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CHICAGO — White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks games will soon be televised on the Chicago Sports Network, a regional sports network being launched by the teams this fall.
Chicago Sports Network, which is also stylized as CHSN, is a venture between the three professional sports teams and Standard Media. It will launch in October with Blackhawks and Bulls preseason games.
The first White Sox game will be shown on the network in 2025, according to the network’s official news release.
The Chicago Sports Network plans to broadcast more than 300 live games annually alongside pre- and post-game coverage and 24/7 multi-sport programming. It will broadcast from production studios in the United Center and Guaranteed Rate Field, the home of the White Sox.
In the meantime, 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 broadcast model has seen immense change and challenges in recent years.
It is unclear what cable providers will offer Chicago Sports Network when it launches in October. The network did not say which providers will offer the channel or if they will 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.
“Fundamentally grounded in Chicago’s neighborhoods, venues, and way of life across our great city, CHSN has been born a proud and active citizen of our hometown — this is where we live, too,” Coyle wrote in a LinkedIn post announcing the network. “Designed by fans to reach and engage as many others as possible — both geographically and across viewing platforms — we approach every key decision with the same fundamental question: what is best for Chicago fans (what would we want)?”
The network’s website is live and features only a “Coming in October 2024” announcement alongside the three teams’ logos and a contact form.
The play-by-play announcers and color analysts for the teams, who are employed by the teams and not the network, are expected to remain. Bulls color analyst Stacey King confirmed on social media he and play-by-play announce 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 broadcast platforms. Regional sports networks, which group local professional sports teams’ games onto one cable channel, have undergone significant financial struggles due to cord cutting and paying high fees for broadcasting 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 its Marquee Sports Network with Sinclair Broadcast Group.
The White Sox and Bulls are both majority-owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, who co-owns the United Center with the owners of the Blackhawks, the Wirtz family.
It is unclear what will happen to NBC Sports Chicago.
“We thank the White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks for the long and collaborative partnership on NBC Sports Chicago,” an NBC Sports Chicago spokesperson said in a statement. “We look forward to producing quality coverage of the teams through the remainder of our partnership, along with continuing our extensive coverage of every local pro team in town on NBC 5 Chicago and Telemundo Chicago.”
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