WGN America was an American subscription television network that operated from November 9, 1978 to February 28, 2021. The service was originally uplinked to satellite by United Video Inc. as a national feed of Chicago independent station WGN-TV , making the station's programming available to cable and satellite providers throughout the United States as the second nationally distributed " superstation " (after Atlanta station WTCG , now operating as the cable -originated TBS , which had become a national service almost two years earlier).
306-468: It maintained a nearly identical program schedule as the Chicago station, airing a variety of programming including films, syndicated series , programs intended for local broadcast in the Chicago market (including local newscasts, public affairs shows and children's programs), and sports (including Chicago Cubs and White Sox baseball , Chicago Bulls basketball , and regional collegiate events). By
612-401: A "2–3" format, first two games were played at the home of the team who did not have home-field advantage. Then the last three games were played at the home of the team, with home-field advantage. Thus the first two games were played at Wrigley Field and the next three at the home of their opponents, San Diego. A common and unfounded myth is that since Wrigley Field did not have lights at that time
918-585: A "passive" superstation, asserting a neutral position over United Video's national retransmission of its signal and holding no oversight over national promotion of the WGN signal. (This was in contrast to WTBS, which handled nationalized promotional responsibilities rather than leaving those duties to its satellite carrier, as WGN had done.) This allowed WGN Continental/Tribune Broadcasting to continue paying for syndicated programming and advertising at local rates rather than those comparable to other national networks. Tribune
1224-445: A "soft" news daily strip, with a number of imitations following (among which have included such entertainment news shows as TMZ on TV , Extra and ET ' s own spin-off The Insider ); and "tabloid" television, in the wake of ABC 's 20/20 and, more immediately, 20th Television 's A Current Affair , would become a syndication staple with such series as Hard Copy and Real TV . Another area where network dominance
1530-626: A CBS owned-and-operated station) in Dallas – Fort Worth in July 1984 and, after it assumed retransmission rights from Eastern Microwave, KTLA in April 1988. (Although all three were intended for national distribution, WPIX, KTLA and KWGN have primarily been distributed within their respective regions of the United States; Dish Network made them all available nationally for those who subscribed to
1836-418: A Copyright Act exemption clause regarding "passive" carriers in the compulsory license statute of Section 111 effectively defined that satellite carriers were not required to seek direct the express permission of a television station or its licensee (such as WGN-TV/WGN Continental Broadcasting) to redistribute out-of-market broadcast signals. Publicly, Daniel T. Pecaro, president of WGN-TV at the time, opined that
2142-435: A Gun (1957–1959), and This is Alice (1958). The venture lasted five years and closed down in 1961. By the late 1960s, a de facto two-tiered system had developed in the United States, with the major network affiliates (usually on longer-range VHF stations) consistently drawing more viewers than their UHF, independent counterparts; syndicators thus hoped to get their programs onto the major network stations, where spots in
2448-631: A broadcast network focusing on classic television series that Tribune launched on January 1, 2011. During the early 2000s, WGN America acquired sub-run syndication rights to series that had previously aired in their original broadcast runs during the channel's affiliation with The WB, including 7th Heaven , The Wayans Bros. , Sister, Sister and The Parent 'Hood . Between 2006 and 2009, WGN America ran teen- and preteen-oriented sitcoms during mid-afternoon timeslots such as Lizzie McGuire , Even Stevens and Sister, Sister , only for these shows to quickly be moved to overnight graveyard slots (when
2754-482: A broader agreement with Sling parent Dish Network which ended a three-week impasse in which the satellite provider lost access to Nexstar's broadcast stations) and Vidgo (reached on January 14) to expand the channel beyond its existing wireline and satellite distribution footprint, and increase exposure for NewsNation . ( AT&T TV had already carried the channel since October 2019). On January 25, 2021, Nexstar Media Group announced it would relaunch WGN America under
3060-417: A contingency feed to allow United access to WGN programming in the event of any problems with the microwave link-up. Separate national advertising or per inquiry ads also began to be inserted over the satellite feed in place of local advertisements intended for broadcast in the Chicago market (which, with a few exceptions, became exclusively carried by channel 9 locally). This also allowed the station to increase
3366-481: A continuing life as syndicated programming tailor-made for the early fringe. In 1971, the U.S. FCC passed the Prime Time Access Rule and Financial Interest and Syndication Rules , which prevented networks from programming one particular hour of prime time programming on its television stations each night and required the networks to spin off their syndication arms as independent companies. Although
SECTION 10
#17327870939673672-693: A controlling interest in United Video, eventually expanding its share in the company to an approximate 73% equity and 93% stock and voting interest by January 1998 – and convert it into a basic cable channel (similar to what WTBS had done that same year and similar to Tribune's conversion of WGN America into a basic service that began in 2014). The proposal would have also seen TCI provide additional programming (including library content from distributors through which parent company Liberty Media had held investments) and receive subscriber fees paid by participating cable systems. This proposal ultimately did not yield
3978-439: A controversial figure in the clubhouse after his corked-bat incident , Sosa's actions alienated much of his once strong fan base as well as the few teammates still on good terms with him, to the point where his boombox was reportedly smashed after he left to signify the end of an era. The disappointing season also saw fans start to become frustrated with the constant injuries to ace pitchers Mark Prior and Kerry Wood. Additionally,
4284-415: A conventional cable-originated channel became formal on December 13, 2014, when simulcasts of WGN-TV's Chicago-originated local newscasts, news specials and public affairs programs, special events and sports telecasts (although a simulcast of the first hour of the station's then five-hour-long morning newscast was carried early weekday mornings during the transitional period) immediately ceased being shown on
4590-494: A de facto national network feed intended for American media markets that did not initially have a local affiliate; this would bide The WB enough time to fill remaining gaps in affiliate coverage in "white area" regions that lacked a standalone independent station following its launch. In exchange, Time Warner agreed to reduce the network's initial program offerings to one night per week (from two) to limit conflicts with WGN's sports broadcasts. The superstation feed, which reached 37% of
4896-412: A deal with World Wrestling Entertainment to broadcast WWE Superstars as an hour-long weekly program on WGN America. The program started airing on WGN America on April 16, 2009, airing on the channel for two years until Superstars was dropped from its lineup after the April 7, 2011, telecast. In April 2010, WGN America announced it would begin carrying Earl Pitts Uhmerikun , a television version of
5202-617: A deal, with Tribune and United Video maintaining stewardship of the national channel. Into the late 1990s, The WB began to expand its local broadcast coverage in American media markets that had previously relied on the WGN national feed to receive the network's programming; it signed affiliation agreements with local broadcast stations (including UPN charter affiliates, leftover independents, former noncommercial stations adopting an entertainment format, and dual affiliations with stations already affiliated with other networks [such as UPN]) within
5508-454: A debt load of around $ 13 billion – making it the largest media bankruptcy in American corporate history – that it accrued from the Zell buyout and related privatization costs as well as a sharp downturn in revenue from newspaper advertising. In April 2009, WGN America underwent another rebrand, with a new retro-style logo (which was updated on July 1, 2010 to a more minimalistic graphic style),
5814-471: A die-cut "S" emblem to represent its superstation status. On April 1, 2007, Chicago-based real estate investor Sam Zell announced plans to purchase the Tribune Company in a leveraged buyout worth $ 8.2 billion, under which Tribune employees were awarded stock and given effective ownership of the company. The transaction and concurring privatization of Tribune was completed upon termination of
6120-404: A disadvantage in that their costs can be higher than some other formats due to the high volume of episodes needed. In many markets, a stripped show will be seen twice daily, usually with different episodes (one being a more recent episode and the other being an episode from a previous season). Sometimes, station groups with more than one station in a market, or a " duopoly ", will run one episode of
6426-572: A double-play combination by Franklin P. Adams ' poem " Baseball's Sad Lexicon ". The poem first appeared in the July 18, 1910, edition of the New York Evening Mail . Mordecai "Three-Finger" Brown , Jack Taylor , Ed Reulbach , Jack Pfiester , and Orval Overall were several key pitchers for the Cubs during this time period. With Chance acting as player-manager from 1905 to 1912, the Cubs won four pennants and two World Series titles over
SECTION 20
#17327870939676732-471: A down-to-the-wire Wild Card chase with the San Francisco Giants , Chicago and San Francisco ended the regular season tied, and thus squared off in a one-game playoff at Wrigley Field. Third baseman Gary Gaetti hit the eventual game-winning homer in the playoff game. The win propelled the Cubs into the postseason for the first time since 1989 with a 90–73 regular-season record. Unfortunately,
7038-459: A fast start in 1999, they collapsed again (starting with being swept at the hands of the cross-town White Sox in mid-June) and finished in the bottom of the division for the next two seasons. Despite losing fan favorite Grace to free agency and the lack of production from newcomer Todd Hundley , skipper Don Baylor 's Cubs put together a good season in 2001. The season started with Mack Newton being brought in to preach "positive thinking". One of
7344-548: A five-year span. Although they fell to the "Hitless Wonders" White Sox in the 1906 World Series , the Cubs recorded a record 116 victories and the best winning percentage (.763) in Major League history. With mostly the same roster, Chicago won back-to-back World Series championships in 1907 and 1908 , becoming the first Major League club to play three times in the Fall Classic and the first to win it twice. However,
7650-490: A former Fox and Discovery Communications executive who joined the Tribune Company in December 2012 – stated that with its new programming strategy, about 50% of participating American multichannel television providers would begin offering WGN America as a conventional cable-originated channel by the end of 2014, with all providers offering it on a higher-end basic programming tier by around 2016. WGN America's conversion into
7956-601: A greater artistic freedom, and looser standards (not mandated by a network). The older Bugs Bunny and Popeye cartoons made way for first-run syndicated cartoons such as He-Man and the Masters of the Universe , Inspector Gadget , Heathcliff , ThunderCats , My Little Pony , The Transformers , G.I. Joe , Voltron , Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles , and reruns of Scooby-Doo , Garfield and Friends , and The Pink Panther , among many others. Syndication
8262-401: A home, for two seasons, on NBC, as SCTV Network 90 (and on premium cable channel Cinemax by 1983). The Universal / Paramount -produced package of original programming, Operation Prime Time , began appearing on ad hoc quasi-networks of (almost by necessity) non-network stations in the U.S. in 1978, with a mini-series adaptation of John Jakes ' The Bastard . From the later 1960s into
8568-689: A larger amount of shared programming.) Of the four United Video-distributed superstations, WGN was the only one to have its national coverage expand post-Syndex, adding 2.2 million households with cable or satellite service to its total reach by July 1990; some systems also began to swap out New York City-area rivals WPIX and WWOR in favor of offering the WGN superstation feed in the years immediately following that feed's launch as it offered fewer blackout-subjected programs than other affected superstations. The national feed's distribution gradually expanded further to direct broadcast satellite through agreements with DirecTV , Dish Network and Primestar throughout
8874-508: A local-specific media company, and has spun off most of the more national or extraneous assets of companies that it has acquired in the recent past. Following the Tribune purchase announcement, representatives for Nexstar stated that the company would consider the sale of certain "non-core" assets tied to the sale during or after the acquisition process, though it instead decided to wind those non-core operations down, including Zap2It and TV by
9180-456: A loss, at least at first, hoping that the series will succeed and that eventual off-network syndication will turn a profit for the show. A syndicated program is licensed to stations for "cash" (the stations purchase the rights to local insertion some or all of the advertisements at their level); given to stations for access to airtime (wherein the syndicators get the advertising revenue); or the combination of both. The trade of program for airtime
9486-645: A majority interest in UVTV – one of three satellite carrier units, along with Superstar/Netlink Group and Netlink USA, that were operated by the company – from TV Guide, Inc. unit of Gemstar–TV Guide (which was refocusing its assets around TV Guide magazine, the TV Guide Interactive interactive program guide platform and the TV Guide Channel) for $ 106 million in cash, shifting responsibility for retransmission, distribution and promotion of
WGN America - Misplaced Pages Continue
9792-536: A majority interest in the Cubs in 2009, ending the Tribune years. Apparently handcuffed by the Tribune's bankruptcy and the sale of the club to the Ricketts siblings, led by chairman Thomas S. Ricketts , the Cubs ' quest for a NL Central three-peat started with notice that there would be less invested into contracts than in previous years. Chicago engaged St. Louis in a see-saw battle for first place into August 2009, but
10098-718: A member club of the National League (NL) Central Division . The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field , which is located on Chicago's North Side . They are one of two major league teams based in Chicago, alongside the American League (AL)’s Chicago White Sox . The Cubs, first known as the White Stockings, were a founding member of the NL in 1876 , becoming the Chicago Cubs in 1903 . Throughout
10404-462: A minor leaguer. Reliever Tim Stoddard (10–6 3.82, 7 saves) was acquired the same day for a minor leaguer; veteran pitcher Ferguson Jenkins was released. The team's commitment to contend was complete when Green made a midseason deal on June 15 to shore up the starting rotation due to injuries to Rick Reuschel (5–5) and Sanderson. The deal brought 1979 NL Rookie of the Year pitcher Rick Sutcliffe from
10710-419: A mix of comedy sketches, circus acts, cartoon shorts and in-studio audience participation games), Ray Rayner and His Friends (a variety show which featured animated shorts, arts and crafts segments, animal and science segments and a viewer mail segment) and Garfield Goose and Friends (a series hosted by Frazier Thomas as the "prime minister" to the titular clacking goose who designated himself as "King of
11016-452: A national basis. On December 15, Tribune reached a carriage agreement with Comcast Xfinity that saw WGN America move from limited to expanded basic tiers effective the following day (December 16) on its systems in Boston , Philadelphia , Washington, D.C., Seattle and Chicago. Despite the reduction in common programming between WGN-TV and WGN America towards the end of their joint existence as
11322-785: A national pay television audience—United Video would later uplink WPIX (now a CW affiliate) in New York City in May 1984; Netlink began distributing KWGN-TV (now a CW affiliate) in Denver in October 1987; and Eastern Microwave began distributing KTLA (now a CW affiliate) in Los Angeles in February 1988—and the first superstation to be distributed by United Video—with WGN and WPIX being joined by Gaylord Broadcasting -owned KTVT (now
11628-484: A national roll-out is feasible based on the ratings accrued in the selected markets where the program is being aired. While market penetration can vary widely and revenues can be unreliable, the producers often enjoy more content freedom in the absence of network's standards and practices departments; frequently, some innovative ideas are explored by first-run syndicated programming which the networks are leery of giving airtime to. Meanwhile, top-rated syndicated shows in
