WGN to launch half-hour sports show at 10:30 weeknights

Dan Roan and Jarrett Payton

You won’t find live sports broadcasts on WGN-Channel 9 anymore, but that doesn’t mean the Nexstar Media Group station is out of the sports business entirely.

“GN Sports,” a live, half-hour sports show, will air at 10:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, starting January 28. It will be hosted by WGN sports anchors Dan Roan and Jarrett Payton.

The new show will feature “sports news and highlights of the day, in-studio guest interviews on upcoming matches, as well as the latest in sports gaming, fantasy sports and more,” according to an announcement Thursday. Reports will be provided by Lauren Magiera and Josh Frydman.

For the show's opening week Payton will report from Super Bowl LIV in Miami.

Payton and Frydman previously co-hosted “Sports Feed,” which aired from 6 to 7 p.m. Sunday through Thursday on CLTV. Its last broadcast was December 30 — one day before Nexstar pulled the plug on the cable news channel.

“Instant Replay,” the weekend sports highlights show, continues to air from 9:40 to 10 p.m. Sundays.

Last year WGN ended its 72-year run as home of the Cubs. Coupled with the departure of Bulls, Blackhawks and White Sox games (which moved exclusively to NBC Sports Chicago), WGN lost its distinction as the only station in America to broadcast MLB, NBA and NHL games over the air for free.