Since the creation of CHSN, the owners of the Chicago Blackhawks and Chicago Bulls and Chicago White Sox have asked more and more of their fans. Despite all their asks, the Reinsdorf and Wirtz families are not done asking fans to do more to watch their favorite teams.
First ask: Antenna
For nearly 20 years, the Blackhawks were able to be found on Comcast Sports Network Chicago/NBC Sports Chicago on Comcast/Xfinity. Cable users paid the $19.95 per month to get the Blackhawks, Bulls, White Sox and Chicago Cubs in addition to Big Ten Network.
When CHSN was launched on Oct. 1, the assumption was that they would be available on Comcast. Not only was CHSN not available on Comcast/Xfinity, but the network asked you to buy a digital antenna to watch them. As I stated before, antennas went out of fashion in the 1980s. For those people who complained about having to buy a new piece of equipment to watch teams we used to get with cable, CHSN responded with this post.
“That literally took, maybe six minutes.”@thekapman set up his digital antenna on a Roku TV with a little help from @RyanMcGuffey 📺 pic.twitter.com/eppx6NahUo
— Chicago Sports Network (@CHSN__) November 5, 2024
CHSN told fans that they were being unreasonable for complaining about having to buy an antenna because it only takes six minutes to set up. In their YouTube video, CHSN failed to mention how a digital antenna does not have any of the features of modern television. It is also susceptible to all of the pitfalls that made antenna an out-of-date piece of technology.
Second ask: Complain to Comcast/Xfinity on CHSN’s behalf
When Comcast customers were still mad about not being able to get games with the cable package, Blackhawks CEO Danny Wirtz voiced his frustration to the media, but nothing changed. Instead, CHSN then asked the fans to call Comcast/Xfinity on their behalf.
We hear you… Now let @XfinitySupport hear you! pic.twitter.com/GzQJFovY2A
— Chicago Sports Network (@CHSN__) October 17, 2024
After asking fans to get an antenna, CHSN asked fans to call Comcast on their behalf to do something that Standard Media still has not accomplished. As Marquee and the Cubs learned in 2020, Comcast/Xfinity does not negotiate and does not budge on their carriage fees for regional sports networks.
Third ask: DirecTV & FuboTV
When CHSN finally got onto two streaming services, they were not the biggest services available. As stated in prior articles, YouTube TV has gotten out of the regional sports network business.
Their first streaming option was DirecTV. Once DirecTV was onboard, they inked a deal with FuboTV. Since CHSN did not have an easy fix for fans with YouTube TV, they once again asked fans to switch their streaming services to one of their preferred carriers.
Instead of trying to get a deal done with someone else, CHSN asked fans to switch.
Unfortunately, YouTube TV doesn’t carry CHSN…
Switch to @DIRECTV Stream today for the games and coverage you crave. pic.twitter.com/qj3QcYcjRH
— Chicago Sports Network (@CHSN__) November 10, 2024
Unfortunately, YouTube TV doesn’t carry CHSN. But we’re not about to leave you out in the cold…
Switch to @fuboTV for the games and coverage you crave. pic.twitter.com/XErLvMWdDu
— Chicago Sports Network (@CHSN__) November 9, 2024
And now the app
If Blackhawks fans did not want to buy an antenna or have DirecTV or FuboTV, the Blackhawks are now saying that you can use the CHSN app to get games. However, it is going to cost $19.95 per month to watch. You will get to watch a Blackhawks team in the midst of a rebuild. A team that has not made the playoffs in a normal regular season since 2016–17. A team that current sits below .500 on the season and is ranked the sixth-highest in NHL ticket prices. Now if you are a season-ticket holder for the Hawks, you got an email from Wirtz thanking you for your patronage and giving you a CHSN membership for this season, but only for the Hawks. If a Blackhawks season-ticket holder wants to watch the Bulls, you have to shell out $19.95.
If you happen to be a fan of any of the other teams on CHSN, you have to fork over $29.95 per month to watch a middling Bulls team and the worst baseball team ever in the White Sox.
When you compare the CHSN pricing to other direct-to-consumer regional sports networks, Chicago sports fans are still getting a pretty bad deal. As stated before, Altitude Sports has a price of $19.95 per month, but you get 65 Denver Nuggets and 65 Colorado Avalanche games.
Looking around at comparable in-market sports DTCs …
– Altitude+ $19.95/month for Avalanche & Nuggets games.
– Monumental $19.99/month for Capitals, Mystics & Wizards.
– Gotham $41.99/month for Yankees, Nets (YES) and Knicks, Islanders, Rangers, Devils & Sabres (MSG).— Jeff Agrest #🟦 (@JeffAgrest) November 14, 2024
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
As Jeff Agrest from the Chicago SunTimes points out in his tweet, only the New York package is more expensive with frankly better organizations on it. Locally with Marquee, you get Cubs games, spring training games, minor league games and the Chicago Sky, in addition to other sports shows and local colleges, and the Cubs only charge you $19.95 per month. Marquee is currently available on Comcast and through a direct-to-consumer app. If you have Comcast, you can use the Marquee app also.
Fan perspective
Since I am not a season-ticket holder, I now have to pay $20 per month to watch a team that used to be on WGN and CSN, which were included with my cable package.
It is currently easier for out-of-market fans to watch the Hawks through the NHL Center Ice package or a subscription to ESPN+. It is also cheaper for those fans to watch games than local fans.
Local fans were not impressed by the CHSN announcement:
$30 a month to watch the worst sports city in America. What a bargain!
— Mike (@ChiSoxFanMike) November 14, 2024
This is the laziest, most pathetic roll out of a sports network I’ve ever seen. At no point will I get this.
— THE Coach Bruce (@CoachBruce_TDT) November 14, 2024
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
It was so nice having the NBC Sports Chicago on just about every major cable, satellite, and streaming service. This stuff with CHSN is a joke.
Even when the Bulls played on NBA TV the other day, which is on my streaming service, they blocked it out.
Horrible business model
— Illini Fan Nation (@TheIlliniFN) November 14, 2024
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Too expensive (especially if people have to pay for the damn White Sox to see both the Bulls and Hawks) and seemingly lacking an app made for TVs. Rough rollout.
— Tankathon.com (@tankathon) November 14, 2024
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Man, you guys are terrible at your jobs.
— Alan Goldsher (@AlanGoldsher) November 14, 2024
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
As a local Chicago sports fan, I feel unwanted and taken for granted. I feel alienated from the Blackhawks that helped me through tough times in my life. When I was unable to do anything because of a long-term health issue, I had the Hawks to watch. When I was in the hospital before a non-elective surgery, I had the Hawks to watch. After my grandma passed away, I got to the see the Stanley Cup that the Hawks had just won. When my grandpa got sick, I got him a Blackhawks championship hat and we took pictures with an inflatable Stanley Cup. The Hawks were my escape from tough times in my life.
I am sure I am not the only one with memories like these, yet now I feel like I am just a dollar sign for Danny Wirtz and Jerry Reinsdorf.
CHSN’s slogan is “The new home for Chicago sports fans!” There should additional line to that motto. It should be “Chicago Sports Network, the new home for Chicago sports fans, but only if you can pay for it.”