11934-509: A national superstation, the channel's addition to Comcast's Chicago systems marked the first time that WGN America had been available on cable television – instead of just on direct-broadcast and C-band satellite, as had been the case for about two decades – in the home market of its former parent station. The three Tribune-owned superstations that remained, WPIX, KTLA and KWGN-TV, were confined in their remaining U.S. distribution to wired subscription television services to their respective regions of
12240-480: A new five-note sounder (based on the sound ID used by WGN Radio in Chicago), new graphics, a new slogan ("Everywhere America Calls Home"), and the introduction of some original programming to its schedule. The changes were made to increase its cable distribution outside the channel's traditional coverage area and position itself as a general entertainment network that programs to the entire nation, not just Chicago and
12546-676: A nightly basis again – except on certain nights throughout the year to accommodate WGN-TV-produced sports telecasts cleared for national retransmission – once WB programming was dropped. Films were later removed from Sunday nights with the launch of the "Outta Sight Retro Night" block in August 2007, and from Thursday nights between 2009 and 2010 to accommodate original programs such as WWE Superstars . WGN America then relegated its movie telecasts to Sunday afternoons and weekend late nights from September 18, 2010, until prime time films returned on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays in May 2013. Until 2012,
WGN America - Misplaced Pages Continue
12852-638: A no-hitter against the Astros , and six days later the team clinched by beating St. Louis at Wrigley. The club ended the season with a 97–64 record and met Los Angeles in the NLDS . The heavily favored Cubs took an early lead in Game 1, but James Loney 's grand slam off Ryan Dempster changed the series' momentum. Chicago committed numerous critical errors and were outscored 20–6 in a Dodger sweep, which provided yet another sudden ending. The Ricketts family acquired
13158-695: A personality-based programming in the mid-2010s), MSNBC (which gravitated toward liberal opinion/talk programs beginning in 2008), and Fox News (developed in 1996 with a conservative-leaning format). The program draws partly from the broadcast and digital resources of Nexstar's television stations (including those acquired by Tribune Media, in addition to WGN America, several months prior). During December 2020 and January 2021, Nexstar reached carriage agreements that added WGN America to virtual multichannel television providers YouTube TV (reached on December 1), FuboTV (reached on December 11), Hulu (reached on December 18), Sling TV (reached on December 24, through
13464-445: A pitcher's duel with D-Backs ace Brandon Webb , to "....save Zambrano for (a potential) Game 4." The Cubs, however, were unable to come through, losing the first game and eventually stranding over 30 baserunners in a three-game Arizona sweep. The Tribune company, in financial distress, was acquired by real-estate mogul Sam Zell in December 2007. This acquisition included the Cubs. However, Zell did not take an active part in running
13770-541: A player and manager. His departure after 22 years led local newspaper reporters to refer to the Colts as the "Orphans". After the 1900 season , the American Base-Ball League formed as a rival professional league. The club's old White Stockings nickname (eventually shortened to White Sox) was adopted by a new American League neighbor to the south . In 1902, Spalding, who by this time had revamped
14076-428: A popular new stripped series hosted by Winfrey-associate Dr. Phil McGraw, in primetime, with impressive ratings results. With a general decline in first-run production in the 2020s, syndicators and stations have turned to reruns of stripped talk shows to fill time slots, with observers noting that conflict-driven tabloid shows tend to draw higher ratings in reruns than non-tabloid shows. First-run syndicated shows in
14382-480: A positive springboard since the Cubs were to play a crucial series with the Mets the next day. But Willie Stargell drilled a two-out, two-strike pitch from the Cubs' ace reliever, Phil Regan, onto Sheffield Avenue to tie the score in the top of the ninth. The Cubs would lose 7–5 in extra innings.[6] Burdened by a four-game losing streak, the Cubs traveled to Shea Stadium for a short two-game set. The Mets won both games, and
14688-461: A profitable run in reruns. Other sitcoms, such as Small Wonder , Out of This World , The Munsters Today , and Harry and the Hendersons (as well as more action-adventure oriented series like Superboy and My Secret Identity ) enjoyed success in syndication throughout their entire run. The broadcast networks aired many action-adventure programs from the 1950s to the 1980s. By
14994-561: A program is broadcast for the first time as a syndicated show. Often these programs are made specifically to sell directly into syndication and not made for any particular network. In off-network syndication, a program whose first airing was on network television (or, in some cases, first-run syndication) is licensed for local broadcast on individual stations. Reruns are usually found on stations affiliated with smaller networks like The CW or MyNetworkTV, especially since these networks broadcast one less hour of prime time network programming than
15300-471: A record 120 games 7 years earlier), would go on to win the World Series. The Cubs, despite a respectable 92–70 record, would be remembered for having lost a remarkable 17½ games in the standings to the Mets in the last quarter of the season. Following the 1969 season, the club posted winning records for the next few seasons, but no playoff action. After the core players of those teams started to move on,
15606-430: A revamp may not be fiscally viable, as it would risk piling on additional debt on top of that which Sinclair had already accrued through the spate of station purchases it has made since the 2011 acquisition of Four Points Media Group (estimated at $ 3.268 billion as of March 31, 2017), and the debt it would have assumed through the Tribune deal. Former professional wrestling executive Eric Bischoff spoke in favor of
SECTION 50
#173278709396715912-418: A revival of Ring Warriors , marking the first time professional wrestling aired on the network since their last broadcast of WWE Superstars on April 7, 2011. Broadcast syndication Broadcast syndication is the practice of content owners leasing the right to broadcast their content to other television stations or radio stations, without having an official broadcast network to air it on. It
16218-477: A rolling news format on June 1, 2024, completing its transition to a 24/7 news network as contracts for the remaining syndicated programs acquired under the WGN America brand that were on its schedule expired. (Immediately prior to the conversion to 24/7 news, Blue Bloods was the sole remaining entertainment program airing on NewsNation.) WGN-TV’s locally produced programming continues to be available through
16524-538: A rough start, which included a brawl between Michael Barrett and Carlos Zambrano , the Cubs overcame the Milwaukee Brewers , who had led the division for most of the season. The Cubs traded Barrett to the Padres, and later acquired catcher Jason Kendall from Oakland. Kendall was highly successful with his management of the pitching rotation and helped at the plate as well. By September, Geovany Soto became
16830-498: A rule – previously repealed by the agency in July 1980 – that allows television stations to claim local exclusivity over syndicated programs and requires cable systems to either black out or secure an agreement with the claimant station or a syndication distributor to continue carrying a claimed program through an out-of-market station. To indemnify cable systems from potential blackouts, Tribune and United Video began to secure national retransmission rights to certain programs featured on
17136-505: A separate national feed of WGN that featured the WGN-TV-transmitted and separately acquired programs cleared for "full-signal" carriage. However, it continued to run much of the same programs as the Chicago broadcast signal with limited programming differentiation from its parent station for most of the 1990s. (This feed was originally structured similarly to the concurrently launched WWOR EMI Service feed of WWOR-TV, albeit with
17442-654: A serious contender for the National League pennant. In 2006, the bottom fell out as the Cubs finished 66–96, last in the National League Central . After finishing last in the NL Central with 66 wins in 2006, the Cubs re-tooled and went from "worst to first" in 2007. In the offseason they signed Alfonso Soriano to a contract at eight years for $ 136 million, and replaced manager Dusty Baker with fiery veteran manager Lou Piniella . After
17748-591: A service that he launched as President of the Fox Broadcasting Company, Foxnet , which operated from June 1991 until September 2006. The use of WGN as a national relay feed gave The WB an early advantage over the United Paramount Network ( UPN ) – another fledgling network that made its national debut on January 16, 1995, as a joint venture between Chris-Craft/United Television and Paramount Television – which declined to allow
18054-485: A simulcast of programming from its sister network Headline News (now HLN ) to broadcast stations later, as did its rival All News Channel , although both were used mainly to fill overnight time periods and were effectively discontinued in syndication when All News Channel folded in 2002 and HLN launched a "Headline Prime" talk show block in 2006. In 2019, NewsNet began offering a similar service to its affiliates. Entertainment Tonight began its long and continuing run as
18360-494: A six-year, $ 100 million advertising contract with Gemstar in exchange for selling its stake in WGN to Tribune.) On September 10, 2001, the channel's name was changed to WGN Superstation , in an effort by Tribune Broadcasting to emphasize the channel's national programming prominence; the WGN-TV Chicago signal, meanwhile, continued to use the callsign-only "WGN" branding with the "Channel 9" identification remaining as
18666-454: A somber note with the death of broadcaster Harry Caray . After the retirement of Sandberg and the trade of Dunston, the Cubs had holes to fill, and the signing of Henry Rodríguez to bat cleanup provided protection for Sammy Sosa in the lineup, as Rodriguez slugged 31 round-trippers in his first season in Chicago. Kevin Tapani led the club with a career-high 19 wins while Rod Beck anchored
SECTION 60
#173278709396718972-417: A strip on one of their stations in the morning, and the other available episode on another of their stations that night. Meanwhile, the popularity of some of the audience-participation talk shows continues to encourage new participants, some of whom, such as Morton Downey Jr. and Rosie O'Donnell , have brief periods of impressive ratings and influence; others, such as Oprah Winfrey and Maury Povich , have
19278-507: A strong bullpen and Mark Grace turned in one of his best seasons. The Cubs were swamped by media attention in 1998, and the team's two biggest headliners were Sosa and rookie flamethrower Kerry Wood . Wood's signature performance was one-hitting the Houston Astros , a game in which he tied the major league record of 20 strikeouts in nine innings. His torrid strikeout numbers earned Wood the nickname "Kid K", and ultimately earned him
19584-563: A strong top-to-bottom rotation, and Smith was one of the top closers in the game. The shift in the Cubs' fortunes was characterized June 23 on the "NBC Saturday Game of the Week" contest against the St. Louis Cardinals; it has since been dubbed simply " The Sandberg Game ". With the nation watching and Wrigley Field packed, Sandberg emerged as a superstar with not one, but two game-tying home runs against Cardinals closer Bruce Sutter . With his shots in
19890-487: A sub-brand. On November 11, 2002, the superstation feed underwent another name change, becoming known as Superstation WGN to reflect the strong national standing of the channel; this change coincided with the introduction of the Akzidenz Grotesk "arrow G" logo introduced by WGN-TV at that time (and used until May 15, 2017), which was stylized for the superstation feed's logo design to also incorporate an oval with
20196-476: A superstation into a conventional cable-originated entertainment channel, similar to TBS's transition to a traditional cable channel—albeit in a hybrid form as it continued to relay its programming over its Atlanta parent station for nine years afterward—in January 1998. Ironically, it was the national TBS channel's separation from its parent Atlanta station WTBS (which was concurrently re-called WPCH-TV as part of
20502-595: A sustained run. A notable scheduling decision was made by KRON-TV in San Francisco: a 2000 dispute with NBC led to that station's disaffiliation from that network after 52 years, and since all the other larger networks were already represented in San Francisco, KRON decided to become one of the largest commercial independent stations by market size on the VHF band in the U.S., and soon tried running Dr. Phil ,
20808-425: A three-hour-long prime time newscast, NewsNation . Development of the program began in October 2019, when Nexstar management commissioned research from television subscribers that would determine that a share of survey participants were dissatisfied with opinion-based programming on cable news channels such as CNN (which had previously offered straight news programming within its evening lineup, before shifting into
21114-520: A total run of 20 seasons dating back to the show's premiere in August 1999). Because game shows are very inexpensive to produce, with many episodes completed each day of production, successful ones are very profitable; for example, in 1988 Jeopardy! cost an estimated $ 5 million to produce but earned almost $ 50 million in revenue. New game show concepts (that is, not based on an existing or pre-existing format) are rarely tried and usually unsuccessful in syndication; somewhat of an exception to this
21420-461: A week until September 1999, the superstation feed filled the 8:00 to 10:00 pm. Eastern Time slot on nights without WB network programming with either sports telecasts from WGN-TV that were cleared for national broadcast – which, as The WB expanded its programming to other nights over a four-year period beginning with the September 1995 launch of its Sunday lineup, would result in pre-emptions of
21726-414: A weekly basis and are usually aired on weekends only. Big discussion occurred in the 1990s and 2000s about whether previously aired episodes of a show could become syndicated while new episodes of it continued to air on its original network. There had been much opposition to this idea and it was generally viewed to lead to the death of the show. However, licensing a program for syndication actually resulted in
22032-486: A winning record (83–78) for the third consecutive season, the first time the club had done so since 1972 , and a new era of ownership under the Ricketts family was approved by MLB owners in early October. Rookie Starlin Castro debuted in early May (2010) as the starting shortstop. The club played poorly in the early season, finding themselves 10 games under .500 at the end of June. In addition, long-time ace Carlos Zambrano
22338-445: A woman's eyes, designed similarly to the "eye-and-profile" logo scheme used by premium service The Movie Channel from May 1988 until June 1997) went into full-time use on May 26 , 2008. On-air promotions began identifying the channel as WGN America on a limited basis since the beginning of May 2008, although channel IDs using the "Superstation WGN" moniker remained in place during the transitional period. (The logo adopted as part of
22644-520: Is based around the Salem witch trials ), which premiered on April 20, 2014. The network debuted its first unscripted series , Wrestling with Death , on January 13, 2015. Tribune began shifting WGN America's development slate away from scripted content under the stewardship of interim Tribune President/CEO Peter Kern, shortly after he replaced Peter Liguori as head of the company in March 2017, beginning with
22950-825: Is called " barter ." In the United States (as a result of continued relaxation of station ownership regulations since the 1970s), syndicated programs are usually licensed to stations on a group level, with multiple stations owned and/or operated by the same broadcasting group carrying the program in different markets (except in areas where another station holds the market rights to the program) – making it increasingly more efficient for syndicators to gain widespread national clearances for their programs. Many syndicated programs are traditionally sold first to one of six "key" station groups ( ABC Owned Television Stations , NBC Owned Television Stations , CBS Television Stations , Fox Television Stations , Telemundo Station Group , and Televisa Univision ), allowing their programs to gain clearances in
23256-481: Is carried alongside local and, in some areas, non-superstation-structured out-of-market broadcast television stations and public access channels) to the "expanded basic" tiers of cable and other wired multichannel television providers, and forego its longstanding royalty payment structure to adopt a retransmission consent model in future carriage agreements in which Tribune would receive subscriber-based fees from its multichannel television distributors for carriage of
