A new sports media company is knocking on the door of one of the biggest media markets in the country.
CHGOpronounced as it is spelled “CHGO”, is the third sports media market opened by ALLCITY Network after its first location, Denver (DNVR), and its newest – Phoenix (PHNX).
Through written content, frequent podcasts, Discord channels, and merchandise, CHGO is trying to build an open community of sports fans in Chicago.
“We’re a little bit different,” chief content officer Kevin Kaduk said in an interview with DePaulia. “There are outlets that just do fan stuff and there are outlets that just do journalism and I think we have a good mix of both.”
The launch of the company’s third campaign featured Chicago’s newest sports personalities. Some, however, weren’t all that new to Chicago sports fans.
CHGO has acquired Vinnie Duber, former beaten White Sox reporter for NBC, Herb Lawrence, producer of 670 the Score and Will Gottlieb, former beaten reporter for Bleacher Report and The Athletic, to name a few.
Most notably, CHGO hired Adam Hoge, one of Chicago’s most familiar faces covering the Chicago Bears, and Olin Kreutz, a former Bears offensive lineman and frequent on NBC Sports and 670 the Score.
“I think everyone here buys into the vision,” Kaduk said. “They understand that it’s not just about working for an RSN or a newspaper anymore. It’s about starting different platforms. I think people were drawn to being able to have their name in the cornerstone here and build from scratch.
In their West Loop studio, each drummer sits, laptops on their laps, chatting about their team in a modern brick wall aesthetic. CHGO is more of a hangout space for their daily podcast shows. Nevertheless, their reports and content are professional.
“Think about some of the podcasts you love,” Kaduk said. “Do they do it every day from Monday to Friday? Twice a week? If it’s twice a week, you probably want to hang out with them the other three days. I think with us you always know you can tune in and it will be three of your favorite Cubs personalities talking about the Cubs.
One of the podcasters is Nicholas Moreano, a former graduate student at DePaul University, who ran the podcast that was acquired by CHGO, the Chicago Audible, along with his friend Will DeWitt.
Moreano started the podcast as a junior at the University of Iowa, doing postgame reactions after every Bears game. With no journalism classes under his belt and taping the episodes in his dorm room, Moreano and DeWitt built their reputations for scoring credentials to cover Bears games at Soldier Field.
As they continued to grow their channel, they launched two buyout offers simultaneously. CHGO called as the pair were about to sign a contract with another media entity. Ultimately, the pair accepted CHGO’s takeover offer.
“I had never heard of the ALLCITY network and how does that line up with the day we’re supposed to sign another contract?” said Morano. “The Chicago Audible was our resume. They liked what they saw and they made us an offer and that’s how we ended up with CHGO. I still think if they didn’t call us that Friday there? Things happen for a reason.”
Each team is made up of one or more experienced journalists paired with a newcomer. Moreano is considered the Bears’ pace prodigy and he learned from more experienced reporters. . Whether it’s watching a movie, doing homework or live from the show, he’s always ready. Kreutz even taught him how to pass the block effectively in the studio.
“Once I hit him, I was like, ‘Man, this guy is still a wall,'” Moreano said.
Jon Greenberg, a professor at DePaul and Lake Forest College, taught Moreano in graduate school. Greenberg is also one of the founding authors of The Athletic, which recently sold for $550 million to The New York Times.
Greenberg can relate to being part of a sports media company’s journey from the ground up, as he witnessed firsthand with The Athletic. He wrote an article on CHGO and gave them some sound advice on “staying flexible” with who they are and how they produce content.
“The Cubs won our freshman year and we weren’t prepared for it,” Greenberg said. “We didn’t really know how to monetize it. Now that would be huge for us. We were just flying it at the time.
The timing of the launch is important, according to Greenberg from his experience watching The Athletic grow into the media behemoth it is today.
ALLCITY Network CEO Brandon Spano claims to be an expert in monetizing sports media companies. Through advertising podcasts, written content subscriptions, and merchandise sales, Spano has the blueprint for a lucrative media business.
He has already established his success in Denver, the place of foundation.
“We use these buzzwords like ‘community’ and ‘culture’,” Kaduk said. “If you look at Denver, they’ve gotten so big they now have their own bar. People have ‘DNVR’ tattoos. Some people met through DNVR, got married.
The ALLCITY network will expand to other cities this year. But, Chicago is their primary focus at the moment, according to Greenberg.
“Chicago is really their first big market,” Greenberg said. “Chicago is a different animal. Passionate supporters for five teams. It’s their big game, their owner told me. He really puts his chips in Chicago. He put a lot of money into it. »
CHGO’s hook is podcasts, as the team spins them daily. Kaduk mentioned that they had a saying in the studio that “the fourth person in the show is the fan”.
“We want it to be a place where everyone can feel like they can come,” Moreano said. “Whether you are another professional entity, a casual fan or a fanatic. We’re all about community and we just build it to be where you want to be.
