Starting Oct. 1, the Blackhawks, Bulls and White Sox have a new TV home — but some in Chicago won’t be able to see it.
Here’s what to know about Chicago Sports Network.
So what’s happening — and why now?
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.
Finally, a deal with Comcast
Eight months after launching, Chicago Sports Network finally hit the airwaves on Comcast on June 6 — but for a price.
CHSN is now on the higher-priced Ultimate tier as part of an inaugural carriage agreement with the cable giant. Viewers can find it on Channel 200, where NBC Sports Chicago resided until pulling the plug last fall. For Comcast customers on the lower-priced basic plan, Channel 200 already bears a message that CHSN requires a subscription upgrade to watch.
The Ultimate tier costs an additional $20 per month, on top of the $20.25 regional sports network fee Comcast charges Chicago-area subscribers each month. Comcast has been issuing a monthly $8.85 credit to partially offset that fee during the ongoing negotiations with CHSN. For basic subscribers who don’t upgrade, the $8.85 credit will become a permanent adjustment, bringing the regional sports fee down to $11.40 per month.
In the wake of the deal, CHSN abruptly pulled the plug on June 9 on local TV affiliates in Chicago, Rockford, Peoria, and Fort Wayne and South Bend, Indiana.
That leaves an untold number of fans who may have purchased an indoor antenna, a new receiver or even clambered up onto a roof to hook up an outdoor antenna, with a bunch of wires and a blank TV screen. About 15% of the 3.46 million homes in the Chicago market watch TV using an antenna, according to Nielsen.
Going live on Comcast may have already given CHSN a ratings boost. Sources said the first primetime audience for the White Sox-Royals game was up 66% over the previous week’s Sox-Orioles broadcast, which was prior to Comcast joining the pay-TV lineup.
How else 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.
The network is moving forward with its direct-to-consumer streaming service, bypassing the pay-TV middleman to reach blacked-out viewers. The app, which launches Nov. 15, will offer live access to CHSN, including all Bulls, Blackhawks and White Sox games, as well as other programming. The cost is $19.99 per month for one team’s games or $29.99 for all three, plus the nightly primetime sports talk shows. The service will enable subscribers to stream the regional sports network directly on web browsers, mobile devices and in the coming weeks, connected TV platforms.
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.
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?
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 White Sox
Chuck Garfien and Ozzie Guillén are back as the studio team for CHSN, complete with a new set in left field from the newly rebranded Rate Field.
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.
What it means for the Blackhawks
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
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.
