We knew the White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks were leaving NBC Sports Chicago to launch their own network in October. Now we know the name of the network, the Chicago Sports Network, which was revealed Monday.
But the network’s long-awaited announcement of its existence didn’t fill in many blanks.
The first game on CHSN (get used to that abbreviation) likely will be a Hawks preseason game. The NHL’s preseason begins in September, and it has yet to be determined where Hawks game that month will air. Bulls preseason games will follow in October, and the Sox will debut next year, likely in spring training.
The network’s studio programming will emanate from Guaranteed Rate Field and the United Center, where CHSN is expanding and improving operations in the space where Stadium is in the Atrium. Sox and Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf’s multiplatform sports network will provide programming for CHSN.
Where we’ll find the network is still in the works. CHSN said it will announce distribution agreements and other news through the summer. But who has the patience to wait that long? Let’s examine three ways we might find the network this fall.
Traditional cable
There couldn’t be a worse time to start a regional sports network. We’ve covered this extensively. Comcast, the predominant cable provider in the Chicago market, is moving RSNs across the country to its highest-priced programming tier. That would significantly reduce CHSN’s distribution.
But don’t be angry with Comcast. Sports programming is expensive. For decades, sports fans’ viewing habits were subsidized by non-sports fans. The day of reckoning has come, hastened by less-expensive streaming services that have drawn customers from cable. If you want to watch sports, you’ll have to pay up.
This isn’t to say that CHSN couldn’t work as a cable channel. With three teams and games year-round, it has the inventory most RSNs lack. But in a market that’s still heavy with cable subscribers, a higher-priced tier would hurt. Launching a streaming option from the start could ease the blow.
Combine cable with broadcast
As a premium channel, CHSN’s audience — and distribution revenue stream — would be limited. One way to address that is to air a package of games on over-the-air TV. SNY in New York does this with Mets games, moving 25 a year to WPIX. (I pushed for the Cubs’ Marquee Sports Network to do the same when it launched for WGN, but to no avail, of course.)
CHSN could either buy airtime on an OTA station and take in the ad sales or sublicense the games to a station and allow it to sell commercial time. Either way, the network would be able to showcase itself to the largest audience available and perhaps entice some viewers to upgrade their cable package. Sublicensing the games could offset some of the losses from being on the highest tier.
Return to broadcast TV
In its announcement Monday, CHSN said it “will launch with agreements in place with traditional cable providers, streaming services and be available via free, over-the-air broadcast.”
The press release didn’t say whether CHSN will be available on those three platforms simultaneously. If that were the case, imagine the channel having the same availability as, say, Fox 32. We could watch it for free with an antenna, we could access it as part of our basic cable package and we could stream it on our devices. CHSN would have the broadest audience possible.
The question is whether it’s feasible. We’re talking about an over-the-air regional sports network. Imagine Fox 32 — sticking with our hypothetical only for convenience — turning sister station My50 into an all-sports channel. How would that end run go over with Comcast?
CHSN said it “will reach a widely expanded Midwest footprint, including most of Illinois, and parts of Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and Wisconsin, pending league approvals.” Partner Standard Media, which the press release said has “decades of experience negotiating distribution deals with cable and streaming services,” will help with that effort.
That sounds aspirational, especially because MLB, the NBA and the NHL would have to sign off on any expanded footprint. But we know CHSN will have a broadcast component. We just don’t know how big.
