Starting Oct. 1, the Blackhawks, Bulls and White Sox will have new televisions, but many in Chicago won’t be able to watch them.
Here’s what you need to know about Chicago Sports Network.
So what is happening and why now?
Chicago Sports Network, a joint venture between the three teams and Nashville, Tenn.-based Standard Media, will replace NBC Sports Network, a 20-year-old regional sports network whose broadcast rights expired after the Sox season. It’s about to replace Chicago.
NBC Sports Chicago was founded in 2004 as Comcast Sportsnet, a partnership between cable giant Comcast and the Cubs, Sox, Hawks and Bulls. It garnered ratings and revenue for most of its run, covering World Series championships for the Cubs and Sox, three Stanley Cups for the Hawks, and several playoff appearances for the Bulls.
But the Cubs spun off to form Marquee Sports Network in 2020, and regional sports networks, long the cash cows of pay TV, have struggled financially in recent years as cord-cutting has taken a toll on cable bundles. being made to stand.
Enter your CHSN.
How to watch
The regional sports network is broadcast 24/7 to DirecTV subscribers across five states, including Illinois, Iowa, Indiana, Wisconsin and parts of Michigan.
“We’ve always prided ourselves on being a sports leader, and we intend to continue to be at the forefront,” Rob Thune, DirecTV’s chief content officer, said in a news release.
CHSN is included in DirecTV’s 125+ channel Choice package for $74.99 per month. DirecTV has approximately 300,000 subscribers in the Chicago area. DirecTV subscribers can find CHSN on channel 665 and U-verse on channel 1741 (HD)/741 (SD). This is the same as NBCSCH.
If you don’t have DirecTV, remove your TV antenna. CHSN signed a contract with WJYS-Ch. 62 is a full-power UHF station licensed to Hammond and broadcasts from Willis Tower. The main channel broadcasts religious programming 24/7, and the two digital subchannels broadcast shopping networks. But on Tuesday, those two digital subchannels (62.2 and 62.3) will carry CHSN in high definition to anyone who can capture the signal with a TV antenna.
White Sox fan Joe Isbell watches a game against the Angels at the Ballpark Pub in Chicago on September 26, 2024. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
About 15% of the 3.46 million households in the Chicago market use an antenna to watch TV, according to Nielsen.
Gray Media television stations in Rockford and South Bend have both flipped the switch to join the emerging regional sports network ahead of a two-hour premiere on Oct. 1 at 5 p.m. In Rockford, CHSN is broadcast on WSLN with Gray Media. In addition to TV’s digital subchannels 19.3 and 19.4, South Bend also launched the WNDU-Ch network. 16.2, overflow programming on channel 16.4.
CHSN still does not have a carriage agreement with Comcast, the largest pay-TV platform on the market with nearly 1 million subscribers and former partner of NBCSCH.
Comcast wants to move CHSN to the “Ultimate” tier, while the channel’s predecessor, NBC Sports Chicago, was in the “Popular” tier, sources said. The “Ultimate” tier results in higher monthly fees for customers. SportsNet Pittsburgh did something similar, which meant a $20 increase for subscribers who wanted to continue watching Penguins and Pirates games.
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CHSN and its teams (Bulls, Hawks, White Sox) have said they want to avoid moving into the upper echelon.
“We have made two substantial offers,” CHSN Chairman Jason Coyle said on October 19. No offers from Comcast. I haven’t received anything. There is nothing to sign. There is no agreement ready for us to sign. I haven’t received any offers and there’s nothing I can say yes to. There are also reports about (Comcast’s) offer, which obviously came out of nowhere, but I’m just saying it’s not accurate.
“Our last proposal to them was indicative of our radically rational approach. We are voluntarily taking a significant financial haircut. It’s not just down a little bit, it’s down a lot. We’re going to spend less money to get more people to see it.”
What if two games are broadcast at the same time?
Similar to NBC Sports Chicago, there are CHSN and CHSN+ for these instances.
For DirecTV users, this is channel 665 for CHSN and 665-1 for CHSNP. Astound also lists two channels each for HD and SD. CHSN HD channel 685 and CHSNPLS HD channel 576, followed by CHSN SD channel 370 and CHSNPLS SD channel 371. All wireless transactions also include two channels for handling overflows.
What else will be new? Blackhawks fans watch the Blackhawks Countdown Live Pregame Show from the back of the studio before the home opener at the United Center on October 17, 2024. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
CHSN has completed the Atrium Studio at the United Center where fans can watch live coverage of Hawks and Bulls games. A studio for Sox games is also being built at Guaranteed Rate Field for next season, Coyle said.
The Bulls and Hawks will share a studio in the east atrium of the United Center, a space the stadium previously used for shows such as “The Rally.”
“This is really a new model that I’ve never done before,” analyst Kendall Gill said of his Bulls show. …Maybe it’s a celebrity with local ties, or if (Bears quarterback) Caleb Williams came to the game, he might be sitting in the third seat for a segment or two. , something like that.
“So you get different perspectives from people in different sports.”
What it means for the Blackhawks Blackhawks center Connor Bedard tries to pass the puck during the third period of a game against the Sabers on Oct. 19, 2024 at United Center. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
CHSN will broadcast 69 regular season games. TV programming updates will be posted on CHSN.com.
Veteran NHL announcer Rick Ball and analyst Darren Pan will be in charge of the Hawks’ television coverage.
The pregame and postgame shows will feature 20-year Chicago sportscaster Pat Boyle, former NHL player/coach and analyst Tony Granato, and studio contributor and backup analyst Kaley Chelios. (daughter of Hawks legend Chris Chelios) will appear.
What it means for the Bulls Bulls fans wave red towels and cheer during the start of the game against the Hawks in the NBA Play-in Tournament at the United Center on April 17, 2024 (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
CHSN will broadcast all 82 regular season games and five preseason games, which began Oct. 8 in Cleveland.
Only five games will be broadcast nationwide in the 2024-25 season, including a home game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on November 7th, a home game against the Memphis Grizzlies on November 23rd, and a home game against the Charlotte Hornets on April 6th. It will be broadcast on NBA TV and will be broadcast on NBA TV on November 20th. The game against the Milwaukee Bucks and Hornets on January 17th will be broadcast on ESPN.
Adam Amin and Stacey King will be called up for the Bulls game for CHSN.
The pregame, halftime and postgame shows will feature host Jason Goff, Gill and former Tribune Bulls beat reporter, sideline reporter and insider KC Johnson. Bullwill Perdue, formerly a studio analyst at NBCSCH, has no plans to resume his role at CHSN.
“Bulls Countdown Live” will air before each regular season game, and “Bulls Postgame Live” will air immediately after each game.
What it means for the White Sox The future Chicago Sports Network logo appears on the video board before the White Sox-Angels game at Guaranteed Rate Field on September 25, 2024. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
The entire CHSN studio team has not yet been announced, but Chuck Garfin will be returning.
Steve Stone and John Schliffen are back in the broadcast booth. Who wouldn’t want to see what the Sox have in store as an encore to their worst season in history?
First published: October 21, 2024 at 8:39am
