The biggest winner of Kris Bryant’s major league debut? ABC 7.
The local station that secured Cubs’ broadcast rights this offseason fell into a ratings bonanza when the Cubs decided to call up Bryant for today’s game.
With the rights to just 24 of the 162 games and only three in April, WLS-Channel 7 couldn’t have hit it bigger with the huge ratings the Bryant debut will deliver. Comcast Sportsnet has more than half of of the telecasts, while WGN-Channel has 40.
“We really got lucky to have this game,” ABC 7 sports anchor Mark Giangreco told broadcaster Len Kasper during the fifth inning of the game.
Some industry insiders thought it was a risky move for ABC 7 to air daytime Cubs games, considering all the programming that would be supplanted. Turns out just seven of the 24 games will air during weekdays. The rest are on weekends or at night.
And, so far, it’s been a grand slam for ABC 7.
