The Blackhawks Problem with the Chicago Sports Network
Photo credit: Barrett Media
The Chicago Blackhawks have a problem with the transition from NBC Sports Chicago, to the Chicago Sports Network.
Standard Media, the Wirtz Corporation, and Jerry Reinsdorf own the Chicago Sports Network.
The regional sports network is having some issues with its launch, as fans haven't been able to watch Blackhawks games on the CHSN which has been the source of outrage for some time.
Since 2004, Chicagoans could watch the Bulls, White Sox and Cubs on NBC Sports Chicago. The Blackhawks did not join the network until 2007 after Bill Wirtz passed away and Rocky Wirtz became the chairman of the Blackhawks. The priority of the chairman was put to the Hawks on TV. Now, it appears Blackhawks are being once again subjected to the «Bill Wirtz policy» of the dark day of the franchise. This is so reminiscent of the franchise that ESPN Page 2 ranked «Worst Franchise in Sports.»
Fans have been subject to blackouts as a result of this careless business practice, and the CHSN has yet to seal a deal with a distributor.
«The entire premise of Chicago Sports Network, somewhat ironically, is to expand the access of the games and the content to all the fans of Chicago,» Coyle said on Saturday evening. «We know how the RSNs and cable in general have been just kind of shrinking over the years and the audience and people being able to watch just going away. And so we saw this as an opportunity to reset to reach all Chicago sports fans, anyone who wanted to watch this, regardless of where they live»
However, this has been anything but the case, as fans have had to access the games through not-so-legal measures, such as streaming sites, third-party VPNs, and whatever solution they can find while Danny Wirtz and the front office continue to make little headway in solving this issue.
The major issue keeping their fans from viewing their local RSN is carriage fees, which Comcase/Xfinity doesn't seem to want to negotiate.
However, this has been anything but the case, as fans have had to access the games through not-so-legal measures, such as streaming sites, third-party VPNs, and whatever solution they can find while Danny Wirtz and the front office continue to make little headway in solving this issue.
The major issue keeping their fans from viewing their local RSN is carriage fees, which Comcase/Xfinity doesn't seem to want to negotiate.
The biggest issue of why CHSN is not on Comcast/Xfinity is because of the carriage fees.
According to digiday.com, «Carriage fees are the fees that pay-TV providers pay to TV network owners to carry the network owners' linear TV channels on the providers' cable, satellite or streaming pay-TV services. These fees are sometimes referred to as ''affiliate'' or ''distribution'' fees and annually bring in hundreds of millions to billions of dollars in revenue for TV network owners.»
The CHSN hasn't helped its image during all of this either as they have refused to cave to Comcast/Xfinity's fees, unlike the Marquee Sports Network which carried the Chicago Cubs in 2020.
They're instead outsourcing lobbying to the fans, instead of putting institutional pressure on both of these networks, so fans can watch their team(s).
Who is to blame
The fans have a right to be outraged about the situation, as ownership in all of the sports teams involved have had a chance to ink a deal before the season begins for the Blackhawks, Bulls, and White Sox.
Instead, Danny Wirtz and Jerry Reinsdorf rested on their laurels and thought a deal would go through instead of examining how the deal with the Cubs went.
Also, since they have adopted a careless attitude, rather than sharing revenue with NBC Universal, and the NHL they will have no revenue for the team and this will place undue pressure on the fans, and players, as they're all on the hook for Escrow.
Reinsdorf and Wirtz have followed Ted Leonsis who has Monumental Sports Network, but have failed to put in the work to seal the deal with Comcast/Xfinity.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 20 | 195 ANSWERS The Blackhawks Problem with the Chicago Sports Network Do you think Danny Wirtz and Jerry Reinsdorf were too ambitious with the Chicago Sports Network? | ||
| Yes | 179 | 91.8 % |
| No | 16 | 8.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
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