CHICAGO — White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks games will soon be broadcast on Chicago Sports Network, a regional sports network the teams will launch this fall.
Chicago Sports Network, also stylized as CHSN, is a venture between the three professional sports teams and Standard Media. It will launch in October with the Blackhawks and Bulls preseason games.
The first White Sox game will air on the network in 2025, according to the network's official press release.
Chicago Sports Network plans to broadcast more than 300 live games annually along with pre- and post-game coverage and multiple 24/7 sports programming. It will be broadcast from the production studios at the United Center and Guaranteed Rate Field, home of the White Sox.
Meanwhile, the remaining White Sox games this year will be broadcast on NBC Sports Chicago, which has been home to the White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks since 2004, when it was known as Comcast SportsNet. The teams are the latest sports franchises to launch their own television network as the regional sports broadcasting model has seen massive changes and challenges in recent years.
It's unclear what cable providers will offer Chicago Sports Network when it launches in October. The network did not say which providers would offer the channel or whether they would have a direct-to-consumer option like a streaming app.
More details about the network will be shared throughout the summer, Chicago Sports Network President Jason Coyle said in a statement.
“Founded primarily by Chicago neighborhoods, places, and lifestyles throughout our great city, CHSN has generated a proud, active citizen of our hometown — and that's where we live, too,” Cowell wrote in a LinkedIn post announcing the network. “Designed by fans to reach and engage as many others as possible — whether geographically or across viewing platforms — we approach every major decision with the same fundamental question: What's best for Chicago fans (what do we want)?”
The network's website is live and only contains a “Coming October 2024” announcement along with the logos of the three teams and a contact form.
The teams' play-by-play announcers and color analysts, who are used by the teams and not the network, are expected to remain. Bulls color analyst Stacey King confirmed on social media that he announced with play-by-play that Adam Amin will remain on broadcast on the newly formed network.
The Bulls, Blackhawks and White Sox are the latest to shake up the regional sports broadcasting model as more teams launch their own streaming platforms. Regional sports networks, which bundle the games of local professional sports teams into one cable channel, have been hit hard financially by cutting cords and paying high fees for broadcast rights.
NBC Sports Chicago launched in 2004, when it was known as Comcast SportsNet, and broadcast Bulls, Blackhawks, Sox and Cubs games. The Cubs left the network in 2020 to launch Marquee Sports Network with Sinclair Broadcast Group.
The White Sox and Bulls are majority owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, who co-owns the United Center with the Blackhawks' owners, the Wirtz family.
It's unclear what will happen to NBC Sports Chicago.
“We thank the White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks for the longstanding and collaborative partnership with NBC Sports Chicago,” an NBC Sports Chicago spokesperson said in a statement. “We look forward to producing high-quality coverage of the teams during the remainder of our partnership, along with continuing our comprehensive coverage of every local pro team in the city on NBC 5 Chicago and Telemundo Chicago.”
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