23562-426: Is common in the United States where broadcast programming is scheduled by television networks with local independent affiliates . Syndication is less widespread in the rest of the world, as most countries have centralized networks or television stations without local affiliates. Shows can be syndicated internationally, although this is less common. Three common types of syndication are: first-run syndication, which
23868-510: Is known as the "June Swoon". Again, the Cubs' unusually high number of day games is often pointed to as one reason for the team's inconsistent late-season play. Wrigley died in 1977. The Wrigley family sold the team to the Chicago Tribune for $ 20.5 million in 1981, ending the family's 65-year relationship with the Cubs. After over a dozen more subpar seasons, in 1981 the Cubs hired GM Dallas Green from Philadelphia to turn around
24174-473: Is programming that is broadcast for the first time as a syndicated show and is made specifically for the purpose of selling it into syndication; Off-network syndication (colloquially called a " rerun "), which is the licensing of a program whose first airing was on stations inside the television network that produced it, or in some cases a program that was first-run syndicated, to other stations; and public broadcasting syndication. In first-run syndication,
24480-864: Is syndicated in packages containing some or all episodes, and sold to as many television stations and markets as possible to be used in local programming timeslots. In this manner, sitcoms are preferred and more successful because they are less serialized, and can be run non-sequentially, which is more beneficial and less costly for the station. In the United States, local stations now rarely broadcast reruns of primetime dramas (or simply air them primarily on weekends); instead, they usually air on basic cable channels, which may air each episode 30 to 60 times. Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago . The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as
24786-583: The "stripping" (or "strip") talk show, such as Donahue , Oprah , The Tyra Banks Show , and Jerry Springer . Strip programming is a technique used for scheduling television and radio programming to ensure consistency and coherency. Strip programming is used to deliver consistent content to targeted audiences. Broadcasters know or predict the times at which certain demographics will be listening to or watching their programs and play them at that time. As with game shows, talk shows are inexpensive to produce and very profitable if successful. They have
25092-422: The 1918 World Series , Boston's last Series championship until 2004. Beginning in 1916, Bill Wrigley of chewing-gum fame acquired an increasing quantity of stock in the Cubs and by 1921, he was the majority owner. Meanwhile, Bill Veeck, Sr. began his tenure as team president in 1919. Veeck would hold that post throughout the 1920s and into the 1930s. The management team of Wrigley and Veeck came to be known as
25398-462: The Big Four television networks and far less network-provided daytime television (none at all for these networks). A show usually enters off-network syndication when it has built up about four seasons' worth or between 80 and 100 episodes , though for some genres the number could be as low as 65. Successful shows in syndication can cover production costs and make a profit, even if the first run of
25704-724: The Chicago Whales of the short-lived Federal League . As principal owners, the pair moved the club from the West Side Grounds to the much newer Weeghman Park , which had been constructed for the Whales only two years earlier, where they remain to this day. The Cubs responded by winning a pennant in the war-shortened season of 1918, where they played a part in another team's curse : the Boston Red Sox defeated Grover Cleveland Alexander 's Cubs four games to two in
26010-715: The Cy Young Award . The Cubs 1984 starting lineup was very strong. It consisted of LF Matthews (.291 14–82 101 runs 17 SB), C Jody Davis (.256 19–94), RF Keith Moreland (.279 16–80), SS Larry Bowa (.223 10 SB), 1B Leon "Bull" Durham (.279 23–96 16SB), CF Dernier (.278 45 SB), 3B Ron Cey (.240 25–97), Closer Lee Smith (9–7 3.65 33 saves) and 1984 NL MVP Ryne Sandberg (.314 19–84 114 runs, 19 triples, 32 SB). Reserve players Hebner, Thad Bosley , Henry Cotto , Hassey and Dave Owen produced exciting moments. The bullpen depth of Rich Bordi , George Frazier , Warren Brusstar and Dickie Noles did their job in getting
26316-632: The Detroit Tigers in the 1908 World Series . After losing an extra-inning game in Game 1, the Cubs rallied and took a three-games-to-one lead over the Wild Card Florida Marlins in the National League Championship Series . Florida shut the Cubs out in Game 5, but the Cubs returned home to Wrigley Field with young pitcher Mark Prior to lead the Cubs in Game 6 as they took a 3–0 lead into
26622-587: The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted authority to four common carrier satellite relay firms – Tulsa, Oklahoma -based Southern Satellite Systems and United Video Inc. (later United Video Satellite Group), Lansing, Michigan -based American Microwave & Communications and Milwaukee -based Midwestern Relay Company – to uplink the WGN-TV signal to satellite to cable television providers serving various locations throughout
26928-526: The GSN dating game show Baggage first aired in syndication as a test run in early 2011 on stations owned by the Sinclair Broadcast Group , which preceded its full launch into other markets in fall 2012; although it was removed from syndication after one season. The 2014–15 season saw the introduction of Celebrity Name Game , hosted by former The Late Late Show host Craig Ferguson ;
27234-559: The NewsNation brand on March 1. The name change coincided with an initial expansion of its news programming to eight hours per day (from six): the revised news schedule was fronted by a splintered expansion of the flagship NewsNation broadcast (adding an hour-long early evening edition, alongside the existing and reduced prime time broadcast, to be reduced to two hours from three) and two host-centered news and interview programs anchored respectively by Joe Donlon (who had been co-anchoring
27540-521: The Northeastern and Western United States (including in select major markets like Pittsburgh and the immediate New York City area ). In May 1995, United Video shifted retransmission responsibilities for the WGN, WPIX and KTLA superstation feeds to its newly incorporated UVTV subsidiary. In 1997, Tele-Communications Inc. and Tribune discussed a proposal to sell a 50% ownership stake in the WGN superstation feed to TCI – which, in January 1996, acquired
27846-641: The Philadelphia Phillies cut the lead to two by the All-star break, as the Cubs sat 19 games over .500, but they swooned late in the season, going 20–40 after July 31. The Cubs finished in fourth place at 81–81, while Philadelphia surged, finishing with 101 wins. The following two seasons also saw the Cubs get off to a fast start, as the team rallied to over 10 games above .500 well into both seasons, only to again wear down and play poorly later on, and ultimately settling back to mediocrity. This trait
28152-572: The Prime Time Entertainment Network (PTEN), moved into syndicated distribution when its network was displaced by WB/UPN-affiliated stations, and eventually ended its final season on TNT (1998). In 1997 Earth: Final Conflict , based on ideas from Gene Roddenberry , premiered in syndication. Three years later, a second Gene Roddenberry series, Andromeda also premiered in syndication. As emerging networks WB and UPN signed contracts with formerly-independent stations, and
28458-476: The Public Radio Exchange 's This American Life , which may contain stories produced by NPR journalists. When syndicating a show, the production company , or a distribution company called a syndicator, attempts to license the show to one station in each media market or area, or to a commonly owned station group, within the country and internationally. If successful, this can be lucrative, but
28764-571: The United States Copyright Office for retransmission of any copyrighted programming over which it held ownership (including news, public affairs, children's and sports programs). Since United Video did not seek the Tribune Company's permission to relay the WGN-TV signal, for many years, WGN and United Video's relationship was described as being "not particularly friendly," going as far as Tribune even attempting legal challenges to stop retransmission of its signal, even though
29070-520: The University of Illinois , DePaul University and Notre Dame University ) as well as Big Ten Conference schools, among other events in aired at various points over the years. The station was also known locally for its lineup of children's programs including Bozo's Circus (which became the most well-known iteration of the Bozo franchise through its local and, later, national popularity, featuring
29376-638: The Yankees featured Babe Ruth's " called shot " at Wrigley Field in game three. There were some historic moments for the Cubs as well; In 1930, Hack Wilson , one of the top home run hitters in the game, had one of the most impressive seasons in MLB history, hitting 56 home runs and establishing the current runs-batted-in record of 191. That 1930 club, which boasted six eventual hall of fame members (Wilson, Gabby Hartnett , Rogers Hornsby , George "High Pockets" Kelly , Kiki Cuyler and manager Joe McCarthy ) established
29682-478: The call sign WGNA – was founded by WGN, Incorporated, the broadcasting subsidiary of the Chicago Tribune Company (owned by Robert R. McCormick , then the editor and publisher of the Chicago Tribune ), which had also owned local radio stations WGN (720 AM) and WGNB (98.7 FM; frequency now occupied by WFMT ). WGN America and its Chicago-based broadcast television and radio siblings borrow
29988-627: The communications satellite 's operator, RCA American Communications (now SES after GE's sale of the former RCA Americom, purchased in the aftermath of its parent RCA , to Société Européenne des Satellites), had refused a request to assign it a new transponder unless Satellite Communications Systems (a joint venture between SSS and Holiday Inn ) agreed to dismiss a lawsuit it filed against RCA on October 16 over retaining use of Satcom Transponder 18 after January 1, 1979. On November 9, 1978, United Video Inc. – which stepped in to oversee uplink responsibilities in lieu of Southern Satellite Systems – uplinked
30294-748: The three-letter "WGN" initialism from the " W orld's G reatest N ewspaper" slogan used by the Tribune from August 29, 1911 until December 31, 1976. (The calls were initially obtained by the Tribune in 1924 for use on the former WDAP radio station, which it had then recently acquired from Zenith-Edgewater Beach Broadcasting, by permission of the owners of the then-under-construction SS Carl D. Bradley .) Initial programming on WGN-TV consisted of local newscasts and various other local programs (including children's programs and music series), older feature films and sporting events from Chicago-area professional and collegiate teams (including Chicago Cubs baseball games,
30600-524: The "Double-Bills". Near the end of the first decade of the double-Bills' guidance, the Cubs won the NL Pennant in 1929 and then achieved the unusual feat of winning a pennant every three years, following up the 1929 flag with league titles in 1932, 1935, and 1938. Unfortunately, their success did not extend to the Fall Classic , as they fell to their AL rivals each time. The '32 series against
30906-489: The 1950s were MCA 's The Abbott and Costello Show (vaudeville-style comedy) and Guild Films ' Liberace (musical variety) and Life With Elizabeth , a domestic situation comedy that introduced Betty White to a national audience. In addition to the Adventures of Superman , many other series were based on comic strips and aimed at the juvenile audience, including Flash Gordon , Dick Tracy , Sheena, Queen of
31212-452: The 1950s, however, much of the theatrical product available consisted of low-budget secondary features (mainly Westerns) with relatively few notable stars. One syndication company, National Telefilm Associates , attempted to create a " NTA Film Network " of stations showing its lineup of first-run series, which included syndicated programs such as Police Call (1955), How to Marry a Millionaire (1957–1959), The Passerby , Man Without
31518-572: The 1970s until the early 2000s via TBS and TNT. Had that been the case, Ring of Honor Wrestling would have been third weekly series to be carried by the network, after WWE Superstars and Ring Warriors . On August 9, Tribune announced it would terminate the Sinclair deal; concurrently, Tribune filed a breach of contract lawsuit in the Delaware Chancery Court , alleging that Sinclair engaged in protracted negotiations with
31824-740: The 1980s caused the number of independent stations to grow from fewer than 100 in 1980 to 328 as of 1986 , as they did not need cash for programming. With the loosening of FCC regulations and the creation of new additional broadcast networks (such as The CW and MyNetworkTV ), most of these independents have joined one or another of these or smaller (religious or low-budget) networks. In other cases, like those of KCAL-TV in Los Angeles, KMCI-TV in Lawrence - Kansas City and WMLW-TV in Racine - Milwaukee , those independent stations are used to complement their network-affiliated sister station (respectively in
32130-786: The 1983 World Series the Baltimore Orioles of the AL had home-field advantage. In the NLCS , the Cubs easily won the first two games at Wrigley Field against the San Diego Padres . The Padres were the winners of the Western Division with Steve Garvey , Tony Gwynn , Eric Show , Goose Gossage and Alan Wiggins . With wins of 13–0 and 4–2, the Cubs needed to win only one game of the next three in San Diego to make it to
32436-503: The 1990s, the WGN superstation feed began substituting some syndicated programs (and starting in 1996, selected sporting events) in accordance with syndication exclusivity rules implemented by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in January 1990 to reduce programming duplication between local and out-of-market television stations carried by local cable systems, and served as the national carrier of The WB (part-owned by WGN-TV founding owner Tribune Broadcasting , which would acquire
32742-425: The 1990s. (A separate feed of WGN-TV was also uplinked in March 1989 by Netlink – a carrier firm operated by cable television provider Tele-Communications, Inc. (TCI), which began distributing WGN as part of a satellite program package to C-band dishes in October 1987 – for distribution to home satellite dish owners.) In January 1992, WGN-TV signed an agreement with A.C. Nielsen Co. to provide monthly measurements of
33048-549: The 1998 NL Rookie of the Year award. Sosa caught fire in June, hitting a major league record 20 home runs in the month, and his home run race with Cardinal's slugger Mark McGwire transformed the pair into international superstars in a matter of weeks. McGwire finished the season with a new major league record of 70 home runs, but Sosa's .308 average and 66 homers earned him the National League MVP Award . After
33354-458: The 1999–2000 season, which saw The WB consequently fall to sixth place (behind UPN) in the Nielsen ratings . For similar reasons to those that necessitated the channel's decision to remove WB programming, WGN America also did not carry any programming from The CW when WGN-TV became its Chicago charter affiliate upon that network's September 2006 launch, as that network is widely available throughout
33660-401: The 2000s onward, reality competition shows in one form or another, such as Star Search and American Gladiators , enjoyed popularity in syndication as early as the mid-1980s. Since the now-defunct networks UPN and The WB began offering their affiliates additional nights of prime time programming in the late 1990s, there have been fewer first-run scripted series in syndication, at least, in
33966-444: The 2004 season led to the departure of popular commentator Steve Stone , who had become increasingly critical of management during broadcasts and was verbally attacked by reliever Kent Mercker . Things were no better in 2005 , despite a career year from first baseman Derrek Lee and the emergence of closer Ryan Dempster . The club struggled and suffered more key injuries, only managing to win 79 games after being picked by many to be
34272-453: The 2008–09 season before those reruns moved exclusively to cable. More new shows were added for the 2008–09 fall season, including a daytime run of Deal or No Deal (which featured certain elements that differed from the show's franchised format, most notably with prospective players instead of models holding briefcases that held the monetary amounts) and an adaptation of the popular board game Trivial Pursuit . While Deal caught on and
34578-404: The 48 contiguous U.S. states. Southern Satellite Systems – founded in 1975 by Ted Turner and subsequently sold to former Western Union marketing executive Edward L. Taylor to comply with FCC rules prohibiting a common satellite carrier from having involvement in program origination – was the leading contender to uplink the WGN signal for availability to a nationwide audience, intending to make it
34884-402: The 8th inning. It was at this point when a now-infamous incident took place. Several spectators attempted to catch a foul ball off the bat of Luis Castillo . A Chicago Cubs fan by the name of Steve Bartman , of Northbrook, Illinois, reached for the ball and deflected it away from the glove of Moisés Alou for the second out of the eighth inning. Alou reacted angrily toward the stands and after
