New Chicago Sports Network Launch Has "Dissapointed" Bulls, Blackhawks Fans Alike

The Chicago Bulls, Blackhawks, and White Sox debuted their new home station, the Chicago Sports Network, on October 1st when the Blackhawks visited the Minnesota Wild for a preseason matchup. This network will house the games for all three franchises following the expiration of their NBC contract on October 1st, 2024. Upon airing the first few games on the new feed, many problems have been encountered relating to the reach of this channel and the sub-contracts it fails to hold with other streaming services. Thousands of fans cannot access their favorite team, and viewership is expected to drop significantly. What has gone wrong in the early stages of this new network, and what's the plan to fix it before the meat of the winter season ahead?

Blackhawks Chairman Danny Wirtz Openly Upset About The Changes

The Chicago Sun-Times interviewed the Blackhawks' front office member, who admitted that things were starting on the wrong foot regarding their new network. According to this interview, Wirtz has no qualms with the quality of the streams or what they contain but rather how many fans they are reaching. Chicagoland's primary cable provider, Comcast, has yet to ink a deal with the Chicago Sports Network. This is where the bulk of the missing viewership lies, but without deals struck with Hulu or Fubo as well, CHSN is simply failing in the outreach department.

Sun-Times also reported that it is unlikely the network will ever strike a deal with YouTube, as they have dropped several small sports networks despite being the most prominent television service provider. Games can only be viewed via over-the-air channels 62.2 and 62.3 or the antenna, both owned by the fewest fans. Astound Broadband and DIRECTV have reached agreements with Chicago's latest sports network, so those two services will also house the Bulls, Blackhawks, and White Sox for the foreseeable future.

Angry Fans Before It Has Even Started

Launching the Chicago Sports Network intended to retain more viewership revenue for the respective franchises and reach more of the fanbase. In the early stages, it seems like more of the former than the latter, which has disgruntled fans. The Blackhawks just began their regular season last week, and the Bulls will tip off a week from today. They'll see more fans fizzle out if these issues aren't solved.

From researching the contract issues between Comcast and CHSN, it seems like the network is doing all it can to reach the masses, and Comcast may be the root cause. According to The Athletic, CHSN is trying to join the base package of a Comcast cable deal, whereas the television service is opting for the sports network to join their most expensive tier. For reference, the former home of Chicago sports was in the middle tier in previous years.

CHSN has one week to figure out a better way to distribute their Chicago teams before the Bulls' season opener. Without a way to watch the Blackhawks or the Bulls regularly, a network that was originally conceived to reach more fans and allow the franchises to profit more from the views will reap the polar opposite, a loss of fans and revenue alike.