The Future of WGN America?

[mgsports]

Also Accuweather.
Chicago TV Land would be good in other parts of the USA so would Bay News 9 and CFNEWS13.
How about a Chicago Sports Team start it's own Channel?

 

[schmave]

There have been rumors for years that the Cubs will someday start their own network. Looks like that would be several years off considering the deal with CSN (it expires in 2019; the current WGN deal expires after 2014). I, for one, am a big CSN fan. They're as good an RSN as there is. A Cubs network would need some other programming to sustain it, and I don't see what they'd get other than the Wolves or something. The carriage issues would be a nightmare.
As far as CLTV and channels like it, I wish DirecTV would have a regional news pack in the manner of their sports pack. Include channels like CLTV, NY1, News 14 Carolina and New England Cable News.
Someone mentioned the Cubs not being on WGN America after the current deal expires. I'm read multiple times that the Cubs will be permitted to stay on the national signal as long as current contracts continue to renew, but if they ever leave WGN and then join up again later, those games will be restricted to the local signal.

 

[Nate Wesley]

There's nothing markedly wrong with WGN America as is, and that's counting the reruns with duplicated coverage on other channels. They've got popular network reruns of shows still on TV...this is a bad thing? As it exists today, its another basic cable general entertainment channel...and there's nothing wrong with that. Another option that might get channel surfers to stick on it--precisely as TBS, TNT, USA, etc. All these goofball ideas of making it more Chicago-centric or making it a weather channel are just that, goofy--there's no way the channel will waste its national distribution doing that.

My only suggestions:

• A fresher morning/daytime slate (even though Matlock, In the Heat of the Night, and Walker, Texas Ranger are probably cheap to run).
• More sports on fall/winter weekends that won't conflict with the Cubs or Bulls...maybe MAC college football or MAC/Missouri Valley/Horizon League college basketball on Saturdays?

 

[FightingIrish]

I'm thinking Al Jazeera should have waited for WGN American to come on the block. Then they'd get some really good clearances, rather than being stuck in the digital ghetto. I could just imagine Time Warner running Al Jazeera America on channel 9 in my local market. That would be hilarious.

 

[nathannah]

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).

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

I have (we do get it locally in Milwaukee, but on a station not picked up for cable yet). Great service definitely. But if it had the WGN weather department behind it that would be a dream come true, though I know it won't.

 

[milwaukee_dave]

I missed it when it first came out, but here's an interesting article on WGN America from another end of the corporate spectrum (Chicago Tribune). The piece includes a look at the channel's past and (possible) future with some statistics about its perceived monetary value.

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/...21209_1_wgn-america-snl-kagan-peter-liguori/2

 

[crainbebo]

We are supposed to get WeatherNation very soon, via a subchannel of KFFV-44 here in Seattle.

-crainbebo

 

[lugnuts6]

I agree with one suggestion, dump the WGN name if you are going like TBS/Peachtree TV :

here is just my own suggestion for programming and a name:

Coming to ChicagoVision
6 to 10 am : Morning Link- Chicago based Interactive morning News/entertainment show
10am-11am: Matlock
11am-noon : Perry Mason
Noon-1pm: Midday Report-latest news, national weather,and sports
1pm-3pm : Afternoon Movie (or cubs / Sox baseball)
3p-4pm: Talk show or first run syndicated comedy
4pm-5pm: Talk Show or First Run Syndicated drama or comedy
5pm-6pm: ChicagoVision original show
6p-8pm: Best of antenna TV
8p-10pm: Movie House
10p-11p: WGN News on ChicagoVision
11p-11:30pm: Sports night Live
11:30-1am: Last night programming
1am-6am: Nite Owl news/music video

Weekends would be a combination of live original programming , sports , or movies

 

[crainbebo]

SyndEx may have a problem with the talk shows. Add some cartoons to the 3-5pm hour and you have CLASSIC independent TV from the '80s...

-crainbebo

 

[mgsports]

Midnight to 4am Movies
4am to 7am Local News
7am to 9am Daily Buzz Show from Orlando
9am to 10am American F. Videos
10am to 11am American Idol Reruns
11am to 1pm Local Newscast
1pm to 5pm Sports and so on like Comedies
5pm to 7pm Local Newscast
7pm to 9pm S. Programming or Local Programming like Planning and Zoning Meetings or Game Shows
9pm to 11pm Local Newscast
11pm to Midnight Repeats

 

[willdav713]

SyndEx may have a problem with the talk shows. Add some cartoons to the 3-5pm hour and you have CLASSIC independent TV from the '80s...

-crainbebo

Or reruns of Oprah, The Newly Wed Game, and Phil Donhue. ;D

 

[ding12]

SyndEx may have a problem with the talk shows. Add some cartoons to the 3-5pm hour and you have CLASSIC independent TV from the '80s...

-crainbebo

Or reruns of Oprah, The Newly Wed Game, and Phil Donhue. ;D

Tribune is the major broadcaster clearing Maury and Springer. Without Tribune, these shows wouldn't have clearances in the major markets to be viable. Maybe old reruns of these shows could make it to WGN America filling up that channel's schedule.

 

[Jimme]

The last time i "needed" WGN was to get the 1998 revival of Match Game because no one in my local city aired it. I don't think I have watched it since. There are enough other places to get "Big Bang Theory", "How I Met Your Mother" or similar shows.

Being one of the biggest cities in the country, and one where people who used to live there probably still have family ties, it might serve as a warm slice of home to the Chicagoan who moved to Los Angeles. But, it has nothing for me to turn to special.

 

[nomadcowatbk]

A lot of places never even carried WGN when it was a real superstation in places like NYC and Columbia MO

 

[crainbebo]

I don't get WGN America anymore - but usually I watched the WGN noon newscast only. Too much in the way of reruns.

-crainbebo

 

[willdav713]

I don't get WGN America anymore - but usually I watched the WGN noon newscast only. Too much in the way of reruns.

-crainbebo

For Time Warner Austin in order to receive WGN now on the basic tier, lease of a digital tuning adapter or digital converter is required. Wanna tape WGN? or CSPAN? You are out of luck (macrovision) unless you rent a digital converter box at $10 each per month. They do that to the City Hall channel (which could indeed violate the Texas Open Meetings Act)

 

[anotherguyTN]

I haven't watched WGN America much since they dropped Out of Sight Retro Nights and Corner Gas. I wish that they had gone with more retro shows and become a cable equivalent of Me TV, or TV Land like it used to be. I know that probably won't happen now.

 

[therealjm12]

I completely agree with Anotherguy. They could remove it from my line up and I'd never notice it was gone.

 

[azumanga]

In recent years the only time I watched WGN America was for the Jerry Lewis telethon, as they started earlier than my local station (11PM ET, as opposed to 9AM the next day). But ever since the revamp into a 6-hour Jerry-free telethon, then to a 3-hour benefit concert format, there was no reason to watch WGN any longer.

 

[Mr Tony]

other than the occasional cubs game I forget the channel even exists