Chicago Cubs: 2017 broadcast schedule released

Fresh off a World Series Championship, the Chicago Cubs will get a lot of national attention this year. WGN-TV will also be celebrating a historic milestone.

Chicago Cubs television and radio ratings were through the roof last year. That comes as no surprise for a team that won a World Series and had a historic season. Once again, all 162 Cubs game will be available on both radio and TV. The TV schedule is going to be all over the place, as it has been for several years.

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WGN-TV will be celebrating its historic 70th season of Cubs baseball. WGN will get 45 games this season, but there is one noticeable difference. WGN-TV will be able to air primetime weeknight games in 2017. Thanks to no longer being affiliated with the CW, WGN does not have any national programming restrictions. WGN is taking advantage of that by airing a station record 24 weeknight games.

WGN’s first game will be Wednesday, April 5th, the third game of the season. WGN will continue to air “The Lead-Off Man” and “The 10th Inning” pre-game and post-game shows before and after select Cubs games.

ABC 7 Celebrates Cubs Championship

ABC 7/WLS-TV will air 25 games this season. The same amount they have aired each of the last two seasons. ABC gets its first game on Wednesday, April 12th, the second home game of the season. This will be a historic game for ABC. Even though they have to wait til the second week of the season to broadcast a Cubs game, they get to broadcast something no other TV network has ever done.

ABC will be airing the Cubs championship ring ceremony prior to the 7:05 first pitch. Coverage will begin at 6:30 pm, and the entire ceremony will be broadcast.

Said ABC 7 President and General Manager John Idler: “There was no bigger sports story that captivated an entire city and country than the Chicago Cubs quest to win the World Series. When we began this partnership in 2015 we knew good things were going to happen, but a World Series win in year two, was magic. We know the Cubs will generate a tremendous amount of excitement again this year and we’re thrilled to showcase the World Champions on ABC 7 Cubs broadcasts.”

CSN Streams All Games

CSN Chicago will get the majority of the Cubs games, as it has for several years. They get their normal 81 games with at least nine being on CSN+ due to conflicts with other live sports. CSN Chicago is in its 13th season broadcasting Cubs baseball. CSN gets the second game of the season on Tuesday, April 4th. This game will actually be on CSN+

When we began this partnership in 2015 we knew good things were going to happen, but a World Series Win in year two, was magic. We know the Cubs will generate a tremendous amount of excitement again this year and we’re thrilled to showcase the World Champions on ABC 7 Cubs broadcasts.”

As an added bonus, CSN Chicago will be streaming every Cubs game live on CSNChicago.com and the NBC Sports app. The pre-game and post-game shows will also be streamed live online. To watch the games online, you must log in on CSN’s website using an account from any cable or satellite provider. These games can be streamlined on computers or mobile devices from anywhere in the US.

Len Kasper and Jim Deshaies return to the broadcast booth for their fifth season together. Kasper begins his 13th season. They will broadcast all games on CSN, CSN+, WGN, and ABC 7.

The Cubs will also have many nationally televised games. For the second year in a row, ESPN will broadcast the Cubs opening game as part of their Sunday Night Baseball. ESPN will also get the Cubs home opener on Monday, April 10th.  ESPN will have at least seven more games. FOX gets at least five games, with those games being aired locally on FOX-32 Chicago.

Radio Coverage

For the first time in four seasons, the Cubs are not changing radio partners. The Cubs will return to WSCR-AM 670 for the second year in a row. WSCR will have every single Cubs regular season and postseason games. Pat Hughes and Ron Coomer return for their fourth season together. Mark Grote will continue his pre-game and post-game duties as well as filling in during rain delays, score updates and more.

Next: What if the Cubs don't win it all again?

The Cubs are poised for another championship run and Cubs fans are going to want to catch the games. It might be hard to find those games on TV since they are so many different channels. Click this link for the full Cubs broadcast schedule.