35190-453: The 9th and 10th innings, Wrigley Field erupted and Sandberg set the stage for a comeback win that cemented the Cubs as the team to beat in the East. No one would catch them. In early August the Cubs swept the Mets in a 4-game home series that further distanced them from the pack. An infamous Keith Moreland- Ed Lynch fight erupted after Lynch hit Moreland with a pitch, perhaps forgetting Moreland
35496-562: The Anson-led Chicago Base Ball Club won six National League pennants between 1876 and 1886. By 1890 , the team had become known the Chicago Colts , or sometimes "Anson's Colts", referring to Cap's influence within the club. Anson was the first player in history credited with 3,000 career hits . In 1897, after a disappointing record of 59–73 and a ninth-place finish, Anson was released by the club as both
35802-785: The Bradley Place studios with WGN Radio until the latter moved its operations to the Pioneer Court extension on North Michigan Avenue in 1986.) In May 1969, the main transmitter was moved to the west antenna tower of the John Hancock Center on North Michigan Avenue. WGN-TV became most associated with its heavy schedule of sporting events, which, in addition to its signature Cubs telecasts, included Chicago White Sox baseball, Chicago Bulls basketball, Chicago Blackhawks hockey, and college football and basketball games from individual regional universities (including
36108-459: The Cardinals for pitcher Ernie Broglio (who won only seven games over the next three seasons), hampered on-field performance. The late-1960s brought hope of a renaissance, with third baseman Ron Santo , pitcher Ferguson Jenkins , and outfielder Billy Williams joining Banks. After losing a dismal 103 games in 1966, the Cubs brought home consecutive winning records in '67 and '68 , marking
36414-870: The Cardinals played to a torrid 20–6 pace that month, designating their rivals to battle in the Wild Card race, from which they were eliminated in the season's final week. The Cubs were plagued by injuries in 2009, and were only able to field their Opening Day starting lineup three times the entire season. Third baseman Aramis Ramírez injured his throwing shoulder in an early May game against the Milwaukee Brewers, sidelining him until early July and forcing journeyman players like Mike Fontenot and Aaron Miles into more prominent roles. Additionally, key players like Derrek Lee (who still managed to hit .306 with 35 home runs and 111 RBI that season), Alfonso Soriano, and Geovany Soto also nursed nagging injuries. The Cubs posted
36720-422: The Chicago feed among the initial offerings of its LinearTV over-the-top streaming service.) On June 12, 2016 at 7:00 pm. Eastern Time, Dish Network removed Tribune Broadcasting's 43 television stations and WGN America from its lineup, after the two companies were unable to reconcile terms on renewing their existing carriage contract. WGN America's channel slot was replaced by a duplicate feed of TNT during
37026-463: The Chicago feed—to ensure that the national feed would not face blackout issues. United Video also made contingency plans to put alternative programming on a second satellite to which it could switch to absolve any holes in the WGN-TV national feed's schedule by leasing part-time space for the affected time periods. When the Syndex rules went into effect on January 1, 1990, United Video formally launched
37332-634: The Cleveland Indians. Joe Carter (who was with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs at the time) and right fielder Mel Hall were sent to Cleveland for Sutcliffe and back-up catcher Ron Hassey (.333 with Cubs in 1984). Sutcliffe (5–5 with the Indians) immediately joined Sanderson (8–5 3.14), Eckersley (10–8 3.03), Steve Trout (13–7 3.41) and Dick Ruthven (6–10 5.04) in the starting rotation. Sutcliffe proceeded to go 16–1 for Cubs and capture
37638-695: The Clock and To Tell the Truth premiered in the late 1960s and found loyal audiences for many years. Several daytime network games began producing once-a-week nighttime versions for broadcast in the early evening hours, usually with bigger prizes and often featuring different hosts (emcees were limited to appearing on one network and one syndicated game simultaneously) and modified titles ( Match Game PM , The $ 100,000 Name That Tune or The $ 25,000 Pyramid , for example). A few independent game shows, such as Sports Challenge and Celebrity Bowling , also entered
37944-466: The Cubs again. They led the Wild Card by 1.5 games over the San Francisco Giants and the Houston Astros on September 25. On that day, both teams lost, giving the Cubs a chance at increasing the lead to 2.5 games with only eight games remaining in the season, but reliever LaTroy Hawkins blew a save to the New York Mets , and the Cubs lost the game in extra innings. The defeat seemingly deflated
38250-513: The Cubs led the division down the stretch. Chicago halted the St. Louis Cardinals ' run to the playoffs by taking four of five games from the Cardinals at Wrigley Field in early September, after which they won their first division title in 14 years. They then went on to defeat the Atlanta Braves in a dramatic five-game Division Series , the franchise's first postseason series win since beating
38556-495: The Cubs left New York with a record of 84–58 just 1⁄2 game in front. More of the same followed in Philadelphia, as a 99 loss Phillies team nonetheless defeated the Cubs twice, to extend Chicago's losing streak to eight games. In a key play in the second game, on September 11, Cubs starter Dick Selma threw a surprise pickoff attempt to third baseman Ron Santo, who was nowhere near the bag or the ball. Selma's throwing error opened
38862-519: The Cubs would not win another World Series until 2016 ; this remains the longest championship drought in North American professional sports. The next season, veteran catcher Johnny Kling left the team to become a professional pocket billiards player. Some historians think Kling's absence was significant enough to prevent the Cubs from also winning a third straight title in 1909, as they finished 6 games out of first place. When Kling returned
39168-606: The Dow Jones service in a manner which resulted in United Video exercising direct control over the content in violation of Section 111(a) (3) of the 1976 Copyright Act and in interference with an agreement between WGN-TV and Albuquerque, New Mexico , cable provider Albuquerque Cable Television Inc. to supply the EPG teletext to subscribers. United Video contended that the Copyright Act's passive carrier rules applied to how it used
39474-629: The FCC and the DOJ over regulatory issues, refused to sell stations in markets where it already had properties, and proposed divestitures to parties with ties to Sinclair executive chair David D. Smith that were rejected or highly subject to rejection to maintain control over stations it was required to sell. On December 3, 2018, Irving, Texas -based Nexstar Media Group announced it would acquire Tribune's assets including WGN America for $ 6.4 billion in cash and debt. Nexstar traditionally has structured itself as
39780-553: The Gloamin' ". After the "Double-Bills" (Wrigley and Veeck) died in 1932 and 1933 respectively, P.K. Wrigley , son of Bill Wrigley, took over as majority owner. He was unable to extend his father's baseball success beyond 1938, and the Cubs slipped into years of mediocrity, although the Wrigley family would retain control of the team until 1981. The Cubs enjoyed one more pennant at the close of World War II, finishing 98–56. Due to
40086-614: The Jungle , and Joe Palooka . Original juvenile adventure series included Captain Gallant of the Foreign Legion , Cowboy G-Men , and Ramar of the Jungle . Series based on literary properties included Sherlock Holmes , Long John Silver (based on Treasure Island ), and The Three Musketeers . Several of these were co-productions between U.S. and European (usually British) companies. Crusader Rabbit pioneered in
40392-599: The Midwest. With the Tribune Company undergoing ownership and management changes following its exit from protracted Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization proceedings on December 31, 2012, under the control of senior debt holders Oaktree Capital Management , JPMorgan Chase and Angelo, Gordon & Co. (a reorganization which also led to the eventual spin-off of the company's publishing division in August 2014 to focus on its broadcasting, digital media and real estate units), Tribune announced plans to convert WGN America from
40698-578: The National League decided to give the home field advantage to the winner of the NL West. In fact, home-field advantage had rotated between the winners of the East and West since 1969 when the league expanded. In even-numbered years, the NL West had home-field advantage. In odd-numbered years, the NL East had home-field advantage. Since the NL East winners had had home-field advantage in 1983, the NL West winners were entitled to it. The confusion may stem from
41004-531: The Nielsen-monitored audience. Forever Knight drew devoted "cult" audiences (3% rating). Psi Factor and Poltergeist: The Legacy attempted to draw on the audience for the Fox series The X-Files (as did the short-lived spinoff Baywatch Nights ). Among the other series were Relic Hunter , V.I.P. , High Tide , She Spies and Once a Thief . Babylon 5 began life in 1993 on
41310-545: The Night , Lauren Hutton 's innovatively shot Lauren Hutton and... , and talk shows hosted by Dennis Miller , Whoopi Goldberg , David Brenner and Keenen Ivory Wayans ; Magic Johnson 's The Magic Hour was seen as a massive flop, similar to Thicke of the Night . The popularity of syndicated talk shows fell dramatically in the mid-1990s as network and cable offerings expanded in the wake of Johnny Carson 's retirement. Long before their popularity on network television from
41616-608: The Numbers . There was a possibility that WGN America and WGN Radio (which would ultimately become the first radio property ever to be owned by the group) would have been sold off, though Nexstar eventually decided to retain and strengthen both properties. The purchase was finalized between the two groups on September 19, 2019. Upon completion of the purchase, Nexstar expanded the responsibilities of WGN America president/general manager Matt Cherniss to include oversight of WGN Radio and Antenna TV . On September 1, 2020, WGN America launched
41922-520: The Padres win the game 6–3, with a 4-run 7th inning and keep Chicago out of the 1984 World Series against the Detroit Tigers . The loss ended a spectacular season for the Cubs, one that brought alive a slumbering franchise and made the Cubs relevant for a whole new generation of Cubs fans. The Padres would be defeated in 5 games by Sparky Anderson's Tigers in the World Series. The 1985 season brought high hopes. The club started out well, going 35–19 through mid-June, but injuries to Sutcliffe and others in
42228-474: The Seeker was canceled in 2009, until Trifecta Entertainment & Media (a company that mainly distributes programs for off-network syndication) began producing SAF3 (pronounced "safe") in 2013. During the late 1970s and 1980s, independent stations signed on in mid-sized and many small markets. The market for made-for-television cartoons grew as a result to include a branch for such stations. It usually had
42534-582: The Sinclair-Tribune deal during a Q&A session on his official Periscope account on March 14, 2018, noting that Sinclair could use WGN America to expand the reach of Sinclair-owned professional wrestling promotion Ring of Honor in a similar manner that the Turner Broadcasting System used World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and its predecessors including Jim Crockett Promotions and Georgia Championship Wrestling from
42840-410: The Tribune Company's upstart national syndication unit, Tribune Entertainment . Beginning in the mid-1970s, the WGN-TV signal began to be retransmitted via microwave relay to cable television systems in much of the central Midwestern United States , enabling the station to reach far beyond the Chicago television market and reach areas that lacked access to an entertainment-based independent station. By
43146-538: The Tribune-owned Indianapolis duopoly of Fox affiliate WXIN (channel 59) and CW affiliate WTTV (channel 4, now a CBS affiliate). The program debuted on WGN America on November 3, 2008, originally airing in a standard late night slot, before being shifted to an overnight graveyard slot until the Bob & Tom television broadcast ended on September 13, 2010. On December 19, 2008, Tribune reached
43452-406: The U.S.; much as with the closing of windows that provided opportunity for Ziv in the 1950s and various producers in the early 1970s. The more expensive dramatic projects are less attractive to syndicators (particularly when they might be sold, with somewhat less risk, to cable channels); "reality" series such as Cheaters and Maximum Exposure and several dating series began to be more common in
43758-607: The United States " (E/I) rule imposed in the late 1990s as part of an amendment to the Children's Television Act of 1990 that requires stations to air three hours of educational children's programs every week, regardless of the station's format. Syndication is generally a less expensive option for a local station than to attempt to produce its own locally originated E/I programming; not all networks provide their own E/I programs, so stations that are affiliated with networks that do not carry children's program blocks acquire E/I programs off
44064-625: The United States (the Pacific and Desert Southwest for KTLA, the Intermountain West for KWGN and the Northeast for WPIX), but remained available nationally through Dish Network, albeit restricted to existing subscribers who purchased its a la carte superstation tier before Dish halted the tier's sale to new subscribers in September 2013. (WGN-TV would regain national availability in the spring of 2015, when Channel Master included
44370-575: The United States in the 1970s was probably The Muppet Show , also from Lew Grade's company. Animated series from the 1980s Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds and Around the World with Willy Fog came from Spanish animation production company BRB Internacional and their Japanese co-producers Nippon Animation . Game shows thrived in syndication during the decade. Nightly versions of What's My Line? , Truth or Consequences , Beat
44676-679: The United States include talk shows (e.g., The Dr. Oz Show , Dr. Phil , The Real , The Doctors , The Ellen DeGeneres Show & The Kelly Clarkson Show ); tabloid/newsmagazine shows (e.g., TMZ Live ); crime/law enforcement shows (e.g., Crime Watch Daily ); game shows (e.g., Hollywood Squares , Funny You Should Ask , Family Feud , Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune ); court shows (e.g., Judge Judy , Judge Mathis , Judge Jerry , Judge Faith , Protection Court , Hot Bench , America's Court with Judge Ross , and The People's Court ); and sitcoms (e.g., The First Family ). The emergence of barter syndication in
44982-527: The United States usually have a domestic market reach as high as 98%. Very often, series that are aired in syndication have reduced running times. For example, a standard American sitcom runs 22 minutes, but in syndication it may be reduced to 20 minutes to make room for more commercials. Syndication can take the form of either weekly or daily syndication. Game shows, some "tabloid" and entertainment news shows, and talk shows are broadcast daily on weekdays, while most other first-run syndicated shows are broadcast on
45288-459: The United States via over-the-air broadcast stations and affiliations with digital subchannels and local cable outlets (including through The CW Plus in smaller markets) when that network launched in September 2006. Between 1998 and 2005, the amount of common programming shown on both the Chicago signal and national superstation feeds steadily decreased, an issue that continued well after the WGN America rebrand. Comparatively, approximately 50% of
45594-405: The United States," which is considered to be the longest running puppet show on local television) as well as a robust lineup of feature films (showing as many as four movies – one in the morning, and two to three films per night – each weekday, and between three and six movies per day on weekends). Channel 9 was Chicago's leading independent station for much of the period between the early 1960s and
45900-601: The United States. Family Feud , created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman , ended its first syndication run in 1985. Three years later, a revival of the program featuring Ray Combs as host became a moderate hit and continued for seven seasons, its last year featuring the return of original host Richard Dawson in a failed attempt to save the series. A third revival hit the airwaves in 1999 and has gone through four hosts. The first three hosts ( Louie Anderson , Richard Karn and John O'Hurley ) struggled in their respective runs and only lasted three to four years. The current run of
46206-635: The VBI became the subject of a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Tribune Broadcasting against United Video in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois that April, alleging that it retransmitted the station's prime time newscast, The Nine O'Clock News (now titled WGN News at Nine ), as well as other WGN-TV programs in a "mutilated and altered" fashion to use profitable teletext content from
46512-413: The VBI, also maintaining that transmitting extraneous material to cable systems did not constitute a public performance and the teletext material was a separate transmission from the copyrighted program since it required a standalone decoder to view it over television receivers. On October 8, 1981, District Court Judge Susan Getzendanner denied injunctive relief to WGN Continental Broadcasting and dismissed
