Recently relocated to Chicago from Hong Kong and seem to have managed to get through winter without losing any digits or the will to live and spring at last seems to be in the air. Mostly enjoying the city so far, but one thing that really bugs me is the omni-presence of the TV set in just about every bar and restaurant. I was somewhere the other night that had more TVs than customers. As someone who tends to be drawn towards the moving images on the screen I find it really distracting (and Mrs Schmidt even more so) that I end up watching something that I don't want to..... Are bar owners being paid to have TV blaring from every angle? And it isn't just the bars - I'm stunned by the number of restaurants that seem to have also caught the same disease. Maybe I'm getting old........

my guess is sports, most want to watch the game when in a bar, or at least highlights (even curling)

I've asked a bartender to turn off a tv or two if it is not busy.

Maybe you need to hit some higher class places. The bar tv turned to sports or soaps (if not sports) is kinda a tradition (not saying it is a good tradition) in Chicago. But, it is mostly places that are not real upmarket.

Personally, I have no problem with asking that the sound be turned down or off or that I be moved to a table away from the tv.

We noticed the same thing when we moved here. Even the higher end places tend to have TVs in the bars, and they are always tuned to a game. I think it's more that Chicagoans (and I'm generalizing here) are more interested in sports than are residents of other cities.

Urgh! Indeed, I eventually caved and got one of these:
http://tvbgone.com
(No, it doesn't work for CNN Airport Network.)

That said, I keep a mental list of places that don't have TVs -- which are often either pricey or divey. There also seem to be fewer in WPB-Logan-Ukie than on the north lakefront.