The Chicago Cubs Radio Network (known since 2024 as the

Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines Co., or simply Southwest, is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States that formerly operated on a low-cost carrier model. It is headquartered in the Love Field, Dallas, Love Field neighborhood ...

Cubs Radio Network for sponsorship reasons) is the network of radio stations that broadcast Cubs games on 30 stations in six states. Veteran broadcaster Pat Hughes has been the

play-by-play In Broadcasting of sports events, sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as a sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real time (media), real-time live commentary of a game or event, traditionally delivered in the present t ...

announcer since 1996. From 1996 to 2010, Hughes was partnered with

Ron Santo Ronald Edward Santo (February 25, 1940 – December 3, 2010) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) third baseman who played for the Chicago Cubs from 1960 through 1973 and the Chicago White Sox in 1974. In 1990, Santo became a member of the ...

. After Santo's death, Keith Moreland took over as

color analyst A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The person may also be referred to as a summariser (outside North America) ...

through 2013. Ron Coomer took over color analyst duties in 2014. Zach Zaidman handles the ''Cubs Central'' pre- and post-game shows and takes over the play-by-play for the fifth inning of most games. All 162 regular season

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

games, some

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

games, and all postseason games are broadcast by the network, though not all affiliates distribute the entire slate. The games are transmitted to stations via C-Band satellite service on AMC-8. From 1925 to 2014 (continuously from 1958 to 2014), the Cubs'

flagship station In broadcasting, a flagship (also known as a flagship station or key station) is the broadcast station which originates a television network, or a particular radio or television program that plays a key role in the branding of and consumer loyal ...

was WGN, 720 AM, the lone radio station of the

Tribune Company Tribune Media Company, also known as Tribune Company, was an American multimedia conglomerate headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Through Tribune Broadcasting, Tribune Media was one of the largest television broadcasting companies, owning 39 ...

(which for many years simultaneously owned the Cubs, TV station

WGN-TV WGN-TV (channel 9) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, serving as the local outlet for The CW. It is owned and operated by the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is sister station, sister to the company ...

and its national superstation, and the local newspaper from which it gets its name, the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

''). When it was part of the Tribune Radio Network, the network's non-sports programming included the ''National Farm Report'', a farm news feature hosted by Orion Samuelson; ''Samuelson Sez'' (a weekly commentary hosted by Samuelson); and ''Farming America'', a farm news feature hosted by Steve Alexander (previously by Max Armstrong). In 2015, the Cubs' broadcast rights moved to CBS Radio (later Entercom, then Audacy) after Tribune declined to renew its longstanding broadcast rights. The 2015 season was broadcast by WBBM. After sister station

WSCR WSCR (670 AM radio, AM) – branded 670 The Score – is a Commercial radio, commercial sports radio station, licensed to Chicago, Illinois, which serves the Chicago metropolitan area. Owned by Audacy, Inc., WSCR is a clear-channel station wit ...

's loss of radio rights to broadcast the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

games to WLS in July 2015, it was widely expected that the Cubs would move to WSCR as a replacement. This move was confirmed by CBS Radio on November 11, 2015 and finalized before the start of the 2016 Cubs season. Through WSCR, the games also air on the FM dial via

HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. HD radio generally simulcast, simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD R ...

through WSCR's subchannel on

WBMX WBMX (104.3 FM broadcasting, FM, "104.3 Jams") is a commercial radio, commercial radio station in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, serving the Chicago metropolitan area and Northwest Indiana. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. and airs a classic ...

(104.3-HD2).

Affiliates

References

{{Major League Baseball on the radio Chicago Cubs Major League Baseball on the radio Sports radio networks in the United States

Affiliates

See also

References