46818-414: The WGN America schedule (such as longtime staples U.S. Farm Report and Soul Train ), primarily due to the Tribune Company dissolving its television production and distribution unit, Tribune Entertainment . The network's on-screen logo bug was revised in late July 2008, to feature the eye-and-profile element of the logo morphing into the "WGN America" text; the eye-and-profile element remained part of
47124-524: The WGN Chicago signal—particularly, local and some syndicated programs as well as sporting events not subjected to league restrictions pertaining to the number of games that could be shown on out-of-market stations annually—and substitute programs not subjected to exclusivity claims—mainly syndicated reruns of recent and older comedy and drama series, select first-run syndicated shows, and acquired theatrical feature and made-for-television films not shown on
47430-410: The WGN superstation feed to Tribune and effectively transitioning WGN from a "passive" to an "active" superstation, as TBS had been since it was first uplinked in December 1976. (The transaction would be the subject of a 2004 Securities and Exchange Commission securities fraud investigation against co-president Peter Boylan that determined that Gemstar failed to inform investors that Tribune committed to
47736-415: The WGN-TV signal from a satellite relay facility in Monee, Illinois to the Satcom-3 communications satellite for redistribution to cable systems and C-band satellite providers throughout the United States. This resulted in WGN-TV joining the ranks of WTBS to become America's second national superstation and becoming the first of three independent stations to be redistributed on a national basis before
48042-487: The WWOR EMI Service to act as its national carrier despite UPN having similar gaps in its broadcast affiliate coverage initially. The WGN superstation feed accounted for roughly 18% of the national coverage that The WB had at launch, with the rest of the network's initial 62% total reach coming from the 60 broadcast affiliates (including WGN-TV) that were willing to adhere to its reverse compensation plan for prospective affiliates. In some areas where cable systems did not carry
48348-435: The World Series. After being beaten in Game 3 7–1, the Cubs lost Game 4 when Smith, with the game tied 5–5, allowed a game-winning home run to Garvey in the bottom of the ninth inning. In Game 5 the Cubs took a 3–0 lead into the 6th inning, and a 3–2 lead into the seventh with Sutcliffe (who won the Cy Young Award that year) still on the mound. Then, Leon Durham had a sharp grounder go under his glove. This critical error helped
48654-428: The Year Runner-Up Dwight Smith. The Cubs won the NL East once again that season winning 93 games. This time the Cubs met the San Francisco Giants in the NLCS . After splitting the first two games at home, the Cubs headed to the Bay Area, where despite holding a lead at some point in each of the next three games, bullpen meltdowns and managerial blunders ultimately led to three straight losses. The Cubs could not overcome
48960-399: The amount of advertising revenue it accrued by charging separate rates for the Chicago-area signal and a higher fee for advertisers purchasing airtime on the national signal, and offering advertisers exclusive commercial avails for either the Chicago-based audience or the national cable audience, or uniform avails for both the national and local audiences. Despite the feed restructuring, most of
49266-445: The announcement. On May 8, 2017, Hunt Valley, Maryland -based Sinclair Broadcast Group announced that it would acquire Tribune Media for $ 3.9 billion in cash and stock, plus the assumption of $ 2.7 billion in Tribune-held debt. Following the announcement of the purchase, Sinclair CEO Christopher Ripley disclosed plans to reposition WGN America around acquired series and "cost-effective" original programs in an effort to orient
49572-540: The area of first-run animated series; followed by Bucky and Pepito , Colonel Bleep , Spunky and Tadpole , Q. T. Hush , and others. (All of these were five-minute shorts designed to be placed within locally hosted kiddie shows.) Syndicated sports programming included Championship Bowling and All-Star Golf , both produced by Chicago-based Walter Schwimmer Inc. In addition to regular series, syndicators also offered packages of feature films, cartoons, and short subjects originally made for movie theaters. Until late in
49878-594: The baseball franchise, instead concentrating on putting together a deal to sell it. The Cubs successfully defended their National League Central title in 2008 , going to the postseason in consecutive years for the first time since 1906–08. The offseason was dominated by three months of unsuccessful trade talks with the Orioles involving 2B Brian Roberts , as well as the signing of Chunichi Dragons star Kosuke Fukudome . The team recorded their 10,000th win in April, while establishing an early division lead. Reed Johnson and Jim Edmonds were added early on and Rich Harden
50184-450: The basis of the "Prime Crime" programming block. The first of these licensing agreements was announced on July 31, 2017, when WGN America acquired the U.S. television rights to the Anna Paquin -led Canadian drama Bellevue . This was followed on August 8, when it acquired the U.S. rights to the Canadian crime dramas Pure and Shoot the Messenger and the German-Swedish co-production 100 Code , with proposed American premieres set for
50490-470: The bats went cold in October, as manager Jim Riggleman 's club batted .183 and scored only four runs en route to being swept by Atlanta in the National League Division Series . The home run chase between Sosa, McGwire and Ken Griffey Jr. helped professional baseball to bring in a new crop of fans as well as bringing back some fans who had been disillusioned by the 1994 strike . The Cubs retained many players who experienced career years in 1998, but, after
50796-590: The biggest stories of the season transpired as the club made a midseason deal for Fred McGriff , which was drawn out for nearly a month as McGriff debated waiving his no-trade clause . The Cubs led the wild card race by 2.5 games in early September, but crumbled when Preston Wilson hit a three-run walk-off homer off of closer Tom "Flash" Gordon , which halted the team's momentum. The team was unable to make another serious charge, and finished at 88–74, five games behind both Houston and St. Louis , who tied for first. Sosa had perhaps his finest season and Jon Lieber led
51102-430: The blackout. (The company's broadcast television stations, such as WGN-TV, were replaced with a repeating recorded video message prepared by Dish Network notifying viewers of their removal.) After having its television properties off the satellite provider for 1½ months, Tribune and Dish Network reached a deal to return the Tribune Broadcasting stations and WGN America to the Dish lineup on September 3, commencing hours after
51408-521: The branding overhaul marked the first time that the superstation feed used an on-air logo that did not incorporate the visual branding used by WGN-TV in some capacity, although promotional advertising logos for the national channel used prior to 1993 differed from that of the Chicago signal.) The channel began to slowly revamp its programming lineup, acquiring additional recent and older television series and adding marathon -style blocks of acquired series on weekend mornings. A few shows were also dropped from
51714-423: The brief commercial-television run of William F. Buckley Jr. 's interview/debate series Firing Line . The more obvious result was an increase in Canadian-produced syndicated dramatic series, such as Dusty's Trail and the Colgate -sponsored Dr. Simon Locke . Game shows, often evening editions of network afternoon series, flourished, and a few odd items such as Wild Kingdom , canceled by NBC in 1971, had
52020-445: The broadcast networks. In the 1980s, national broadcast networks only aired cartoons on Saturday mornings , not competing with the weekday and Sunday syndication blocks aired by local independent stations; however, by the 1990s, Fox and then The WB launched their own weekday afternoon children's program blocks. By the end of the 1990s, both syndication distributors and broadcast networks ended up losing most of their children's market to
52326-401: The cancellation of the drama series Outsiders . When Sinclair Broadcast Group announced its proposed purchase of Tribune Media, Sinclair CEO Christopher Ripley's plans for the channel to focus on "cost-effective" original programs were cited as being based on the assertion that the network's then-current original programming budget was unjustified based on the channel's ratings (while not among
52632-536: The case against United Video, citing that it was not required to carry the station's teletext transmission. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Northern District of Illinois reversed Getzendanner's decision on August 12, 1982, ordering in a narrowly defined ruling that United Video must retransmit WGN-TV's VBI Teletext where the transmission was directly related to and part of the 9:00 p.m. news simulcast. The court pointed out that "purely passive [intermediary]" carriers cannot make any changes or outright remove any part of
52938-399: The chagrin of the packed stadium, Cubs shortstop Alex Gonzalez misplayed an inning-ending double play, loading the bases. The error would lead to eight Florida runs and a Marlins victory. Despite sending Kerry Wood to the mound and holding a lead twice, the Cubs ultimately dropped Game 7, and failed to reach the World Series . The "Steve Bartman incident" was seen as the "first domino" in
53244-402: The channel began to develop original programming – some of which will be produced through Tribune Studios, a production and distribution unit formed in March 2013 to develop syndicated programs that would be seen primarily on Tribune Broadcasting's television properties. On June 4, 2013, WGN America placed a 13-episode order for its first original scripted program, the drama series Salem (which
53550-518: The channel's morning and early afternoon schedule heavily relied on reruns of television series produced between the 1960s and the early 1990s. These programs were also prominently featured as part of the classic sitcom block "Outta Sight Retro Night," which aired Sunday nights (incorporating a one-hour breakaway within the block's designated nine-hour-long time period for the 10:00 pm. Eastern Time simulcasts of WGN News at Nine and Instant Replay ) from August 26, 2007, until September 5, 2010. Some of
53856-474: The channel's shift towards operating as a conventional cable network. Movies formed much of the superstation's prime time schedule for much of its existence until the "Superstation WGN" branding era, though there have been exceptions: fewer prime time movies aired during the week during its four-year run as a cable-only affiliate of The WB from January 1995 to October 1999, particularly as that network's programming expanded to additional nights, with films airing on
54162-444: The club's history, the Cubs have played in a total of 11 World Series. The 1906 Cubs won 116 games, finishing 116–36 and posting a modern-era record winning percentage of .763, before losing the World Series to the Chicago White Sox ("The Hitless Wonders") by four games to two. The Cubs won back-to-back World Series championships in 1907 and 1908 , becoming the first major league team to play in three consecutive World Series, and
54468-500: The companion Kids' WB children's programming block when it debuted on September 11, 1995. Conversely, in the Chicago market, WGN-TV chose only to air the network's prime time lineup, and exercised a right of first refusal to decline Kids' WB to offer a local morning newscast and an afternoon block of syndicated sitcoms aimed at a family audience on weekdays and a mix of locally produced news, public affairs and children's programs as well as paid programs on weekend mornings; this cleared
54774-437: The company's only wholly owned, national cable-originated network. The channel in its final form under the WGN branding ran a mixture of entertainment programs (consisting of comedy and drama series, and theatrical feature films) for most of the broadcast day and, beginning in March 2020, a straight-news format —via a daily national prime time newscast, NewsNation —during the evening and early overnight hours. Nexstar relaunched
55080-456: The company's stock at the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on December 20, 2007, at which time Zell formally became the company's chairman and chief executive officer (CEO). The "Superstation" identifier was removed from the cable channel's on-air branding and promotions on May 24, 2008, when it adopted the name WGN America . The new name as well as its accompanying slogan ("TV You Can't Ignore") and logo (an illustration of
55386-428: The copyrighted transmission and that United Video had no grounds to claim exemption from copyright liability as the definition of what the Copyright Act constitutes as a public performance was broad enough to encompass indirect transmission through cable systems that received the WGN satellite feed. In 1985, Tribune Broadcasting began providing a direct microwave relay link of the WGN-TV signal to United Video to serve as
55692-476: The country by that time, would extend the network's initial coverage to 73% of all U.S. households that had at least one television set. The WGN-TV local and superstation feeds became WB charter affiliates when the network launched on January 11, 1995. (In the case of the Chicago signal, this marked the first time that WGN-TV was affiliated with a major broadcast network since DuMont ceased operations in August 1956.) The WGN cable agreement resulted in The WB becoming
55998-440: The current team batting average record of .309. In 1935 the Cubs claimed the pennant in thrilling fashion, winning a record 21 games in a row in September. The '38 club saw Dizzy Dean lead the team's pitching staff and provided a historic moment when they won a crucial late-season game at Wrigley Field over the Pittsburgh Pirates with a walk-off home run by Gabby Hartnett, which became known in baseball lore as " The Homer in
56304-525: The dance-music show Soul Train , and 20th Century Fox 's That's Hollywood , a television variation on the popular That's Entertainment! theatrically released collections of film clips from the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer library. There were also many imported programs distributed this way. These include the documentary series Wild, Wild World of Animals (repackaged by Time Life with narration by William Conrad ) and Thames Television 's sober and necessarily grim The World at War . The Starlost (1973)
56610-569: The daytime and nighttime shows had diverged noticeably). The nighttime version of Family Feud (1977) quickly jumped from once-weekly to twice, and finally to five-day-a-week airings, and its massive popularity, along with that of new five-day-a-week entries like Jack Barry's The Joker's Wild (1977) and Tic-Tac-Dough (1978), the move of Match Game ' s daily run from CBS to syndication (1979), and Chuck Barris 's increasingly raunchy remakes of his 1960s hits The Newlywed Game and The Dating Game , brought an end (with rare exceptions) to
56916-414: The debut of a revival of You Bet Your Life that reunited host Jay Leno and sidekick Kevin Eubanks from their time on The Tonight Show ; it ran two seasons, before Leno left during the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes . 2023 saw the debut of two new games, Person, Place or Thing and Who the Bleep Is That . The dominant form of first-run syndication in the U.S. for the last three decades has been
57222-426: The early 1990s, although it was briefly overtaken in this distinction from 1979 to 1981 by rival independent WFLD (channel 32, now a Fox owned-and-operated station), which forced WGN-TV parent subsidiary Tribune Broadcasting (previously known as the WGN Continental Broadcasting Company from 1956 until 1981) to initiate efforts to beef up the station's inventory of off-network syndicated programs and add product from
57528-458: The early 2000s. Some of the more low-key programs in this category were designed to appeal to children, such as Beakman's World , Disney's Sing Me A Story with Belle , Animal Rescue and Jack Hanna's Animal Adventures . They were able to get significant clearance because of stricter Federal Communications Commission (FCC) enforcement of rules on children's television programming. Several game shows are currently syndicated; historically,
57834-447: The efforts of Will Clark, whose home run off Maddux, just after a managerial visit to the mound, led Maddux to think Clark knew what pitch was coming. Afterward, Maddux would speak into his glove during any mound conversation, beginning what is a norm today. Mark Grace was 11–17 in the series with 8 RBI. Eventually, the Giants lost to the " Bash Brothers " and the Oakland A's in the famous " Earthquake Series ". The 1998 season began on
58140-402: The end of 1979: KTVU (now a Fox owned-and-operated station) in Oakland, California was uplinked by Satellite Communications Systems in December 1978 and WOR-TV (now MyNetworkTV owned-and-operated station WWOR-TV ) in New York City was uplinked by Newhouse Newspapers subsidiary Eastern Microwave Inc. in April 1979. It was also the first Tribune-owned independent station to be distributed to
58446-543: The end of his initial run as host of NBC 's The Tonight Show that year, intending to use the Tribune television stations as a major distribution arm and WGN America as a national broadcaster of the show. However, in December 2008, NBC reached a deal with Leno for him to host a new prime time talk show to fill the 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time slot on Monday through Friday evenings. (Low national viewership and concerns about its effects on late local newscasts prompted NBC to cancel The Jay Leno Show in February 2010, leading to
