On Eve Of Opening Day, Will You Be Able To Watch The Cubs On TV?
By Samantha Abernethy in News on Apr 4, 2012 9:40PM
With the Tribune Co. and DirecTV dispute still unresolved, some bars are in a rush to find a way to watch Thursday's home-opener game without getting WGN-Channel 9 through their satellite hookup. Tribune Co. took its stations off of DirecTV late last week, affecting 30 million viewers in 19 television markets nationwide.
Most sports bars go with satellite TV over cable, so they can get rarer out-of-town games, the type that don't make it to local or cable. The company DataCommTV is working to meet the last-minute demand, and the Sun-Times reports bar owners are going "old school" to get the game.
“We’re going back to the old days,” (DataCommTV manager John) Hallum joked.Televisions are being hooked up to roof-top antennas though something called an ATSC tuner to pick up the free WGN signal. Murphy’s Bleachers co-owner, Jim Murphy, described the fix as “kind of a pain,” but he said he has no choice.
“We’re having to rush to get an antenna set up today,” Murphy said. “Our customers will expect to have the game on.”
DirecTV has asked the FCC to intervene, but it's unlikely that will be resolved in time for the game against the Washington Nationals at 1:20 p.m.