: “Once again we are reminded it has never been harder to spend private money in the city of Chicago. The team has been creating hundreds of jobs, generating taxes for the city and revenue streams to support our own nearly $800 million investment and our championship organization. Frankly, it’s unfathomable to be threatened with suggestions that the city would deprive us of rights other teams enjoy and in so doing limit our ability to support ourselves.”

Ald. Tom Tunney (44th), whose ward includes Wrigley Field, did not sign on to Burke’s resolution.

“I saw the headline of the resolution and decided I needed to stay as far away from it as possible,” Tunney said Wednesday.

“We all read the papers. And the value of the TV rights is huge. I’d love to keep WGN. I grew up with it. But, the only thing constant in life is change. And if they try to monetize and do real well, that was part of the deal. They knew that going in. Whenever this contract ends, they’re gonna put it out to bid and try to maximize their asset.”

Ald. Pat O’Connor (40th), Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s City Council floor leader, defended Burke’s right to get involved in the private business affairs of the Ricketts family.

O’Connor noted that cable television has been a “council subject matter” since the 1970’s and if Burke “wants to revisit something there, he’s entitled.”

“Perhaps he wants to remind them that the Hawks resurgence and their popularity — the timing of that — was conspicuously done at the same time that [owner] Rocky Wirtz put `em back on local television,” O’Connor said.

Referring to the Cubs, O’Connor said, “Maybe what Burke is doing is just trying to save them from themselves.”

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

I know the Cubs want their own RSN, but the ship on that passed. I see a Dodger like situation occurring as I highly doubt Comcast will carry a channel that 1: adds to their carriage fees and 2: competes directly with a channel they own a 20% stake in and have their name attached to.

People are cutting cords due to the carriage fees and the last thing Comcast wants to do when they are trying to preserve their customer base is add to that. If the Cubs did this in 2004 when FSN Chicago fell apart, they would've succeeded. They won't succeed with this today as the cable landscape has changed.

They will also struggle to get a winter partner. Hawks probably won't leave CSN as Reinsdorf and Wirtz families are too connected due to split ownership of the UC. The Bulls are going to be married to the Sox on TV so long as Reinsdorf is alive.

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

I saw an ad for some sort of Inifinity light thing coming here. They are taking aim at cutters and will get them back or prevent the cutting in the first place. It seems to be a real basic skeleton of cable channels and streaming fir 30-40 bucks a month.

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Elections have consequences.

I have never once seen Burke at a baseball game and you know that guy would put himself in a seat that is front and center. I've seen Daley there with every goof who could get himself elected dogcatcher one side of home plate and Madigan with every hack under his control but never once Burke.

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

What if they offered up their WCUB (or whatever) channel to stream for a yearly fee ... say, $49.99 ... would MLB allow that? The problem w/ MLB.tv is that any 'local' games are blacked out if I understand things correctly.

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Power is always in the hands of the masses of men. What oppresses the masses is their own ignorance, their own short-sighted selfishness.
- Henry George

That's going to be a big fight going forward.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

If I heard correctly starting this season cable subscribers can now stream the Cubs and Sox games on their computer and other devices.

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God is the uncaused cause of the universe. He had no beginning and has no end. He is not bound by the laws of the universe he created.

SportsChannel
Fox Sports Net
Lorimar Sports Network

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AT&T U-Verse
Direct TV
Comcast

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2018
#ExtendLafleur
10 More Wins

That's really no different than what the NBC Sports App has allowed for years. You have to be a subscriber and your provider must carry the channel.

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson