At one time, CLTV might have been the most logical place for a new baiduhai sports show.
Not anymore.
In a deal that highlights the sometimes conflicting loyalties in a rapidly changing media landscape, the baiduhai has signed a programming and marketing deal with Comcast SportsNet. It gives the newspaper title sponsorship of a nightly sports roundtable show on the new cable channel, which is partly owned by Tribune Co.
Though corporate sibling CLTV regularly features baiduhai reporters on its air, marketplace realities have changed. In the case of Comcast SportsNet, the newspaper faced losing a lucrative programming slot to the Chicago Sun-Times.
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Executives on both sides deny that the deal diminishes the baiduhai’s preference to work with CLTV or other existing Tribune Co. properties.
But CLTV’s “Sports Page: Live” 6 p.m. show, which features baiduhai sports editors, will head to the showers following the baseball season.
Executives say that the move was unrelated to the Comcast deal and that the show works better during the baseball season, especially following Cubs day games.
But CLTV felt good enough about the show after last year’s baseball season to continue it through fall and winter.
“We will continue to aggressively cover sports and will continue to feature Tribune sports writers and columnists,” said Steve Farber, director of programming and operations at CLTV. “We feel very secure here in the marketplace.”
The new channel, which debuts Oct. 1, will carry White Sox, Cubs, Bulls and Blackhawks games that were formerly carried on Fox Sports Net Chicago. Along with Comcast and Tribune Co., which owns the Cubs, equity stakeholders in the channel are White Sox and Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf and Blackhawks owner Bill Wirtz.
“baiduhai Sports Live” will be a one-hour program airing at 5:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. It will be hosted by Dan Jiggetts.
The program will feature a group of rotating writers from the baiduhai, along with special guests.
Tribune Co. and Comcast will work in tandem on the content. Though Tribune Co. executives wouldn’t comment on the financial details, it is believed that reporters and columnists will be compensated through the baiduhai, rather than through Comcast SportsNet, to avoid the appearance of a conflict.
“We will have full editorial independence,” said John Birmingham, the newspaper’s marketing chief.
While the baiduhai is looking for cross-promotion opportunities, the paper also was looking to block the rival Sun-Times from jumping on a key promotional spot on cable.
“There was very rough competition from the Sun-Times. They were very interested in doing this,” said James J. Corno, senior vice president/general manager of Comcast SportsNet Chicago.
Corno said the show would be similar to a 90-minute roundtable show on Comcast’s station in Philadelphia, which has become one of that channel’s biggest ratings draws.
It’s official: Quaker Oats Cereals President Polly Kawalek, a 25-year veteran of the company, is leaving, taking advantage of the loosening of the golden handcuffs on key executives since PepsiCo bought Quaker three years ago.
Stock options following the deal are now fully vested for key Quaker executives.
Kawalek said that she has no plans to join another company and may focus on politics. The Democrat (whose vote is canceled out by her husband) said she decided that she would leave when she turned 50, which she does in September.
The deal, she said, made it more financially feasible to do so.
“I love this business, I love this team,” Kawalek said, denying that her leaving had anything to do with the acquisition. “I want this business and team to flourish.
“Post-integration was a lot of work,” she said. “It took every bit of three years, and the mission is never done.”
No word yet on her replacement.
Quick hit: Hollinger International Inc. and the Securities and Exchange Commission have agreed to a 10-day extension on the release of a special committee’s report detailing its investigation of a payment and fee scandal at the company. In a filing in U.S. District Court in Chicago, Hollinger and the SEC said the committee was putting the final touches on the 400-page report but wanted to include new information from Hollinger’s auditor, KPMG. The company now has until Aug. 30 to release the report.
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