Ravi Baichwal out at ABC 7 after station doesn't renew contract

ABC 7 didn’t renew news anchor Ravi Baichwal’s contract, ending his 20-year run at the station.

“After 20 years with ABC 7, Ravi Baichwal has moved on following the conclusion of his contract,” an ABC 7/WLS-TV spokesperson said. “We wish him well in his next chapter.”

Baichwal, a Toronto native, had been anchoring the 5 and 6 p.m. newscasts since 2023 and won multiple Emmy Awards at ABC 7. In 2007, Baichwal was anchoring the 10 p.m. newscast from the station’s ground-level studio on State Street when a minivan crashed into it. Cameras captured his immediate reaction live.

Baichwal began his career in 1996 at the CBC and hosted his own morning show at CTV from 2002 to ’06.

In 2025, ABC 7 let go of investigative reporter Chuck Goudie, who’s now at NBC 5. In 2021, the station fired sports anchor Mark Giangreco after news anchor Cheryl Burton complained about a joke he made on the air.