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.