Killing Me Softly

When it comes to TV, the White Sox never turned down a deal that threatened to reduce viewership. Lucky for the team, as opposed to baseball fans local and nationwide, the rest of the industry has followed their lead. It all started in 1968, when Sox owner Arthur Allyn tried out another of his visionary ideas (a team plane and proposed sports’ complex were among his others), putting games on UHF station Ch 32. Without a box, you didn’t get to see your Sox. My dad bought a box, which made him the exception among Sox fans rather than the rule. The team bounced around various outlets until Jerry Reinsdorf and Eddie Einhorn became owners; their big idea was to put Sox games on pay TV. I remember an Einhorn interview in which he said they could play games without fans if they wanted. Such love. Pay TV led to cable. All in all, these broadcast decisions opened up the city to that other team. Channel 9 broadcast ever more games—no box needed—starting in 1968, and that insured a whole generation of kids growing up watching Cubs’ games after school. Yes, day turned to night, and the Cubs eventually put in lights at Wrigley Field, but no matter. There would be a new generation of fans who fell in love with the North Siders, with games played day or night. And many of those fans even paid for the privilege. Beginning in 1978, WGN became a “superstation” picked up on cable, this at a time before cable bills caused sticker shock. People in the Chicago area could still watch games for free while viewers nationwide fell in love with a classic ballpark and the antics of broadcaster Harry Caray (don’t get me started). The Sox didn’t have a chance. But then a funny thing happened. All of baseball went the way of the White Sox, to the point that free games no longer exist on TV except for a game of the week; some September and playoff games; and the World Series. If anything, the Cubs have gone to opposite extreme now, with their own broadcast network on cable. I find myself paying for the privilege of not watching them. All of this is a prelude to noting that tonight’s Sox game against the Rays will be on Apple TV+. The team wants everybody to know the broadcast is free, just as long as you have an Apple account. Anybody who doesn’t is a dinosaur who deserves to be shut out of the future. I wonder what the ratings will be, not that MLB cares. Baseball chases after a bottom line in the here and now, the future be damned. Kids becoming lifelong fans because they grew up watching games on free TV? Where’s the profit in that?