U.S. District Judge Hubert F. Will gave provisional approval late Thursday for WGN-Ch. 9 to proceed with a Bulls schedule of 25 games this season.
SportsChannel, which has local cable rights to the team, will telecast the remaining 50 not slated for WGN or NBC, starting with the opener Nov. 4.
“The Bulls have let us know how many games to schedule,” said SportsChannel General Manager Jim Corno.
“We understand we could have to give some games after the final ruling, and we are prepared to do that.”
The Bulls and WGN sued the National Basketball Association more than a year ago over the league’s restrictions on superstation telecasts.
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The team and the TV station are seeking to increase the number of games they may broadcast to 41 per season.
Will said he plans to continue reviewing the case and expects to make a final ruling before the end of the year.
He originally ruled in 1991 that WGN could show 25 games. That decision was upheld on appeal, and the Supreme Court subsequently refused to rule on it.