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The Future of WGN America?

M

milwaukee_dave

I spent some time this morning reading about Tribune's long-awaited emergence from bankruptcy after four years and can't help but wonder about the future of WGN America. Several articles state Peter Liguori, a member of the newly formed board of directors, is expected to be named chief executive of the company. Analysts, including SNL Kagan, anticipate more of an investment in programming.

I'd be curious what others on here think about WGN America. Is it possible, under Liguori's leadership, the channel could shed any and all Chicago ties and its association to WGN-TV and possibly go the route of a truly general entertainment cable network? The one programming aspect that could prevent an outright severance could be the valued telecasts of Chicago Cubs, White Sox and Bulls games.

As it stands now, however, the Chicago-centric programming is limited. WGN America only carries about a third of WGN-TV's newscasts and newer original series, including the Sunday night series "Chicago's Best," are not aired on the national feed. "The Yule Log" also has not been aired on WGN America in recent years, despite its presence on WGN-TV on Christmas Day.

SyndEx clearly is not the only guiding force in determining which of WGN-TV's shows are airing on the national feed.
 
As a longtime viewer of WGN, that channel in its current incarnation is a trainwreck. Honestly, I'm not even sure why it still exists outside Cubs games. It long ago decided being tethered to its Chicago roots wasn't as important as incessant reruns of How I Met Your Mother and America's Funniest Home Videos. The channel really started to deteriorate once they dropped the WB nationally and started to advertise in Eastern Time, and that's been 13 years now.
I don't think those running WGN America know what they want the channel to be. Either highlight your connection to Chicago or sever it entirely. In the latter case, that means news, the Cubs, Sox and Bulls have no place there, which to me would be truly sad. I have family roots in Chicago and the reason I am as ardent a fan of those teams as I am is the connection I have through WGN and my family that still lives in the area.
I truly don't understand why they can't show more news and shows like "Chicago's Best." Not even showing the Yule Log was stupid. Heck, they even cut out coverage of the Sandy Hook shootings in mid-newscast a couple weeks ago to join a Walker, Texas Ranger rerun in progress. I don't care if it was a half-hour after the news is supposed to end or if the same coverage was on other channels. It was extremely disrespectful to the situation and a slap in the face to the viewer.
End of rant. :)
 
schmave said:
As a longtime viewer of WGN, that channel in its current incarnation is a trainwreck. Honestly, I'm not even sure why it still exists outside Cubs games. It long ago decided being tethered to its Chicago roots wasn't as important as incessant reruns of How I Met Your Mother and America's Funniest Home Videos. The channel really started to deteriorate once they dropped the WB nationally and started to advertise in Eastern Time, and that's been 13 years now.
I don't think those running WGN America know what they want the channel to be. Either highlight your connection to Chicago or sever it entirely. In the latter case, that means news, the Cubs, Sox and Bulls have no place there, which to me would be truly sad. I have family roots in Chicago and the reason I am as ardent a fan of those teams as I am is the connection I have through WGN and my family that still lives in the area.
I truly don't understand why they can't show more news and shows like "Chicago's Best." Not even showing the Yule Log was stupid. Heck, they even cut out coverage of the Sandy Hook shootings in mid-newscast a couple weeks ago to join a Walker, Texas Ranger rerun in progress. I don't care if it was a half-hour after the news is supposed to end or if the same coverage was on other channels. It was extremely disrespectful to the situation and a slap in the face to the viewer.
End of rant. :)
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All great points, schmave. Of course, WGN America's origins are from a bygone era. United Video uplinked the signal in 1978 at a time when cable (outside of bringing in crystal clear images of local channels) was in its infancy. WGN-TV's stronger programming line-up than fellow superstation (W)WOR-TV throughout the 1980s and 1990s gave it an advantage on channel line-ups.

