Starting Oct. 1, the Blackhawks, Bulls and White Sox have a new TV home — but many in Chicago won’t be able to see it.
Here’s what to know about the Chicago Sports Network.
So what’s happening — and why now?
The Chicago Sports Network — a joint venture among the three teams and Nashville, Tenn.-based Standard Media — is supplanting NBC Sports Chicago, the 20-year-old regional sports network whose broadcast rights expired after the Sox season ended.
NBC Sports Chicago, founded as Comcast SportsNet in 2004, was a partnership between cable giant Comcast and the Cubs, Sox, Hawks and Bulls. A ratings and revenue winner for most of its run, it covered Cubs and Sox World Series championships, three Hawks Stanley Cups and several Bulls playoff appearances.
But the Cubs broke off to form the Marquee Sports Network in 2020, and regional sports networks, long the cash cow of pay TV, have struggled financially in recent years as cord-cutting takes its toll on the cable bundle.
Enter CHSN.
How to watch
The 24/7 regional sports network will air for DirecTV subscribers across a five-state footprint that includes Illinois, Iowa and portions of Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan.
“We have always prided ourselves on being a sports leader and intend to remain at the forefront,” Rob Thun, chief content officer for DirecTV, said in a news release.
CHSN will be included in the 125-plus-channel Choice Package on DirecTV, which costs $74.99 per month. DirecTV has about 300,000 subscribers in the Chicago area. DirecTV subscribers can find CHSN on Channel 665, and for U-verse it’s Channels 1741 (HD)/741 (SD) — the same ones NBCSCH had.
Another option: FuboTV, which struck a deal with Chicago Sports Network on Oct. 25 ahead of the Bulls’ second regular-season game. Fubo, a leading national streaming service that focuses on live sports content, will include CHSN for subscribers in the Chicago market as part of its base Pro plan, which costs $79.99 per month, with a $20 discount off the first month, the company said.
If those aren’t options for you, it’s time to break out the TV antenna. CHSN struck a deal with WJYS-Ch. 62, a full-powered UHF station licensed to Hammond that broadcasts from Willis Tower. The main channel has 24/7 religious programming, while its two digital subchannels air shopping networks. But come Tuesday, those two digital subchannels — 62.2 and 62.3 — will carry CHSN in high definition for anyone who can capture the signal with a TV antenna.
White Sox fan Joe Isbell watches a game against the Angels at BallPark Pub in Chicago on Sept. 26, 2024. (Tess Crowley/Chicago Tribune)
About 15% of the 3.46 million homes in the Chicago market watch TV using an antenna, according to Nielsen.
Gray Media television stations in Rockford and South Bend both flipped the switch to join the fledgling regional sports network ahead of its two-hour premiere show at 5 p.m. on Oct. 1. In Rockford, CHSN is on the air with Gray Media on WSLN-TV’s digital subchannels, 19.3 and 19.4, while the network has also gone livef in South Bend on WNDU-Ch. 16.2, with overflow programming on channel 16.4.
CHSN has yet to secure a carriage deal with Comcast, the largest pay-TV platform in the market with nearly 1 million subscribers and the former partner with NBCSCH.
Comcast, according to sources, desires to move CHSN to its “Ultimate” tier, whereas the channel’s predecessor NBC Sports Chicago was on the “Popular” tier. The “Ultimate” tier would mean a higher monthly fee for customers. That’s what it did with SportsNet Pittsburgh, which meant a $20 increase for subscribers who wanted to keep watching the Penguins and Pirates.
CHSN and its teams — the Bulls, Hawks and White Sox — have said they want to avoid going to the higher tier.
“We have made two substantive offers,” CHSN president Jason Coyle said on Oct. 19. “It’s important to know they have made none. There are no offers back from Comcast. We have received none. There are none to sign. There is no deal ready for us to sign. We have received no offers, there’s nothing for us to say ‘yes’ to. There are reports (of a Comcast) offer — and obviously they came from somewhere — but I’m just telling you it’s not accurate.
“Our last offer to them showed our extreme, reasonable approach. We voluntarily are taking a significant financial haircut. So not flat, not a little bit down, significantly down. We are willing — in order to make sure that more people could watch — to take less money.”
What happens if two games are airing at the same time?
Just like with NBC Sports Chicago, there is a CHSN and a CHSN+ to accommodate for those instances.
For DirecTV users, it will be 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, and then CHSN SD Channel 370 and CHSNPLS SD Channel 371. All the over-the-air deals also include two channels to handle the overflow.
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 Oct. 17, 2024. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
CHSN finished an atrium studio at the United Center where fans will be able to interact with the live Hawks and Bulls game broadcasts. A studio for Sox games at Guaranteed Rate Field is also in the works for next season, Coyle said.
The Bulls and Hawks will share a studio in the United Center’s east atrium in the space previously used by Stadium for shows such as “The Rally.”
“That’s a new model that really I haven’t done before,” analyst Kendall Gill said of the Bulls show he’ll be a part of, “but I’m excited to see what it’s like. … Maybe a celebrity with local ties, or if (Bears quarterback) Caleb Williams perhaps came to the game, maybe he sits in the third seat for a segment or two, things like that.
“So you get a different perspective from people from different sports.”
What it means for the Blackhawks
Blackhawks center Connor Bedard looks to pass the puck in the third period against the Sabres at the United Center on Oct. 19, 2024. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
CHSN will air 69 regular-season games; any updates to the TV schedule will post on CHSN.com.
Veteran NHL announcer Rick Ball and analyst Darren Pang will handle the Hawks telecasts.
For pregame and postgame shows, Pat Boyle, a Chicago sportscaster for two decades, will be joined by analyst Tony Granato, a former NHL player and coach, and studio contributor and backup analyst Caley Chelios, daughter of Hawks legend Chris Chelios.
What it means for the Bulls
Bulls fans wave red towels while cheering at the beginning of an NBA Play-In Tournament game against the Hawks at the United Center on April 17, 2024. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)
CHSN will air all 82 regular-season games — as well as the five preseason ones, which began Oct. 8 in Cleveland.
Only five games in the 2024-25 season will air nationally: Nov. 7 at home against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Nov. 23 at home against the Memphis Grizzlies and April 6 at the Charlotte Hornets will be broadcast on NBA TV, and Nov. 20 matchup at the Milwaukee Bucks and Jan. 17 at the Hornets will be broadcast on ESPN.
Adam Amin and Stacey King will call Bulls games for CHSN.
The pregame, halftime and postgame shows will include host Jason Goff, Gill and sideline reporter and insider K.C. Johnson, a former Bulls beat reporter for the Tribune. Former Bull Will Perdue, who served as a studio analyst for NBCSCH, won’t resume that role for CHSN.
“Bulls Countdown Live” will air before every regular-season game and “Bulls Postgame Live” immediately following each game.
What it means for the White Sox
A logo for the future Chicago Sports Network is displayed on the video board before a game between the White Sox and Angels at Guaranteed Rate Field on Sept. 25, 2024. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)
There’s no word yet on the full studio team for CHSN, but Chuck Garfien will return.
Steve Stone and John Schriffen will be back in the broadcast booth. Because who wouldn’t want to see what the Sox have in store as an encore for the worst season ever.
Originally Published: October 26, 2024 at 8:23 a.m.