We’re in an unprecedented time in Chicago sports. Not so much for all the losing fans have endured in the last year, but for their difficulty in watching it.
Never before has a baseball season begun without the primary cable provider in the market carrying Cubs and White Sox games. Comcast continues to air the Cubs’ Marquee Sports Network, but it has kept the Sox’ Chicago Sports Network off its Xfinity platform.
While Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks ownership deserve plenty of criticism for launching a regional sports network at a time when the industry is contracting, it’s time to ask what in the world Comcast is doing.
“We remain open to discussions with CHSN to work toward a fair agreement that reflects the value of its programming and the evolving RSN marketplace,” a Comcast spokesperson told the Sun-Times.
CHSN knew since launching Oct. 1 its path to wide distribution would be bumpy, particularly with Comcast, which has been moving RSNs across the country to its highest programming tier. But it has made deals with Astound/RCN cable and DirecTV satellite, so it’s not as if coming to terms with Comcast should be so difficult.
From the beginning, CHSN’s availability over the air hasn’t sat well with Comcast, and that makes sense. No other RSN in the country is available for free 24/7. But OTA viewing isn’t the way most fans want to watch. There’s no pause or rewind functions, and it isn’t reliable. I can’t tell you how many times my signal has been weakened by the weather.
OTA distribution is part of CHSN’s business plan, which aims to increase the network’s footprint within its teams’ territory to sell advertising. It was never meant to replace distribution it couldn’t achieve locally. It could be considered an act of goodwill until the network meets its goal. Not everyone has taken it that way, though, including Comcast.
Not to diminish the importance of Bulls and Hawks games to fans, but baseball hits differently, even for a Sox team coming off a historic losing season. They play almost every day. How Comcast doesn’t see the value in that is beyond me.
Granted, the Sox don’t have quite the power of, say, the Yankees, whose YES Network was in peril of being dropped by Comcast this week. About one hour before the deadline Monday night, the sides announced they had reached an agreement “for continued distribution.” YES would not be moved to a higher tier — yet — giving a team a rare victory over a distributor.
It didn’t hurt that FCC chairman Brendan Carr injected himself into the dispute, a highly unusual move for the commission, whose focus is normally on broadcast TV, not cable. “I would encourage a quick and favorable resolution for the benefit of everyone,” Carr wrote on X. “The FCC does have authority to step in and address claims of discriminatory conduct.”
Carr isn’t likely to enter the fray between Comcast and CHSN, but if the cable company is looking for some positive press after YES, with Carr’s support, called its bluff, putting CHSN on the air would be a layup. Fans who have made watching Sox games a family ritual would have that back.
A reader in northwest Lake County who’s a Comcast subscriber emailed to say he and his family had watched every Sox Opening Day together since 1977. He even subscribed to SportsVision before cable arrived. Their ritual included a loaded menu of take-out BBQ and a bunch of sides. It didn’t happen this year. He listened to the game on the radio, “but I prefer moving pictures.”
Meanwhile, the Cubs’ Marquee continues to air on Xfinity’s Popular tier under seemingly endless short-term agreements. Like CHSN, Marquee expects to appear on the Ultimate tier at some point, but Comcast keeps allowing it to kick that can down the road. Why it won’t grant such grace to CHSN is bewildering.
The endgame appears to be Comcast putting both RSNs on the Ultimate tier at the same time. Industry insiders believe the company is delaying the inevitable. It’s going to happen. The question is when.
It’s baseball season. It’s time.
Remote patrol
Ricky Cobb, the Chicago-area resident who runs the Super70sSports account on X, will host his OutKick.com daily show at 10 a.m. Friday from Roadhouse 66 Gas N’ Grill in Wrigleyville. Cubs Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins will appear at the top of the show.
• WCIU-Channel 26 will carry CHSN’s broadcast of the Blackhawks-Penguins game at 6 p.m. Tuesday, as well as pregame and postgame coverage. The move alleviates a three-team conflict that day on CHSN, which also has White Sox-Guardians at 3 p.m. and Bulls-Cavaliers at 6.
• The NBA announced the Play-In Tournament schedule. If the Bulls finish with the seventh or eighth seed, they’ll play April 15 on TNT. If they finish with the ninth or 10th seed, they’ll play April 16 on ESPN. A potential second Play-In game would be April 18 on either network.
• Former WGN-TV sportscaster Dan Roan is the new host of “Golf360,” a 30-minute magazine-style show that airs on Marquee Sports Network. Former Bears longsnapper Patrick Mannelly will continue as co-host. The first monthly episode will air throughout June.