I remember those early days of SyndEx and have written a few posts on the topic on these boards over the years. When the FCC regulation was enacted 23 years ago, the initial goal was to pre-empt as little of WGN-TV's programming as possible. But as time has gone on, the channel has seemed to suffer from a split personality. I agree that either emphasizing the Chicago ties is the way to go or dump it all entirely and program the channel as a truly general entertainment network in the likes of USA, FX, etc.

But if Tribune does go in a purely general entertainment direction, this is noteworthy: Outside of the limited Chicago-centric programming, there really is nothing special about today's WGN America. After all, the channel's diet -- consisting primarily of reruns of "How I Met Your Mother," "30 Rock," "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" and "America's Funniest Home Videos" -- is abundant elsewhere.
 
The Superstation as it was is long gone......

When I was a child, my parents bought a C-Band satellite dish. We had Superstations from New York (W-WOR, WPIX), Chicago (WGN), Atlanta (WTBS), Los Angeles (KTLA), Boston (WSBK), Denver (KWGN), Dallas (KTVT). Then Syndex came into effect and they all started dying out. WGN and WWOR evolved into low cost stations, with WWOR's EMI Service going dark in the late 90s so Animal Planet could be born, and WTBS evolving past the "Superstation" to the point to where it became just "TBS" and of course, WTBS-TV is now WPCH and is totally separate from the TBS national feed. KTVT dropped it's satellite feed, and then joined CBS. WGN's Superstation just evolved into the present day "WGN America". WSBK went UPN and MyNetworkTV, while KWGN, KTLA, and WPIX all went WB and later CW. I think they're still available on satellite however.

The superstation is dead...pretty much
 
TBS doesn't show local Newscast. WGN America won't show 5pm and Morning Newscast because they think people won't watch it. I wish they could put the Daily Buzz on it better yet Orlando start a National Channel like TBS and WGN America.
 
As its been pointed out, WGN America doesn't have any programming outside of the local stuff that isn't available on other cable networks. If they truly want to separate it from the herd, I'd say dropped the WGN name as few people probably have any connection to it. Keep the syndicated fare but add in some original programming like TBS- as its really its main competition. A reality competition and a talk show would be a good start, and an indication to advertisers that they're really trying to invest money into making it a profitable and successful venture.

In its current incarnation, it will nothing more than an also-ran to TBS, USA, Comedy Central and FX.
 
justpassingthough said:
As its been pointed out, WGN America doesn't have any programming outside of the local stuff that isn't available on other cable networks. If they truly want to separate it from the herd, I'd say dropped the WGN name as few people probably have any connection to it. Keep the syndicated fare but add in some original programming like TBS- as its really its main competition. A reality competition and a talk show would be a good start, and an indication to advertisers that they're really trying to invest money into making it a profitable and successful venture.

In its current incarnation, it will nothing more than an also-ran to TBS, USA, Comedy Central and FX.
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I could see new Tribune leadership going the route you're suggesting, justpassingthrough. To make the channel distinguishable, they could create some original scripted and/or non-scripted programming in lieu of the Chicago-centric shows on WGN-TV. In the mix could be the existing off-network shows the channel currently has the rights to.

I guess WGN America could go the route of TBS and continue carrying baseball, perhaps with a mix of the Chicago teams and other sports outfits elsewhere in the country. TBS clearly has been successful with its comedy line-up, though the baseball telecasts are an odd, albeit highly rated, fit into the schedule.

By the way, I'm not saying I want any of this to happen. I'd love for WGN America to maintain its Chicago ties to WGN-TV in some form. But, like many of us on this board, I'm not a typical TV viewer. I'm just trying to look at the channel's future from the perspective of a company emerging from bankruptcy and changing leadership.

Media reports have suggested WGN America is profitable and in about 75 million of the 100 million U.S. households with cable and satellite coverage. But like so many cable channels that have evolved in time, growth will be the end game. The search for the next Honey Boo Boo (gag!) or "Rescue Me" (one of FX's successful series under Peter Liguori's watch) would make more sense than relying on the Chicago-centric programming.
 
