The first phase of the CHSN rollout has been a unmitigated disaster. Despite the public outcry, CHSN has not made any concessions to “regular fans” of the Chicago Blackhawks.
On Wednesday night, CHSN and Blackhawks found another way to frustrate and demoralize their fanbase. The Hawks were scheduled to play the Boston Bruins on TNT. With the game being on TNT, it meant Comcast subscribers could watch their first game in weeks.
Word surfaced earlier in the week that the game would be blacked out in Chicago to support the launch of CHSN.
ANOTHER UPDATE: #Blackhawks say game tonight vs. Bruins will NOT be blacked out on TNT. It WILL coexist nationally on TNT and MAX and locally on CHSN.
That’s NOT what TNT told me yesterday. But at this point, I don’t know what to tell you. 🤷
— Jeff Agrest #🟦 (@JeffAgrest) December 4, 2024
Most fans in Chicago got through the middle of the first period before error messages started appearing.
Bruins score, #Blackhawks game goes dark on @NHL_On_TNT. pic.twitter.com/rjRRIfrJBo
— Jeff Agrest #🟦 (@JeffAgrest) December 5, 2024
Phil Thompson of the Chicago Tribune then conducted a poll of sorts on his X/Twitter account. It appears if you were in the Blackhawks’ viewing area, the game was blacked out on TNT. If you were outside of the area, you were able to get the game on TNT. Other people found success switching to Max to watch the game.
Bottom line is this: Local Blackhawks fans were once again unable to watch their favorite hockey team.
Awful Announcing did some digging and found this out:
Awful Announcing also stated that the league determines which games are blacked out locally and sometimes they black out games to help local providers, such as CHSN. So, once again the failure of CHSN has hurt Blackhawks fans and their viewing experience.
Not that the game was worth watching, as the Hawks were embarrassed again by a better team. Embarrassment is the theme of the Blackhawks this season.
Analysis
I was one of the 19,723 in attendance for the game, and let me tell you, the situation is bleak for the Blackhawks. The building was bored, the team played with no energy and fans were more concerned with chatting than actually watching the game.
While I was at the game, I overheard several fans discussing how they use an antenna to watch games. The fans emphasized how they have to move it around just like in 90s. When the fans discussed the app, the fans said “watching more Blackhawks would be punishment in itself.” Paying more to watch this Hawks team was laughable to those fans.
It was refreshing to hear other fans feel that the same way I do. It was especially heartening to hear fans out of my social circles have the similar views to mine.
Blackhawks’ problems
As I have stated before with the CHSN situation, I see the Blackhawks’ problems as three fold. The first problem is that the product on the ice is atrocious. Hopefully firing Luke Richardson gets the team playing better. While this is a big story among diehards like myself, his firing will not move the needle for the casual fan. Anders Sorensen has a tall order ahead of him on and off the ice.
The second problem is that most fans in the Chicago market cannot watch games. As I have stated before several times, CHSN is costing the Blackhawks fans and pushing them farther out of fans’ minds. The loss of fans will be to big an for issue for the Blackhawks to overcome in the future.
The third major issue facing the Blackhawks is their alliance with Jerry Reinsdorf. Mark Lazerus surmised the Wirtz family relationship with Reinsdorf best:
So, while the blackout of Wednesday night’s game on TNT might have just been another misstep in the CHSN saga, the collection of blunders is mounting to cost the Blackhawks in the present and future.