Posted by Bud on January 20, 2010 at 09:02:31:
Blackhawks, WGN close to inking new contract
SPORTS MEDIA | Radio station nears locking down deal through 2013-14 HAWKS' RADIO TEAM
The resurgent Chicago Blackhawks are close to inking a new three-year contract with Tribune Co.-owned news/talk WGN-AM (720) to remain the Hawks exclusive radio broadcast outlet, according to a source familiar with the negotiations.
WGN-AM is currently in the middle of the second year of its first three-year broadcast deal with the Hawks. The source said the decision was made to do a new contract now because the Hawks and WGN-AM have established an extremely good working relationship.
John Wiedeman and Troy Murray handle play-by-play and analysis respectively for the WGN-AM broadcasts, while Judd Sirott hosts the pre- and post-game shows. The new deal, if finalized, would give WGN-AM a lock on Hawks radio broadcasts through the end of the 2013-14 season. Prior to moving to WGN-AM, the Hawks had a radio broadcast deal with CBS Radio's sports talk WSCR-AM (670) for nearly a decade.
After years as a languishing Chicago professional sports franchise, the Hawks have, in just a matter of a couple of years, become a hot broadcast commodity again. With almost each passing week, the team's ratings for televised games have set new highs on both Comcast SportsNet Chicago and WGN-Channel 9, both of which have a share of the Hawks game telecasts.
The new contract with WGN-AM comes as the Hawks increasingly look to be a serious contender for the Stanley Cup this year. Getting the deal done before the Hawks go into the playoffs could allow WGN-AM to negotiate somewhat more attractive contract terms than the station may have gotten if the Hawks go on to win it all this season.