WGN America isn't available on cable in the Chicago area. If the Cubs win the World Series anytime soon, will they even air the Parade, they didn't air the Blackhawks Stanley Cup Parade?
 
milwaukee_dave said:
The one programming aspect that could prevent an outright severance could be the valued telecasts of Chicago Cubs, White Sox and Bulls games.
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Tribune kept 5% of the Cubs, so they aren't going anywhere unless part of the settlement is to sell their remaining interest in the team.

The Sox and Bulls are another story. IIRC, Tribune's deals with Jerry Reinsdorf expire at the end of 2014. They could go elsewhere (read: 100% CSN or a deal with Fox aired on WPWR, or Weigel/WCIU).

But Der Kommissar of Baseball, Kennesaw Molehill Selig, might keep the Cubs and Sox off of WGN America once their current contracts expire, just like he removed the Braves from TBS. It's no secret that he'd rather keep games aired outside a team's local market off free or basic-cable TV, except those carried by Fox, ESPN, and TBS. MLB.TV and Extra Innings are how he'd prefer out-of-market games to be accessed, for obvious reasons.
 
The problem with a local network carrying the Bulls or so on that it would only be shown on in Chicago and their might be Bulls fans who might not be in Chicago and don't want to pay the extra money for NBA League Pass to see the Bulls. TNT should be the Channel to shown National Baseball and let TBS show Braves,Hawks,WNBA and so on.
 
nomadcowatbk said:
WGN America isn't available on cable in the Chicago area. If the Cubs win the World Series anytime soon, will they even air the Parade, they didn't air the Blackhawks Stanley Cup Parade?
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Probably not, but who knows? Originally not permitted/in the mood to air a special on Ron Santo because of "territorial restrictions" outside the local viewing area, WGN eventually did, so who knows? They did air the Sox parade, but that was seven years ago. They also did not air coverage of Ron Santo's funeral a couple years ago.
If WGN national ever loses or drops the Cubs or Bulls, that channel will be dead to me. It already is outside those teams and the news WGN feels like airing nationally.
To the OP, judging from your screen name, are you close enough to get both versions of WGN? I know the local and other Chicago OTAs are available pretty close to Milwaukee.
 
nomadcowatbk said:
WGN America isn't available on cable in the Chicago area. If the Cubs win the World Series anytime soon, will they even air the Parade...
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It won't matter. The world will end immediately after the final out. The last words anyone will hear will come from Harry Caray booming from the heavens "Hoooollllyyyyy Coooowwww!!!!" ;D
 
To the OP, judging from your screen name, are you close enough to get both versions of WGN? I know the local and other Chicago OTAs are available pretty close to Milwaukee.
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Schmave: My cable provider, Time Warner, doesn't provide any local Chicago stations, including WGN-TV, on the Milwaukee line-up. All we get is WGN America. I believe, but am not 100 percent certain, Kenosha receives the local iteration on cable. The cut-off might go as far north as Racine, but again I'm not certain.

In the early 1990s, my folks had a cable system (Paragon) in suburan Milwaukee that carried a few Chicago locals, including WTTW-TV (Channel 11) and WFLD-TV (Channel 32). But those days are loooong gone! During this time, we received the national version of WGN-TV, presumably to limit the amount of blank screens popping up in SyndEx's earliest of days. I can remember flipping by WFLD-TV when FOX programming was on the air and receiving a notification WCGV-TV, Milwaukee's then-FOX affiliate, requested the programming be blacked out.

On this very topic, I was saddened to learn Time Warner Cable's Milwaukee line-up no longer carries any distant signals -- not even anything in the nose-bleed section of the digital tier. (I dropped cable a few years back, but my parents still have it and I perused during Christmas.) The last hold-out, WHA-TV, Madison's PBS affiliate, disappeared a few years back, I later learned.

