Chicago Sports Network will be the new television home for the White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks when it launches in October, the regional sports network announced Monday.
CHSN will replace NBC Sports Chicago, which has been the team's home since October 1, 2004, when it launched as Comcast SportsNet. NBCSCH's deal with the teams expires on October 1.
The question that will definitely be on everyone's minds: Will we be able to see it?
It may seem easy for CHSN to replace NBCSCH in viewers' channel guides, but it's not that simple. Although the network said it would launch with agreements with cable, streaming and streaming providers, it did not mention any of them in its announcement. Comcast, the largest provider in the Chicago market, has been playing a rough game with RSNs lately.
Comcast dropped Diamond Sports Group's 18 Bally-branded sports channels on April 30 after Diamond declined to move them up a tier. On Friday, Cubs president of business operations Crane Kenney said on The Score that he is concerned Comcast will drop the team's Marquee Sports Network when its carriage deal expires in September. A Comcast spokesman had no comment.
The high cost of carrying sports programming and the limited audience it reaches locally has prompted cable providers to move those channels to higher price levels. Gone are the days when satellite TV viewers supported the roughly 10% who watched sports regularly.
CHSN said it plans to make a series of announcements over the summer covering distribution, talent and programming. The multiplatform sports network owned by Sox and Bulls president Jerry Reinsdorf will broadcast from studios at Guaranteed Rate Field and the United Center, where the stadium is located. The stadium will provide content for CHSN.
Kevin Cross, president and general manager of NBC 5, Telemundo Chicago and NBC Sports Chicago, began personally meeting with those affected on Thursday. He focused on making sure employees got back on their feet.
Standard Media Group will invest in the network and help with its distribution. The content will come from Stadium, which is expected to keep its name when it switches to RSN this fall.
The teams were scheduled to take the field once their agreement with NBC Sports Chicago expires in October. On Saturday, The Athletic reported that the teams will partner with Standard Media Group, a company based in Nashville, Tennessee.
From 1982 to 1983, White Sox, Bulls, and Blackhawks games were broadcast on SportsVision, a pay-TV service created by business partner Eddie Einhorn. It was so ahead of its time that it failed miserably.
People behind the scenes at NBC Sports Chicago, such as producers, directors and production technicians, will help ease the transition. Teams have already informed some current employees that they will be taking this step.
“This may be the best option available,” Mark Janis, co-founder and CEO of Chicago-based Sportscorp Ltd., said Wednesday. “Sometimes you just have to make the best choices available, even if they're not perfect.”
The team's contract with rights holder NBC Sports Chicago expires in October, though there is a possibility the two sides could agree to a six-month extension, in which case the stadium would take over when the Sox begin play next year.
Although Chicago has been spared the market chaos caused by crumbling regional sports networks, there is a lot of uncertainty. From our perspective, teams can conduct their broadcasts in one of three ways.
The network is a joint venture between the three teams and Standard Media, a small company based in Nashville, Tennessee, that invests in CHSN and helps distribute it. Pending league approvals, the network plans to have an expanded footprint in the Midwest, including most of Illinois and parts of Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin.
“As we set out to design the network, we began and ended every discussion with the simple question: What is best for our fans?” said Jason Coyle, president of CHSN. ''What is the best approach to distribution? How can we push the boundaries of in-game and studio production? We plan to serve our fans on as many platforms and in as many markets as our rights allow.
Coyle has worked in sports media leadership positions in Chicago for more than 20 years. He was most recently president of the stadium, which will continue to operate in its current form online and through its app and distributors.
“We're very excited about this,” said Beth Heller, a consultant with M. Harris & Co. The Chicago-based company that handles CHSN communications says the network has a plan to differentiate itself from other RSNs, despite the turbulent time the industry is going through.
“Our model starts with serving fans across multiple means, including expanded distribution by geography and platform,” Heller said. “We are playing the long game here with a mix of traditional and non-traditional revenue streams through expanding platforms and increasing focus on engagement.”
NBCUniversal, which is expected to shut down NBC Sports Chicago, did not comment on the teams' loss, relying on RSN's statement.
“We thank the White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks for the long and collaborative partnership at NBC Sports Chicago,” a network spokesperson said. “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.”
CHSN said it has begun building its staff and launched its website, CHSN.com. Its first games will be the preseason games for the Bulls and Hawks. The Sox will finish this season on NBCSCH before moving on next season.
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