58752-506: The episodes) distributed to PBS stations by the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority . Also in 1971, CBS dropped Lassie and Hee Haw , the latter show's run ending as part of the network's cancellation of all of its rural-oriented shows (known then as " rural purge ", which also resulted in the cancellations of The Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres ). Lassie entered first-run syndication for two years, while Hee Haw continued to produce new episodes until 1992. Throughout
59058-540: The era of once-a-week games. Also popular in first-run syndication and daytime was The Gong Show , hosted by Barris throughout most of its run ( Gary Owens hosted the first syndicated season). A number of half-hour musical-variety shows were also offered in the early 1970s, generally built around personable middle-of-the-road singers like Bobby Vinton , Bobby Goldsboro , Dolly Parton , and Andy Williams , or groups like Sha Na Na , The Johnny Mann Singers , and The Golddiggers . Wait Till Your Father Gets Home (1972)
59364-416: The fact that Major League Baseball did decide that, should the Cubs make it to the World Series, the American League winner would have home-field advantage. At the time home field advantage was rotated between each league. Odd-numbered years the AL had home-field advantage. Even-numbered years the NL had home-field advantage. In the 1982 World Series the St. Louis Cardinals of the NL had home-field advantage. In
59670-795: The failure of the DuMont Television Network —could serve. Some stations were not affiliated with any network, operating as independent stations . Both groups sought to supplement their locally produced programming with content that could be flexibly scheduled. The development of videotape and, much later, enhanced satellite down link access furthered these options. While most past first-run syndicated shows were shown only in syndication, some canceled network shows continued to be produced for first-run syndication or were revived for syndication several years after their original cancellation. Until about 1980, most syndicated series were distributed to stations either on 16mm film prints (off-network reruns, feature films, and cartoons) or videotape (topical series such as
59976-449: The fall of 1978, WGN-TV was being distributed to 574 cable systems – covering Western, Central and Southern Illinois and large swaths of Indiana , Wisconsin , Michigan , Minnesota , Iowa and Missouri – reaching an estimated 8.6 million subscribers. On October 26, 1978, one day after the agency implemented an "open entry" policy for transponder resale carriers to feed distant television station signals to cable television systems,
60282-406: The final 37 games of the year. Despite being well out of playoff contention the Cubs went 24–13 under Quade, the best record in baseball during that 37 game stretch, earning Quade the manager position going forward on October 19. On December 3, 2010, Cubs broadcaster and former third baseman, Ron Santo , died due to complications from bladder cancer and diabetes. He spent 13 seasons as a player with
60588-413: The final episodes airing in late May of that same year; it would later be revived by CNBC in 2018. 5th Grader and Don't Forget the Lyrics! were canceled the following year for the same reason (although 5th Grader would later be revived by Fox and Nickelodeon on two different occasions). Reruns of the popular Discovery Channel show Cash Cab began airing in syndication in January 2011. Reruns of
60894-551: The first half of 2018. Bellevue was the first of these licensed series to make their U.S. debut on WGN America, premiering on the channel on January 23, 2018. Pure would not make its U.S. debut on WGN America until January 23, 2019. The network returned to unscripted reality programming with the July 2019 premiere of Dog's Most Wanted , featuring Duane "Dog" Chapman , his wife Beth , and their team of bounty hunters dubbed "The Dirty Dozen", pursuing some of America's most wanted fugitives. In September 2018, WGN America began airing
61200-414: The first time a Cub team had accomplished that feat in over two decades. In 1969 the Cubs, managed by Leo Durocher , built a substantial lead in the newly created National League Eastern Division by mid-August. Ken Holtzman pitched a no-hitter on August 19, and the division lead grew to 8 1 ⁄ 2 games over the St. Louis Cardinals and by 9 1 ⁄ 2 games over the New York Mets . After
61506-426: The first to win it twice. Most recently, the Cubs won the 2016 National League Championship Series and 2016 World Series , which ended a 71-year National League pennant drought and a 108-year World Series championship drought, both of which are record droughts in Major League Baseball . The 108-year drought was also the longest such occurrence in all major sports leagues in the United States and Canada . Since
61812-435: The following year, but this was only good enough for third place. In the following two decades, the Cubs played mostly forgettable baseball, finishing among the worst teams in the National League on an almost annual basis. From 1947 to 1966, they only notched one winning season. Longtime infielder-manager Phil Cavarretta , who had been a key player during the 1945 season, was fired during spring training in 1954 after admitting
62118-458: The foresight to film The Cisco Kid in color, even though color TV was still in its infancy and most stations did not yet support the technology. Among the most widely seen Ziv offerings were Sea Hunt , I Led Three Lives , Highway Patrol and Ripcord . Some first-run syndicated series were picked up by networks in the 1950s and early 1960s, such as the Adventures of Superman and Mr. Ed . The networks began syndicating their reruns in
62424-569: The franchise has played the most games in MLB history, with an all-time regular season record of 11,327–10,767–161 (.513). The Cubs began in 1870 as the Chicago White Stockings , playing their home games at West Side Grounds . Six years later, they joined the National League (NL) as a charter member. In the runup to their NL debut, owner William Hulbert signed various star players, such as pitcher Albert Spalding and infielders Ross Barnes , Deacon White , and Adrian "Cap" Anson . The White Stockings quickly established themselves as one of
62730-441: The franchise. Green had managed the 1980 Phillies to the World Series title. One of his early GM moves brought in a young Phillies minor-league 3rd baseman named Ryne Sandberg, along with Larry Bowa for Iván DeJesús. The 1983 Cubs had finished 71–91 under Lee Elia, who was fired before the season ended by Green. Green continued the culture of change and overhauled the Cubs roster, front-office and coaching staff prior to 1984. Jim Frey
63036-418: The full-time starter behind the plate, replacing the veteran Kendall. Winning streaks in June and July, coupled with a pair of dramatic, late-inning wins against the Reds , led to the Cubs ultimately clinching the NL Central with a record of 85–77. They met Arizona in the NLDS , but controversy followed as Piniella, in a move that has since come under scrutiny, pulled Carlos Zambrano after the sixth inning of
63342-430: The game of September 2, the Cubs record was 84–52 with the Mets in second place at 77–55. But then a losing streak began just as a Mets winning streak was beginning. The Cubs lost the final game of a series at Cincinnati, then came home to play the resurgent Pittsburgh Pirates (who would finish in third place). After losing the first two games by scores of 9–2 and 13–4, the Cubs led going into the ninth inning. A win would be
63648-427: The game stated that he would have caught the ball. Alou at one point recanted, saying he would not have been able to make the play, but later said this was just an attempt to make Bartman feel better and believing the whole incident should be forgotten. Interference was not called on the play, as the ball was ruled to be on the spectator side of the wall. Castillo was eventually walked by Prior. Two batters later, and to
63954-433: The game to Smith or Stoddard. At the top of the order, Dernier and Sandberg were exciting, aptly coined "the Daily Double" by Harry Caray . With strong defense – Dernier CF and Sandberg 2B, won the NL Gold Glove - solid pitching and clutch hitting, the Cubs were a well-balanced team. Following the "Daily Double", Matthews, Durham, Cey, Moreland and Davis gave the Cubs an order with no gaps to pitch around. Sutcliffe anchored
64260-424: The game's first true superstar. In 1885 and 1886, after winning NL pennants, the White Stockings met the champions of the short-lived American Association in that era's version of a World Series. Both seasons resulted in matchups with the St. Louis Brown Stockings ; the clubs tied in 1885 and St. Louis won in 1886. This was the genesis of what would eventually become one of the greatest rivalries in sports. In all,
64566-405: The gates to a Phillies rally. After that second Philly loss, the Cubs were 84–60 and the Mets had pulled ahead at 85–57. The Mets would not look back. The Cubs' eight-game losing streak finally ended the next day in St. Louis, but the Mets were in the midst of a ten-game winning streak, and the Cubs, wilting from team fatigue, generally deteriorated in all phases of the game.[1] The Mets (who had lost
64872-427: The general logo in all other uses until January 2009, when it was deemphasized in favor of using the channel's wordmark text as the primary logo. In June 2008, Zell and Tribune co-chief executive officer at the time, Randy Michaels , disclosed to the media during a nationwide tour promoting the Tribune properties that the company was interested in producing a late night talk show hosted by comedian Jay Leno , following
65178-423: The impact that the potential of having to phase them out to fulfill network commitments would have on the superstation feed's appeal to cable and satellite providers elsewhere around the United States. Tribune would reverse course on December 3, 1993, reaching a separate agreement with Time Warner to allow WGN-TV to become The WB's charter affiliate for the Chicago market and allow the WGN superstation feed to serve as
65484-444: The implementation of the now-defunct local/national News Central hybrid format in 2003, Sinclair has produced national must-run segments for its stations that have been cited as having a noticeable conservative slant, a major concern levied by Democratic members of Congress, anti-consolidation media activist groups and even some conservatives who were opposed to the deal.) However, Variety reporter Cynthia Littleton noted that such
65790-439: The increased popularity for shows that remained in production. A prime example is Law & Order . As with radio in the U.S., television networks, particularly in their early years, did not offer a full day's worth of programming for their affiliates, even in the evening or "prime time" hours. In the early days of television, this was less of an issue, as there were in most markets fewer TV stations than there were networks (at
66096-416: The independent stations due to breaking news or sports commitments without the traditional inconvenience of a late night or weekend airing of the pre-empted show. A duopoly of a network-affiliated and independent station also allows a network station to move a low-rated syndicated program to their sister independent station to stem revenue losses. Off-network syndication occurs when a network television series
66402-443: The intent of the rule was to encourage local stations to produce their own programs for this time slot, budgetary limits instead prompted stations to buy syndicated programs to fill the slot. This, coupled with an increase in UHF independent stations , caused a boom in the syndication market. In the 1970s, first-run syndication continued to be an odd mix: cheaply produced, but not always poor quality, "filler" programming. These included
66708-454: The largest U.S. TV markets (such as New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Philadelphia , where all six aforementioned groups each own stations), before striking deals with other major and smaller station owners. Shows airing in first-run syndication that are carried primarily by an owned-and-operated station of a network may sometimes be incorrectly referenced as a network program, especially if said network's syndication wing distributes
67014-415: The late 1940s and the first half of the 1950s (including The Al Morgan Show , Chicagoland Mystery Players , The Music Show , They Stand Accused , Windy City Jamboree and Down You Go ). CBS programming moved exclusively to the rechristened WBBM-TV in February 1953, upon completion of that station's sale to CBS by Balaban and Katz Broadcasting , then owned by United Paramount Theatres , which
67320-399: The late 1950s, and first-run syndication shrank sharply for a decade. Some stalwart series continued, including Death Valley Days ; other ambitious projects were also to flourish, however briefly, such as The Play of the Week (1959–1961), produced by David Susskind (of the syndicated talk show Open End and also producer of such network fare as NYPD ). Among other syndicated series of
67626-451: The late 1970s, Westinghouse also found considerable success with The Mike Douglas Show , a variety/talk show hosted by a singer with an easygoing interview style, which aired in the afternoons in most markets; similar programs soon followed featuring Merv Griffin , who had been the host of CBS ' most sustained late-night answer to The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson previously, and another network veteran, Dinah Shore . Also notable
67932-461: The late 1980s, however, increasing production costs made them less attractive to the networks. Studios found that reruns of one-hour dramas did not sell as well as sitcoms, so they were unable to fully recoup the shows' costs using the traditional deficit financing model. When NBC canceled the television series adaptation of Fame after only two seasons, the producers made special arrangements with LBS Communications , which resulted in MGM reviving
68238-411: The launch of The WeB.) United Video intended to provide an alternate feed of WGN with substitute programming for markets that had a WB-affiliated station; however, no such measure was taken, creating network duplication in markets where over-the-air WB affiliates were forced to compete with the WGN cable feed. The WGN superstation feed carried The WB's prime time lineup from the latter's launch, and added
68544-477: The launch of the morning news program Morning in America in September 2021, additional news content has gradually been added to the lineup to replace the acquired entertainment shows as the channel's syndication contracts inherited by Nexstar through the Tribune purchase expire. NewsNation switched to all-news programming on weekdays on April 24, 2023, and in the run-up to that year's presidential and legislative elections , formally converted its weekend schedule to
68850-652: The lineup were far more scarce. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rulings in 1971 curtailed the U.S. networks' ability to schedule programming in what has become known as the " fringe time ", notably the 7–8 p.m. ( Eastern and Pacific Time ) hour of "prime time", with the stated hope that this might encourage more local programming of social and cultural relevance to communities (off-network syndicated repeats were also banned); some projects of this sort came to fruition, though these were usually relatively commercial and slick efforts such as Group W 's Evening/PM Magazine franchise, and such pre-existing national projects as
69156-454: The mentioned cases, KCBS-TV , KSHB-TV and WDJT-TV ) by allowing a duopoly control of more syndicated programming than would be possible on one station (and to spread it throughout the schedule of the two stations, often several times a day), or to air news programming in times unavailable on the larger network station, along with fulfilling network and syndicated programming commitments, which allows popular or network programming to be moved to
69462-560: The mid-to-late 1980s into the early 1990s, sitcoms continued to enter first-run syndication after being canceled by the networks, the most successful of which were Mama's Family and Charles in Charge . Other sitcoms during this time to enter first-run syndication after network cancellation included Silver Spoons , Punky Brewster , Webster , It's a Living , Too Close for Comfort , 9 to 5 , What's Happening!! , and WKRP in Cincinnati . Many of these sitcoms produced new shows in syndication mainly to have enough episodes for
69768-455: The most popular have been Wheel of Fortune and the current version of Jeopardy! , both created by television personality Merv Griffin , respectively premiering in 1983 and 1984. The shows have been No. 1 and No. 2 or No. 1 to No. 3 in the syndication ratings consistently since at least the late 1980s. In fact, according to the Guinness Book of World Records , Wheel is the most popular syndicated television program both within and outside
70074-459: The national feed due to NBA restrictions on superstation broadcasts. The national feed also used the same on-air branding as the Chicago area signal (which was referred to on-air at the time as either "Channel 9" or "WGN Channel 9") until 1997, when it became known as simply "WGN" outside Chicago (although it retained the varied forms of the WGN logo wordmark until 2008); in print and off-air promotional advertisements, however, United Video marketed
