The year in Chicago sports media was unlike any other. One of the longest-tenured radio hosts was fired, and entire seasons were blacked out — and it wasn’t even summer yet.
Eventually, the radio host became a podcast host, and the blackouts were lifted. All’s well that ends well, we suppose, but the duration of both situations was tumultuous.
The attention one drew and the effect the other had on fans made them the runaway top two stories of the year. But there’s plenty more where they came from. Here are the top 10 Chicago sports-media stories of 2025.
1. Dan Bernstein fired by The Score
You talk about a fish story, that’s what this was in every sense of the term.
In March, Bernstein, then a co-host on The Score’s midday show, caught a northern pike at Northerly Island. An avid fisherman, Bernstein posted a picture of the fish on X with the comment, “This was a helluva fight.” Later, an X user accused Bernstein of killing the fish, noting the blood around its head, to which Bernstein said it was “released successfully.”
But the accusation set off Bernstein, who continued the exchange with threats such as “Wanna fight? I’m a bad enemy, [expletive]” and “Want your kids involved?” The Score took Bernstein off the air for a week before announcing his firing March 21. He had been at the station for 30 years.
Five weeks later, Leila Rahimi was named Bernstein’s permanent replacement alongside Marshall Harris. Bernstein went dark before emerging in August with a podcast for Hubbard Radio with his old producer at The Score, Matt Abbatacola. The station isn’t the same without Bernstein, but Bernstein is the same without the station.
2. Chicago Sports Network appears on Comcast
All of the 2024-25 Blackhawks and Bulls seasons were unavailable on Comcast, the largest pay-TV provider in the market with about 1 million subscribers. The White Sox’ 2025 season was on track for the same fate until CHSN finally appeared on June 6.
Fortunately for fans, they didn’t miss a lot. Unfortunately for CHSN, it did, suffering enormous viewership drops. The network is on the upswing now. Hawks and Bulls viewership was up well over 100% early in each team’s season, which shows how far it fell.
3. Michael Jordan joins new NBA on NBC
It didn’t have the same impact as his “I’m back” fax on March 18, 1995, but Jordan’s return to the NBA scene added to the nostalgia that came with NBC’s return to league coverage. Has he surprised viewers during his “MJ: Insights to Excellence” interviews with Mike Tirico? No. But have viewers clung to every word? Yes. It’s good to hear from him again.
4. Troy Aikman vs. Caleb Williams
Aikman, the ESPN analyst and Hall of Fame quarterback, made waves when he called Williams’ 55-yard touchdown pass to running back D’Andre Swift “lucky” on a “Monday Night Football” broadcast Oct. 13. Aikman was surprised by the backlash he took on social media and from the Bears. “I would challenge anyone to … tell me that any analysis that I gave was unfair,” he said.
5. Harry Teinowitz dies
Teinowitz, part of ESPN 1000’s “Mac, Jurko and Harry” show, which aired from 2001 to ’09, died July 15 at 64. His show, aka the “Afternoon Saloon,” was a hit, drawing big ratings and making the station a viable competitor to The Score. Teinowitz was kind, funny and witty. As former ESPN 1000 boss Adam Delevitt said, “Harry always looked out for the other guy.”
6. Marquee moves to higher tier
Marquee Sports Network was able to put off its inevitable move to Comcast’s highest programming tier because of the Cubs’ success last season. But on Oct. 1, it joined CHSN in the Ultimate TV package, costing customers another $20 per month. The accompanying drop in subscriber fees also cost some employees their jobs. Hopefully, the product won’t suffer.
7. John Schriffen apologizes to Pitching Ninja
The Sox’ TV voice put his foot in his mouth April 1 when he seemingly took a jab at the Pitching Ninja X account. “Pitching Ninja is a real thing, and it’s become very popular,” he said. “But if that’s how you wanna find some info, go for it. It won’t be my source.” He meant to say it won’t be his source because he’s not on X. The gaffe caused considerable consternation at CHSN.
8. Bears draw big audience on Black Friday
The NFL picked Bears-Eagles for Prime Video’s first worldwide Black Friday broadcast, and the game delivered. It drew 16.33 million U.S. viewers, peaking at 20.08 million. It marked a 21% increase from the 2024 Black Friday game and became the most-watched U.S. sporting event on Black Friday since at least 1991, according to Nielsen. Good thing the Bears won.
9. Sports-media carriage fights
CHSN vs. Comcast wasn’t the only carriage dispute that affected Chicago viewers. YouTube kicked ESPN channels off its platform for two weeks during the heart of football season. Fubo dropped NBC channels last month and hasn’t brought them back. The year began with the end of Venu, a streamer that never even launched. See a trend? We’re still figuring out streaming.
10. New media deals for MLB, NBA
Baseball and basketball fans need a TV Guide. In 2026, “Sunday Night Baseball” will move from ESPN to NBC, which also regains “Sunday Leadoff” games for Peacock and gets the wild-card round. ESPN gets a package of midweek games, and Netflix gets the Home Run Derby. The NBA began its new deals with NBC and Prime Video this season. Wait till the NFL reopens its deals.