Posted by chicagomedia.org on April 09, 2009 at 14:02:35:
Cubs expected to announce Spanish-language radio partnership
¡Vaca santa! Si usted habla español y usted adora los Cachorros de Chicago, aquí es buenas noticias.
The Chicago Cubs on Thursday are expected to announce a partnership with Univision Radio's La Tremenda, WRTO-AM 1200, to broadcast 20 regular-season home games in Spanish, beginning with the Cubs' April 21st game against the Cincinnati Reds.
It is the Cubs' first Spanish-language radio deal in 14 years, although Cubs Chairman Crane Kenney told beat writers last month that it was "something we've been wanting to do," given the growing number of Hispanic consumers.
WRTO-AM already has a deal to broadcast 39 Chicago White Sox games and is the flagship station of pro soccer's Chicago Fire.
The Cubs are reaching out to Hispanics on a number of levels, including its loscubs.com Web site and a nearly completed, $2 million youth baseball field it underwrote.
Like the Chicago Tribune and the Cubs' English-language broadcast outlets WGN-AM 720 and WGN-Ch. 9, the Cubs are owned by Tribune Co. The Chicago-based media company is negotiating to sell the ballclub, Wrigley Field and the team's stake in Comcast SportsNet cable channel to the Ricketts family.
Kenney said in March that he did not think a Spanish-language outlet would cut into ratings for WGN-AM. "I think there's a good argument you could make that if our Hispanic audience wants to listen to the games in their native tongue, they're not going to listen to them in English," he said.
(Phil Rosenthal, Chicago Tribune)