News & Updates
Ryan Chiaverini
Ryan Chiaverini is co-host of ABC 7's popular talk and entertainment show, Windy City LIVE, which airs weekdays at 1 PM, Midnight and Sunday evenings at 11:30 PM.
Formerly the sports anchor for ABC 7's top-rated weekend newscasts, Chiaverini auditioned for Windy City LIVE and was chosen for the top co-host job from a field of several hundred candidates. His charm and ease as an interviewer were first noticed when he hosted ABC 7's Bears' pre-game show, THE CHICAGO HUDDLE. Ryan's quick wit, work ethic and reputation as someone you can't help but like, made him the perfect choice for ABC 7's new local show. Ryan's trademark "2-Minute Warning" segments, featuring entertainment and sports celebrities answering fun trivia questions, has become a Windy City LIVE favorite.
Chiaverini has interviewed some of the biggest names in entertainment, sports and music including Will Ferrell, Jimmy Kimmel, Jane Lynch, Bonnie Hunt, Mike Tyson, Chance the Rapper, Barry Manilow, Patrick Kane, Kerry Woods and Joe Maddon.
Prior to Windy City LIVE, Chiaverini joined Chicago's Number One sports team as sports reporter/fill-in anchor in March, 2006 was promoted to sports anchor on the station's weekend newscasts.
Chiaverini's passion for sports runs deep in his bloodline. His father, Eddie, was a stand-out hockey player and was a member of the Sr. Los Angeles Kings. His uncle, Tony Chiaverini, fought Sugar Ray Leonard in a nationally televised super welter weight bout at Caesars Palace in 1979. Ryan's younger twin brother (by eight minutes) went on to play professional football in the NFL for the Browns, Cowboys and Falcons and now coaches football at UCLA.
Chiaverini attended college at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where he majored in Broadcast/Journalism and played strong safety for the Buffalo football team. One of Ryan's fondest memories is being able to play football with his twin in both high school and college.
A native of Corona, California, Chiaverini's hobbies include playing hockey and guitar.
Ryan Chiaverini debuts ‘This Is Country’ music video
Windy City LIVE Co-Host Ryan Chiaverini has written and recorded a country music song he’s about to share with the world as a tribute to his late mother.
The music video for “This Is Country,” which Chiaverini co-produced and co-edited, will debut on his show today.
Now in its eighth season, “Windy City Live” airs at 1 p.m. Monday through Friday on ABC-owned WLS-Channel 7 (rebroadcast at midnight weekdays).
To record the song and produce the video, Chiaverini assembled a group of Chicago musicians he’s known for years in the studio of Jim Peterik, the Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter and founder of the band Survivor. Peterik also appears in the video.
Chiaverini said he was able to play “This Is Country” acoustically for his mother, Edna Avery, before she died of cancer in February 2017. The video ends with a tribute to her and a link to donate to cancer research via Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
“My mom liked to kid me that someday I’d leave TV to become a rock star,” he said. “I told her that’s not going to happen, but music is a passion and a great hobby. Getting the chance to produce this song with such accomplished musicians was amazing. And if I can raise money for cancer research to honor my mom, that would be the best feeling in the world for me.”
Chiaverini’s father, Ed, was a guitarist for The Lively Ones, whose 1963 instrumental hit “Surf Rider” was featured in the movie “Pulp Fiction.”
“This is Country” is the second song and music video Chiaverini has released. In 2014 he recorded a rock tune titled “Chicago,” to shine a spotlight on suicide and raise funds for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. His younger brother Zach took his own life at age 20 in 2009.
Chiaverini, a Southern California native, joined ABC 7 as a sports reporter in 2006 from KUSA, the NBC affiliate in Denver. He was promoted to weekend sports anchor in 2009. He was tapped to co-host “Windy City Live” with Val Warner in 2011.