As we all know, 2026 will be a big year for NBC due to the Olympics, Super Bowl 60, NBA, MLB, NFL, other sports, plus the busy political cycle with President Trump and the midterms so I get why NBC 5 has been making these moves. Last year, NBC 5 lured away Chuck Goudie from ABC 7 to strengthen the investigative team and now this year with Lou Canellis from FOX 32 to strengthen the sports coverage, and as the station becomes highly sampled, they obviously want that momentum from these events to continue beyond these periods, which goes into why they made the investment into new digital proof-state of the art studios, integration with Telemundo Chicago for extended resources, better reporting, and investigative content, as well as being more present in the communities across the Chicagoland region.
The other stations in town better watch out because NBC 5 will be highly sampled this year and may slowly take a half or more of the ratings cake away from channel 7. They have done it before during parts of the 1990s, 2010s, and they might do it again. The NBC O&O stations are in a state of momentum right now due to the stations prioritizing stability and substance, and it is paying off in the ratings, so we will see what happens in Chicago.