Chicago Bulls, Blackhawks and White Sox games will start airing on Comcast again for certain customers as part of a new agreement between the cable provider and the Chicago Sports Network.
According to the agreement, the games will be available for Comcast's Xfinitiy Ultimate TV package beginning Friday. Games will air on channel 200, a release from the CHSN said.
"We are excited to bring the White Sox, Bulls, and Blackhawks to fans across the region with the launch of CHSN for Xfinity TV and Comcast Business customers,” Chris Smith, senior vice president, Comcast greater Chicago region said in the release.
The deal means more than three hundred live Chicago White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks games will air on the channel. There will also be pre- and post-game coverage, along with Chicago sports-focused shows, the agreement said.
Xfinity’s Ultimate tier will cost customers an additional $20 per month. Customers had been receiving a monthly credit of $8.85 to offset the loss of NBC Sports Chicago, the teams’ former home, which went off the air Sept. 30.
CHSN launched Oct. 1, 2024, with agreements with Astound/RCN cable and DirecTV satellite and streaming, but it has been blacked out for Comcast’s 1 million Chicago-area customers. The network knew its path to wide distribution would be bumpy, especially with Comcast, which has been moving regional sports networks across the country to its highest programming tier.
That move was a sticking point in negotiations with CHSN, which demanded appearing on the lesser-expensive and more widely viewed Popular tier. Also hindering talks was CHSN’s availability on over-the-air TV. Comcast had issues with charging its customers for a channel that was available for free, even though the OTA signal on WJYS subchannels 62.2 and 62.3 isn’t always reliable.
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’ve been considered an act of goodwill with customers until the network met its goal with Comcast, but the cable provider didn’t see it that way.
During its blackout on Comcast, CHSN has been pushing its direct-to-consumer streaming service, which costs $29.99 per month and $349.99 per year for all three teams. The network also is available on streamer FuboTV.
While CHSN will air on the Ultimate tier, the Cubs’ Marquee Sports Network is expected to remain on the Popular tier through the season and move to the Ultimate tier before next season.
Comcast NBCUniversal is the parent company of NBC Chicago.