70380-467: The national feed from United Video in 2001) during the latter half of the decade. WGN America was converted into a conventional basic cable network in December 2014, adding scripted original programs and removing WGN-TV's local programs from its schedule as well as making the network available on cable and satellite providers within the Chicago market. Nexstar Media Group acquired WGN America as part of its 2019 purchase of most of Tribune's assets, becoming
70686-470: The network as NewsNation on March 1, 2021, eventually converting its entire schedule to a general news and discussion format in July 2024, as contracts for syndicated entertainment programs held over from the predecessor WGN America service (and originally purchased for the network by Tribune) expired. WGN America traces its origins to WGN-TV , a broadcast television station in Chicago, Illinois that began operating over VHF channel 9 on April 5, 1948 as
70992-479: The network for "profitable growth," de-emphasizing high-end scripted series from WGN America's programming slate. The deal drove speculation that Sinclair would use WGN America's wide national reach to launch a conservative-leaning cable news rival to Fox News Channel and Newsmax TV over WGN's existing transponder and channel space. (Such speculation had been floated for over a year, dating to its January 2016 purchase of Tennis Channel , driven mainly because, since
71298-618: The network in March 2016 and ended its second season two days after the announcement of Tribune acquisition on May 10, 2017. Reports stated that Underground' s production company/distributor Sony Pictures Television would seek other network and streaming partners to continue the program; WGN announced its decision to cancel the series on May 30. After the network reduced its original programming budget, WGN America focused its first-run programming efforts on scripted programs of reasonably lower production cost, including programs originally developed for international syndication, some of which would form
71604-501: The network to its affiliates in specific markets by this time, on January 27, 1999, Time Warner and Tribune mutually agreed to cease the stopgap WB programming relay over the WGN superstation feed effective that fall. On October 6, when the WGN superstation feed formally stopped carrying WB network programming, Kids' WB programming on weekday mornings and afternoons and on Sunday mornings was replaced with syndicated series, while feature films replaced The WB's prime time programs, resulting in
71910-412: The network's controversial decision to reinstate Leno as host of The Tonight Show one month later, after initial plans to move him to a separate Tonight lead-in led to the resignation of his replacement on that program, Conan O'Brien , and O'Brien's subsequent launch of a new late-night talk show on TBS.) On December 8, 2008, the Tribune Company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection , citing
72216-402: The network's programs until later in the week – or, as with most over-the-air WB affiliates during the network's early years, theatrical feature films acquired via the syndication market. By 1995, the WGN superstation feed was available to about 85% of all American cable systems, reaching approximately 35 million households; however, some distribution gaps remained well into the 2000s in parts of
72522-531: The network. Matt Cherniss was appointed as the first president and general manager of WGN America and Tribune Studios, a new production unit that was formed with the intent of producing some of the network's original content, on March 19, 2013. Salem and WGN America saw a major promotional push that commenced with Fox's broadcast of Super Bowl XLVIII on February 2, which saw part of their local advertising time on Tribune Broadcasting's fifteen Fox-affiliated stations (including those located in Seattle and Denver ,
72828-512: The new league's top teams. Spalding won forty-seven games and Barnes led the league in hitting at .429 as Chicago won the first National League pennant , which at the time was the game's top prize. After back-to-back pennants in 1880 and 1881, Hulbert died, and Spalding, who had retired from playing to start Spalding sporting goods, assumed ownership of the club. The White Stockings, with Anson acting as player-manager, captured their third consecutive pennant in 1882, and Anson established himself as
73134-564: The next several years: the first heaviest concentrations developed in the Central United States (where WGN's telecasts of Chicago Cubs baseball, Chicago Bulls basketball and The Bozo Show became highly popular) and gradually expanded to encompass most of the nation by the mid-1980s. United Video initially charged prospective cable systems 10¢ per subscriber to receive the WGN-TV signal, the same rate Southern Satellite Systems charged for 24-hour-a-day retransmission of WTBS. WGN Continental Broadcasting and station management originally treated WGN-TV as
73440-414: The next year, the Cubs won the pennant again, but lost to the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1910 World Series . In 1914, advertising executive Albert Lasker obtained a large block of the club's shares and before the 1916 season assumed majority ownership of the franchise. Lasker brought in a wealthy partner, Charles Weeghman , the proprietor of a popular chain of lunch counters who had previously owned
73746-403: The only local sports franchise to have aired consistently on the station from launch until the station's broadcasting relationship with the Cubs concluded in September 2019). By the end of 1948, network programs from CBS (later shared with WBKB-TV, beginning in September 1949) and the DuMont Television Network joined the schedule; WGN served as a production hub for several DuMont programs during
74052-450: The original president of and would hold a minority ownership stake in The WB). Tribune committed six of the seven independent stations it owned at the time to become the network's charter affiliates ; however, it initially exempted the WGN-TV Chicago signal from the agreement, as station management had expressed concerns about how the network's plans to expand its prime time and daytime programming would affect WGN's sports broadcast rights and
74358-428: The pitching staff contributed to a 13-game losing streak that pushed the Cubs out of contention. In 1989, the first full season with night baseball at Wrigley Field, Don Zimmer 's Cubs were led by a core group of veterans in Ryne Sandberg , Rick Sutcliffe and Andre Dawson , who were boosted by a crop of youngsters such as Mark Grace , Shawon Dunston , Greg Maddux , Rookie of the Year Jerome Walton , and Rookie of
74664-400: The prime time NewsNation since its premiere and remained with the relau network until 2022) and Ashleigh Banfield ; former CNN host Chris Cuomo would later join NewsNation as a prime-time host in July 2022. NewsNation continued to maintain a reduced schedule of entertainment programs acquired by the channel under the WGN America moniker in daytime and select overnight slots; beginning with
74970-555: The program, hosted by Steve Harvey , has been a major ratings success; on the week of June 12, 2015, for the first time ever, Family Feud was the highest-rated syndicated program in terms of average household ratings. While the current version of The Price Is Right (another Goodson-Todman game show) has enjoyed tremendous success on the CBS daytime schedule since its inception in 1972 under hosts Bob Barker and Drew Carey , it has also produced three spinoffs, two of which failed after one season. The most successful syndicated edition
75276-418: The program, regardless to its distribution to stations of varying network affiliations and despite the fact it is not part of an individual network's base schedule. Since the early 2000s, some programs being proposed for national distribution in first-run syndication have been test marketed on a selected number of or all stations owned by certain major station group, allowing the distributor to determine whether
75582-485: The programs seen on WGN consisted of those originating on the Chicago feed that was cleared for "full-signal" carriage by the national feed; this proportion of common programming dropped to around 30% by 2005 through the prior removal of WB programming and the overall schedule beginning to rely more on programs acquired specifically for national carriage as syndicators increasingly insisted on exclusivity protection for their series and film packages and were unwilling to license
75888-399: The programs shown as part of the block – which included series such as WKRP in Cincinnati , Newhart , ALF , Barney Miller and The Honeymooners – had previously aired on WGN prior to the re-implementation of Syndex, or even after the rules went into effect on the Chicago signal or/and the superstation feed. (Tribune Broadcasting later included some of these shows on Antenna TV ,
76194-492: The provider's a la carte superstations tier prior to its decision to halt its sale to new subscribers in September 2013 , while Netlink initially distributed KWGN as part of its "Denver 5" out-of-market package for C-band and 4DTV subscribers.) By the end of its first week of national availability, the WGN-TV signal had become available to approximately 200 additional cable television systems nationwide, reaching approximately 800,000 subscribers. That cable reach would grow over
76500-550: The radio commentary series created by Gary Burbank . Burbank – whose segments as the "middle American" archetype character began airing on the channel that same month – had long maintained a close relationship with certain executives working at that time for the Tribune Company, who approached him about bringing the segments to television. The commentary was aired in the form of a series of 90-second segments that aired on WGN America until November 2011, usually during simulcasts of WGN-TV newscasts. As part of WGN America's restructuring,
76806-440: The restructuring of the two services) on October 1, 2007, that resulted in WGN America becoming the last remaining American superstation to be distributed nationally through cable television systems as well as satellite and other types of multichannel subscription television providers. Plans called for WGN America to incorporate scripted original programming, to migrate from "limited basic" (or "lifeline") programming tiers (where it
77112-490: The rights to higher-profile syndicated programs to the superstation feed, believing that it would be more lucrative to license those programs to individual stations. On July 12, 2000, Gemstar International Group Limited acquired TV Guide, Inc. (which United Video Satellite Group renamed itself following its 1999 purchase of TV Guide magazine from News Corporation ), subsequently changing its name to Gemstar–TV Guide International . In April 2001, Tribune Broadcasting purchased
77418-427: The rise of cable television channels aimed at that audience such as Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network , which provided appealing children's entertainment throughout the week at nearly all hours. Syndication remains a method of choice for distributing children's programming, although this has gradually shifted to only produce programs to satisfy the federally mandated " regulations on children's television programming in
77724-427: The roster to boast what would soon be one of the best teams of the early century, sold the club to Jim Hart . Referencing the youth of the team's roster, the Chicago Daily News called the franchise the Cubs in 1902; it officially took the name five years later. During this period, which has become known as baseball's dead-ball era , Cub infielders Joe Tinker , Johnny Evers , and Frank Chance were made famous as
78030-463: The schedule. Channel 9 originally maintained studio and transmitter facilities at the Chicago Daily News Building , on West Madison and North Canal Streets in downtown Chicago , before relocating to WGN Radio's main facility at the Centennial Building annex of the Tribune Tower on North Michigan Avenue in the city's Magnificent Mile district, which was refurbished to accommodate the television station, on January 25, 1950. The channel 9 transmitter
78336-401: The second American broadcast television network to use a cable-originated service to provide extended coverage in designated "white areas" without over-the-air affiliate clearances, and one of three network-to-cable undertakings stewarded by Jamie Kellner. As The WB was under development, Kellner was in process of developing The WeB, a proposed national WB cable feed for smaller markets based upon
78642-474: The second commercial television station to sign on in both the Chicago market and the state of Illinois – after WBKB-TV (channel 4, now CBS owned-and-operated station WBBM-TV on channel 2), which began experimental operations as W9XBK in 1940 and converted into a commercially licensed independent station on September 6, 1946 – and the 19th commercial station to sign on in the United States. The station – which, until January 1948, had initially planned to use
78948-449: The second independent station that the company distributed via satellite, after Turner's Atlanta, Georgia , independent station WTCG (soon WTBS), which SSS began redistributing to American cable and satellite systems in December 1976. However, in a memo released to provider clients on October 30, 1978, Taylor announced that Transponder 13 of Satcom 1 (which SSS had assigned to beam the signal to participating providers) had failed and that
79254-420: The series for first-run syndication in the fall of 1983, where it continued for four more seasons, with the last first-run episode airing in the U.S. on May 18, 1987. Star Trek: The Next Generation debuted in 1987, and became the most-watched syndicated show throughout its seven-year run. Its great success caused many others to debut. Friday the 13th: The Series (a horror series which shared its title with
79560-426: The series was renewed for a second season in January 2015, while Ferguson would also win a Daytime Emmy Award for Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host for his work on the program. In January 2016, Fox owned-and-operated stations began a test run of South of Wilshire —a game show produced by TMZ. The 2017 summer season includes the game show iWitness created by TV judge Judith Sheindlin. 2021 saw
79866-423: The service as "WGN, The Chicago SuperChannel" (from 1982 to 1987) and later, on an alternative basis, "WGN/UV" (from 1987 to 1993). On February 10, 1981, WGN-TV began using the satellite feed's audio subcarrier signal to transmit programming schedules delivered to the Electronic Program Guide (EPG) service (later Prevue Guide and now the entertainment-based Pop , and operated by United Video's Trakker Inc. unit at
80172-455: The show was not profitable. This type of syndication has arisen in the U.S. as a parallel service to member stations of the Public Broadcasting Service ( PBS ) and the handful of independent public broadcasting stations. This form of syndication more closely resembles the news agency model, where nominally competing networks share resources and rebroadcast each other's programs. For example, National Public Radio ( NPR ) stations commonly air
80478-481: The show's target audiences are usually not awake) and then removed from the channel entirely shortly afterward. This was likely due to the restructuring of Tribune's television division and a distribution agreement with the Disney Channel that proved too expensive to maintain. On August 21, 2008, WGN America announced a partnership with Indianapolis radio station WFBQ to broadcast a televised version of The Bob & Tom Show radio program, originally produced for
80784-452: The shows viewable over WGN-TV in the Chicago area continued to air nationally over the satellite signal. In July 1987, United Video began transmitting the WGN superstation feed in stereo; all WGN-TV-produced programming was made available to participating systems in the format, while other programming was initially transmitted in synthesized stereo audio. On May 18, 1988, the FCC reinstituted the Syndication Exclusivity Rights Rule ("SyndEx"),
81090-512: The staff with a 20-win season. The Cubs had high expectations in 2002, but the squad played poorly. On July 5, 2002, the Cubs promoted assistant general manager and player personnel director Jim Hendry to the General Manager position. The club responded by hiring Dusty Baker and by making some major moves in 2003. Most notably, they traded with the Pittsburgh Pirates for outfielder Kenny Lofton and third baseman Aramis Ramírez , and rode dominant pitching, led by Kerry Wood and Mark Prior , as
81396-418: The start of divisional play in 1969, the Cubs have appeared in the postseason 11 times through the 2024 season. The Cubs are known as "the North Siders", a reference to the location of Wrigley Field within the city of Chicago, and in contrast to the White Sox, whose home field ( Guaranteed Rate Field ) is located on the South Side. The Cubs won the Laureus World Team of the Year in 2017. Through 2024,
81702-421: The station was "very honored [it was] selected" by United Video and the three other carriers granted redistribution but noted that the station would "continue to serve our Chicagoland communities." For about eleven years afterward, the national WGN-TV signal carried the same programming schedule as that seen in the Chicago area, except in instances where Chicago Bulls basketball games were prohibited from airing on
