Includes Sox, Bulls, Hawks. 

Edited December 18, 20187 yr by Sockin

 

That's weird, thought they'd wait for an agreement until after they got one of harper/machado and wasn't going to be announced until march

Just now, whitesoxwinner said:

That's weird, thought they'd wait for an agreement until after they got one of harper/machado and wasn't going to be announced until march

Hoping this means they know whats up and they're going all in on Harper and Machado. 

Just now, Sockin said:

Hoping this means they know whats up and they're going all in on Harper and Machado. 

You would think they'd have a good idea of incoming revenue instead of any uncertainty.

Nice to see this done. Will be interested to see how much the deal is worth. 

4 minutes ago, whitesoxwinner said:

That's weird, thought they'd wait for an agreement until after they got one of harper/machado and wasn't going to be announced until march

This wasn't done overnight.  This was years of negotiations. 

Maybe there is an opt-out included if they get Harper and/or Machado lol

So an entirely new network from the sounds of it. Cubs are obviously out. Guessing NBC Chicago will be folded into it. Cubs were supposed to sell part of their shares to the Sox so expect the Sox ownership portion to go way up. That should be big money. Hopefully we get some of that Bulls Reinsdorf money too. Screw the independent operating pools and give us Harper.

So I've asked this a couple times.

Does the fact that Reinsdorf has a stake in NBCS mean that he would get a better deal for network or teams? It seems like a weird set-up to me. 

12 minutes ago, whitesoxwinner said:

That's weird, thought they'd wait for an agreement until after they got one of harper/machado and wasn't going to be announced until march

There has been rumors of this for a long time, guessing the framework has been done for a while and it just takes time to dot the Is.

3 minutes ago, bmags said:

There has been rumors of this for a long time, guessing the framework has been done for a while and it just takes time to dot the Is.

Then wouldn't it be unwise of the Sox to formally agree to it days/weeks before the whales sign? Or does it show pessimism on their part?

2 minutes ago, Jose Abreu said:

Then wouldn't it be unwise of the Sox to formally agree to it days/weeks before the whales sign? Or does it show pessimism on their part?

It could also be proof of life that they will have the cash to support a huge payroll going forward. 

Most likely it is just coincidence. 

Does Cubs leaving the network help Sox?

5 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

It could also be proof of life that they will have the cash to support a huge payroll going forward. 

Most likely it is just coincidence. 

Also there are three teams involved and a publicly traded company. Not sure they can wait on reporting that to shareholders.

4 minutes ago, justBLAZE said:

Does Cubs leaving the network help Sox?

It does.  Basically, it's critical that a Chicago based sports network have a baseball team.  

 

I don't get people trying to connect the signing of Harper and/or Machado with the business decisions around a long-term sports network for multiple teams. That's like Harper or Machado picking a team to sign for 10 years with based on their projections for 2019 win-loss record. This network decision has been planned for months or years and it's about a period of many years, regardless of any one or a few players signing for any one team.

 

3 minutes ago, NorthSideSox72 said:

I don't get people trying to connect the signing of Harper and/or Machado with the business decisions around a long-term sports network for multiple teams. That's like Harper or Machado picking a team to sign for 10 years with based on their projections for 2019 win-loss record. This network decision has been planned for months or years and it's about a period of many years, regardless of any one or a few players signing for any one team.

  

I disagree. The one single player, in this context, would absolutely affect the long-term agreement, especially if it's Harper

39 minutes ago, aeichhor said:

 

I don't get it.  They are already on NBC Sports Chicago.  I get that the agreement will be new, but doesn't the channel stay the same?

3 minutes ago, Tony said:

No, it really doesn't. Not in the framework on a TV deal like this where there are multiple teams involved, especially when you already had a framework created with NBCSports Chicago

Now, the value of the franchise itself can change with the addition of Harper and the team getting better, but numbers have been going back and forth for months on something like this. 

I know a few have said it but I think the certainty of the deal would help in negotiations.  I do think it's interesting that Rosenthal kind of broke this news last week, as it was clearly presented to Harper.

Hate to be that guy, but the reason the Sox are in this deal is because

1. They play in the summer and the channel needs content in the summer
2. They share an owner with the Bulls, so it's really just one transaction

11 minutes ago, Jose Abreu said:

I disagree. The one single player, in this context, would absolutely affect the long-term agreement, especially if it's Harper

Probably not as well as "Our owner also owns the Bulls and they're the biggest non-football draw in town".  

9 minutes ago, Tony said:

For the viewer in most ways, yes. 

Behind the scenes may change more, but the viewing experience should stay fairly similar. 

I will be very interested seeing how they cover the Cubs. Other than that, probably mostly the same. I wonder if this will end the Sox on WGN. 

It was pretty obvious this is how it was going to go. JR and Rocky are tight. Funny that none of the teams is must watch TV right now.

16 minutes ago, Big Hurtin said:

I don't get it.  They are already on NBC Sports Chicago.  I get that the agreement will be new, but doesn't the channel stay the same?

 

Maybe because the Cubs are a current owner, they have to create a new entity.