The Chicago Cubs have exercised an option to get out of their broadcast contract with WGN-TV after the 2014 season, sources said Wednesday.



The team notified the Tribune Co.-owned station on Tuesday it had 30 days to agree to substantially higher fees for the 2015 season and beyond, or the broadcast rights would be opened up for negotiation with other media, according to a source close to the situation.



The move not only sets a higher price for the broadcast rights, but shortens the duration of the agreement to 2019, lopping three years off the existing agreement. If Tribune Co. doesn't step up to the plate within 30 days, the team is free to explore other broadcast options for about 70 games televised each season by WGN, opening the door to a potentially more lucrative contract, or perhaps its own cable sports network.



A Tribune Co. spokesman and a Cubs spokesman declined to comment.



The Cubs and WGN-TV have a broadcast partnership that dates to 1948. With baseball rights fees soaring, there is much at stake for both. In January, the Los Angeles Dodgers launched their own cable sports network, striking a deal with Time Warner Cable that will pay the team a reported $7 billion to broadcast its games over 25 years.



Currently, Cubs games are split between Comcast SportsNet Chicago and WGN-TV, earning the club about $60 million in annual broadcast rights fees combined, according to sources. The CSN deal runs through 2019 and includes the White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks as partners. Comcast owns about 30 percent of the network.



The Cubs get about $20 million to air 70 games each year on WGN. While the deal ran through 2022, the option resets the agreement for a five-year term after the 2014 season. The clause included a different fee schedule for the 2015 to 2019 seasons at substantially higher rates, and also called for a fair market value appraisal to be conducted. The appraisal came in slightly below the increased fee schedule, and by the terms of the contract, the Cubs are entitled to the higher of the two rates, according to sources.



The Ricketts family renegotiated the broadcast agreements as part of their 2009 purchase of the Cubs from Tribune Co., owner of the Chicago Tribune and WGN-TV. The $845 million deal -- then the highest in Major League Baseball history -- included Wrigley Field and a 25 percent stake in Comcast SportsNet Chicago.



By exercising the option, the Cubs' broadcast and cable rights will sync up in 2019, giving the team a target date and its full slate of games to potentially form a much more lucrative cable sports network.