Broadcast museum expects to be ‘fully’ open in June

(Above) Museum of Broadcast Communications at State & Kinzie Streets last November.

26-Jan-12 – Fueled by a $2.7 million pledge from media giants Comcast and NBC, the Museum of Broadcast Communications in Chicago expects to “reopen fully” by June 13, its 25th anniversary.

The museum announced the support on Thursday. Comcast will donate half a million dollars worth of 30-second television spots on its cable system to promote the museum. NBC News and NBC 5 Chicago, also known as WMAQ-TV, will “make available” historic artifacts for the museum to display. NBC News has also committed $200,000 to help the museum complete construction of some exhibits.

“We are grateful to have Comcast, NBC News, and NBC 5 Chicago – institutions that have contributed so much to the history of television – show so much support for our new facility,” said MBC founder Bruce DuMont in a news release. “We are excited to open our doors and share the experience with visitors.”

(Left) DuMont (at right) with radio and television legend Larry King at an MBC event on November 5, 2011.

MBC has hosted events at its unfinished new location on North State Street, next door to Marina City, since last June, when DuMont called his museum “a work in progress.”