Getting back to your question, schmave, there was a time when I could receive a Chicago station here or there over the air, but that's no longer possible with the all-or-nothing digital signals. As a kid, I remembered picking up quite a few on a clear night with varying signal quality: WMAQ-TV (Channel 5), WLS-TV (Channel 7), WPWR-TV (Channel 50) and WGBO-TV (Channel 66). I never could get WGN-TV over the air, though.
 
I'm pretty sure my idea won't be considered for WGN America; a conversion into a no-nonsense 24/7 weather network featuring Tom Skilling, Jim Ramsey and Paul Konrad. I know I'd watch that plenty (it's the big reason I tune into WGN America), but the advertising wouldn't be there (as much as I loathe the Weather Channel now, at least they're well past the age of constant nothing but Anco wiper blade and Sherwin Williams sponsorships).

Other than the weather, Chicago news and entertainment that is "Linda Koooohl-meyer!" drawing the Illinois Lottery balls, there's nothing I watch on there now. No offense to Matlock and Walker but they're not my type of shows, while In the Heat of the Night has the worst excesses of late 80's TV drama. All of the other acquired shows outside of the Chicago content are either terrible shows found getting pummeled against the NFL on other stations, or easily found on other stations or in full on Netflix. Whoever gets WGN America, something unique has to come from the channel for it to stand out. As the Randy Michaels failure at a rebrand proved, going lowbrow and trying to be 'overly Midwestern' failed, and the only stations that do 'radio on TV' shows are those that have no budget or imagination; Bob & Tom did have both, but their show works much better on radio.

I also prepare for the inevitability that the Cubs and Sox are gone to a CSN/WMAQ/WCIU/(perish the thought of it being in SD) WMAQ Cozi split once the current deal ends. Going by the LA sports rights battles, YES/Fox and Sportstime Ohio/Fox, there's no way Ricketts and Reinsdorf rubber-stamp a cheap deal, especially with Ricketts needing plenty of cash to stay both competitive and Wrigley from falling apart.
 
Fenway1912 said:
Oddly the WGN feed shown in Canada is the real channel 9 feed. Canada also carries channel 17 from Atlanta.
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I'll never forget staying in a hotel in Windsor back in 1998 or 1999, seeing WGN and thinking nothing of it until I started seeing Chicago-area commercials that hadn't been on the superstation in ages. I'm getting closer to the day I place a Slingbox in a relative's Chicagoland home just so I can watch the local WGN programs and Cubs/Bears/Bulls/Hawks games. Meant to do it years ago, but I never got around to it and my NBA and NHL interest has waned greatly.
 
It is weird as the NHL would NOT allow WGN America to show Hawks games but the feed seen in Canada does show them. I watched the Hawks on WGN in Montreal last winter. Canada also carries Peachtree TV. Same thing applies to Bermuda.




schmave said:
Fenway1912 said:
Oddly the WGN feed shown in Canada is the real channel 9 feed. Canada also carries channel 17 from Atlanta.
Click to expand...

I'll never forget staying in a hotel in Windsor back in 1998 or 1999, seeing WGN and thinking nothing of it until I started seeing Chicago-area commercials that hadn't been on the superstation in ages. I'm getting closer to the day I place a Slingbox in a relative's Chicagoland home just so I can watch the local WGN programs and Cubs/Bears/Bulls/Hawks games. Meant to do it years ago, but I never got around to it and my NBA and NHL interest has waned greatly.
Click to expand...
 
mrschimpf said:
I'm pretty sure my idea won't be considered for WGN America; a conversion into a no-nonsense 24/7 weather network featuring Tom Skilling, Jim Ramsey and Paul Konrad. I know I'd watch that plenty (it's the big reason I tune into WGN America), but the advertising wouldn't be there (as much as I loathe the Weather Channel now, at least they're well past the age of constant nothing but Anco wiper blade and Sherwin Williams sponsorships).
Click to expand...

Have you ever heard or read anything about WeatherNation (an alternative to the Weather Channel) before?
 
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