82008-473: The station's national audience (separate from its ratings tallies for its Chicago viewership) through Nielsen's cable network measurement service. On November 2, 1993, Time Warner announced the formation of The WB Television Network , a venture developed in partnership with the Tribune Company (which, prior to acquiring an 11% interest in August 1995, was a non-equity partner in the new network) and former Fox network executive Jamie Kellner (who would serve as
82314-520: The station’s website as a 24-hour livestream, accompanied by rebroadcasts of its newscasts and non-news local shows outside of live programming hours. Nexstar exempted WGN-TV—along with KTLA and KRON-TV / San Francisco —from a 2023 corporate mandate requiring most of the group's stations to begin streaming all local programming on a two-hour delay from their initial live broadcast, in an attempt to maintain leverage with pay television providers in carriage negotiations. For much of its post-Syndex existence as
82620-636: The successful movie franchise) also debuted in 1987. The next syndicated shows that debuted in 1988 were War of the Worlds and Freddy's Nightmares . Baywatch , which debuted in 1989 on NBC and was canceled after one season also became one of the most watched syndicated shows throughout its ten-year-run, garnering a worldwide audience. By 1994, there were more than 20 one-hour syndicated shows. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Renegade were also syndicated. Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and its spin-off series Xena: Warrior Princess were also popular, often tying Deep Space Nine at 5% to 6% of
82926-609: The superstation feed and maintenance of a local WB affiliate was not yet possible, satellite distribution was the only way viewers could see the network's programming over WGN. (The WGN national feed served as the default WB affiliate for residents in 152 markets and the entirety of 21 U.S. states— Alaska , Arkansas , Delaware , Idaho , Iowa , Kansas , Maine , Mississippi , Montana , New Hampshire , New Mexico , North Dakota , Oklahoma , South Carolina , South Dakota , Tennessee , Vermont , Washington , West Virginia , Wisconsin and Wyoming —at varying periods of time up through
83232-656: The superstation feed of WGN-TV/Chicago, many of these programs were cleared by television syndication distributors for "full-signal" rights, therefore allowing them to air on WGN America as they do not fall under syndication exclusivity regulations (for example, although How I Met Your Mother is syndicated to other television stations nationwide, including WGN-TV, it is allowed to air on WGN America due to its clearance by 20th Television for "full-signal" carriage). However, in 2013, WGN America began to acquire exclusive cable rights to programs eligible for syndication (such as Person of Interest and Parks and Recreation ) as part of
83538-399: The superstation's schedule more so resembling an independent station than a general entertainment cable network due to the presence of local programming from WGN-TV. The removal of WB programs from the superstation feed reduced The WB's potential audience by 10 million households, and was cited as the reason behind an estimated 19% decline in the network's season-to-season household audience for
83844-422: The syndicated versions of Price were 30 minutes long. A Hollywood Squares revival also thrived beginning in 1998 under host Tom Bergeron , running six seasons until its 2004 cancellation. By far the most successful entry into the market in the 2000s has been the daily version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire , which premiered in September 2002 and was canceled in May 2019 after 17 seasons in syndication (and
84150-543: The syndication market around this time. Of these shows, Let's Make a Deal and Hollywood Squares were the first to jump to twice-a-week syndicated versions, in about 1973. Another popular daytime show to have a weekly syndicated version was The Price Is Right , which began concurrently in weekly syndication and on CBS ; the syndicated "nighttime" version was hosted by Dennis James for its first five years, after which daytime host Bob Barker took over for another three years of weekly episodes (even though, by this point,
84456-508: The syndication market shrunk, Andromeda season 5 moved to the Syfy Channel (2004). There was not another first-run syndicated drama (or a first-run scripted series in syndication) until 2008, when Disney-ABC Domestic Television and ABC Studios teamed up with Sam Raimi to launch a new first-run syndicated series, Legend of the Seeker , based on Terry Goodkind 's Sword of Truth novel series. Another gap in first-run scripted series in syndication followed for four years after Legend of
84762-406: The syndication market to fulfill the requirements. Also in the 1980s, news programming of various sorts began to be offered widely to stations. Independent Network News , which was produced by WPIX in New York City, was a half-hour nightly program that ran from 1980 to 1990 on independent stations (in some markets, INN was paired with a locally produced primetime newscast); CNN would offer
85068-450: The syndicator may only be able to license the show in a small percentage of the markets. Syndication differs from licensing the show to a television network. Once a network picks up a show, it is usually guaranteed to run on most or all the network's affiliates on the same day of the week and at the same time (in a given time zone, in countries where this is a concern). Some production companies create their shows and license them to networks at
85374-414: The talk shows of Mike Douglas and Merv Griffin , and variety and quiz shows). Ziv Television Programs, after establishing itself as a major radio syndicator, was the first major first-run television syndicator, creating several long-lived series in the 1950s and selling them directly to regional sponsors, who in turn sold the shows to local stations. Ziv's first major TV hit was The Cisco Kid . Ziv had
85680-431: The team declined during the 1970s, and they became known as "the Loveable Losers", which would become a long-standing moniker for the club. In 1977 , the team found some life, but ultimately experienced one of its biggest collapses. The Cubs hit a high-water mark on June 28 at 47–22, boasting an 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 game NL East lead, as they were led by Bobby Murcer (27 HR/89 RBI), and Rick Reuschel (20–10). However,
85986-420: The team was unlikely to finish above fifth place. Although shortstop Ernie Banks would become one of the star players in the league during the next decade, finding help for him proved a difficult task, as quality players such as Hank Sauer were few and far between. This, combined with poor ownership decisions such as the College of Coaches , and the ill-fated trade of future Hall of Fame member Lou Brock to
86292-432: The team, as they proceeded to drop six of their last eight games as the Astros won the Wild Card. Despite the fact that the Cubs had won 89 games, this fallout was decidedly unlovable, as the Cubs traded superstar Sammy Sosa after he had left the season's final game after the first pitch, which resulted in a fine (Sosa later stated that he had gotten permission from Baker to leave early, but he regretted doing so). Already
86598-419: The time four), which meant that the stations that did exist affiliated with multiple networks and, when not airing network or local programs, typically sign-on and sign-off . The loosening of licensing restrictions, and the subsequent passage of the All-Channel Receiver Act , meant that by the early 1960s, the situation had reversed. There were now more stations than the networks—now down to three in number after
86904-442: The time) in a 2400 bit/s data stream over the satellite feed's vertical blanking interval (VBI) to local cable providers receiving the schedule information to the EPG's proprietary computer units. However, despite being notified that WGN would be conducting tests of the programming information teletext , United Video chose to substitute the material with teletext content from its Dow Jones business news service; its repurposing of
87210-443: The top 25 highest-rated cable networks, WGN America's viewership had gradually increased since the introduction of original scripted series, posting its highest monthly ratings in March 2017, during which it total viewership averaged 446,000 viewers and viewership among adults ages 25 to 54 totaled at 157,000). Ripley's statement immediately put into question the future of the slavery -era period drama Underground , which premiered on
87516-400: The top-100 media markets after its launch, while coverage in the 110 smallest markets was achieved through the September 1998 launch of The WeB (subsequently renamed The WB 100+ Station Group ), a packaged feed of WB network and syndicated programs provided to participating cable-based affiliates. With local availability becoming less of an issue and with exclusivity protections being granted by
87822-430: The turning point of the era, and the Cubs did not win a playoff game for the next eleven seasons. In 2004 , the Cubs were a consensus pick by most media outlets to win the World Series. The offseason acquisition of Derek Lee (who was acquired in a trade with Florida for Hee-seop Choi ) and the return of Greg Maddux only bolstered these expectations. Despite a mid-season deal for Nomar Garciaparra , misfortune struck
88128-435: The two cities whose local NFL franchises – the Seahawks and the Broncos , respectively – played in the game) being used to run an extended promotional ad for Salem , followed by further promotion on other Tribune-owned/operated local television stations in the lead-up to the show's April 20 premiere. In a May 2014 symposium at the MoffattNathanson Media & Communications Summit, Tribune President and CEO Peter Liguori –
88434-413: The wartime travel restrictions, the first three games of the 1945 World Series were played in Detroit , where the Cubs won two games, including a one-hitter by Claude Passeau , and the final four were played at Wrigley. The Cubs lost the series, and did not return until the 2016 World Series . After losing the 1945 World Series to the Detroit Tigers , the Cubs finished with a respectable 82–71 record in
88740-469: The way for Weigel Broadcasting to cut a separate deal to air Kids' WB programs locally over group flagship WCIU-TV (channel 26, now a CW affiliate), an independent station that ran the block Monday through Saturdays from September 1995 until WGN-TV began clearing the block on its schedule in September 2004. As The WB's initial program offerings ran on Wednesdays for its first nine months of operation and its prime time schedule would not expand to six nights
89046-429: The way for a second series two years later, Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers . The following year, the two shows aired together under the umbrella block The Disney Afternoon . In the fall of 1990, Disney added another hour to The Disney Afternoon ; the block continued in syndication, running additional first-run animated series until 1999. These cartoons initially competed with the ones that were nationally televised on
89352-520: Was Street Smarts , which lasted from 2001 to 2006 (despite the series airing in late night slots in many markets). Between 2003 and 2007, no new game shows debuted in syndication, marking four consecutive seasons where no new shows with that genre debuted, a syndication first. That streak ended with the fall 2007 debuts of Temptation and Merv Griffin's Crosswords , bringing the daytime tally to six game shows; both ended production after one year, though Crosswords aired in reruns in some cities during
89658-454: Was a Hanna-Barbera cartoon series attempting to ape the All in the Family -style sitcoms; Skippy the Bush Kangaroo (1969), an Australian children's series, or Gentle Ben (a decade later, the decidedly not-for-children Australian Prisoner: Cell Block H would have a brief U.S. syndicated run); and a Canadian sketch-comedy series began appearing on U.S. television stations in 1977— Second City Television , which would eventually find
89964-451: Was a Canadian series, apparently modified from the vision of science fiction writers Harlan Ellison and Ben Bova . Britain's ITC Entertainment , headed by Lew Grade , made UFO (1970) and Space: 1999 (1975). These two series were created by Gerry Anderson (and his associates), previously best known for Supermarionation (a combination of puppetry and animation) series such as Thunderbirds . The most successful syndicated show in
90270-444: Was acquired from the Oakland Athletics in early July. The Cubs headed into the All-Star break with the NL's best record, and tied the league record with eight representatives to the All-Star game , including catcher Geovany Soto, who was named Rookie of the Year . The Cubs took control of the division by sweeping a four-game series in Milwaukee. On September 14, in a game moved to Miller Park due to Hurricane Ike , Zambrano pitched
90576-575: Was also important for the nascent anime community in the United States, with imports like Speed Racer and Star Blazers (a localized edit of Space Battleship Yamato ) helping to grow interest in Japanese animation. This led to the establishment of companies dedicated to importing and translating anime such as Streamline Pictures and Viz Media towards the end of the 1980s. In 1987, The Walt Disney Company tried its luck at syndication; DuckTales premiered that September and would eventually last for 100 episodes. The success of DuckTales paved
90882-417: Was also not directly compensated by United Video for their retransmission or promotion of WGN's signal, though under compulsory license provisions applying to out-of-market stations through the Copyright Act of 1976 (further defined through the formation of the Copyright Royalty Tribunal in 1982), WGN-TV did receive royalty payments made by cable and satellite systems retransmitting the national WGN feed to
91188-471: Was challenged by syndicated programming in the 1980s was with late-night talk shows ; The Arsenio Hall Show was the only very successful one (it would be canceled after five years in 1994 due to ratings declines spurred by many CBS affiliates pushing the show to later timeslots following the debut of the Late Show with David Letterman , and was later revived in 2013), but similar programs were attempted such as Alan Thicke 's earlier short-lived Thicke of
91494-519: Was hired to manage the 1984 Cubs, with Don Zimmer coaching 3rd base and Billy Connors serving as pitching coach. Green shored up the 1984 roster with a series of transactions. In December 1983 Scott Sanderson was acquired from Montreal in a three-team deal with San Diego for Carmelo Martínez . Pinch hitter Richie Hebner (.333 BA in 1984) was signed as a free-agent. In spring training, moves continued: LF Gary Matthews and CF Bobby Dernier came from Philadelphia on March 26, for Bill Campbell and
91800-402: Was in the process of merging with ABC and acquiring, by association, WENR-TV (channel 7, now WLS-TV ). This left WGN-TV with the faltering DuMont until that network completed its operational wind-down in August 1956, at which time it became an independent station; at that time, off-network syndicated reruns (such as The Cisco Kid , Our Miss Brooks and My Little Margie ) were added to
92106-406: Was moved to the Prudential Building on East Randolph Street and North Michigan Avenue in January 1956. The station moved to a proprietary studio facility at the 95,000-square-foot (2.2-acre) WGN Mid-America Broadcast Center (later renamed the WGN Continental Broadcast Center and now simply referred to as WGN Studios) on West Bradley Place in Chicago's North Center community in June 1961. (It shared
92412-415: Was once a linebacker at the University of Texas. It was the second game of a doubleheader and the Cubs had won the first game in part due to a three-run home run by Moreland. After the bench-clearing fight, the Cubs won the second game, and the sweep put the Cubs at 68–45. In 1984, each league had two divisions, East and West. The divisional winners met in a best-of-5 series to advance to the World Series, in
92718-419: Was pulled from a game against the White Sox on June 25 after a tirade and shoving match with Derrek Lee, and was suspended indefinitely by Jim Hendry, who called the conduct "unacceptable". On August 22, Lou Piniella, who had already announced his retirement at the end of the season, announced that he would leave the Cubs prematurely to take care of his sick mother. Mike Quade took over as the interim manager for
93024-411: Was renewed for the 2009–2010 season, Trivial Pursuit: America Plays suffered low ratings throughout its run and was canceled. For the 2009–2010 season, the Fox game show Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? moved to syndication with a new, less expensive format. Don't Forget the Lyrics! followed for the 2010–2011 season. Deal , suffering from falling ratings, was canceled in February 2010, with
93330-438: Was the 1972–80 weekly version that was initially hosted by Dennis James , but in 1977, daytime host Bob Barker also hosted the nighttime version for the final three seasons. For the 1985–86 season, Tom Kennedy hosted a daily syndicated version, and in 1994–95, Doug Davidson emceed his own daily syndicated version, titled The New Price Is Right . Unlike the daytime series, which expanded to its current one-hour length in 1975,
93636-521: Was the growing success of audience-participation talk shows, particularly that of the innovator of the format, Phil Donahue . First-run syndication in the 1970s also made it possible for some shows that were no longer wanted by television networks to remain on the air. In 1971, ABC canceled The Lawrence Welk Show , which went on to produce new episodes in syndication for another 11 years, and currently continues to much success in weekend reruns (with new segments featuring Welk cast members inserted within
#966033