any update on the status, need to program my tv so I do not miss any sweet Blackhawks action?

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When I am stuck and need to figure something out I always remember the Immortal words of Socrates when he said:"I just drank what?"

They're cutting it very close.

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DirecTV and U-Verse are the first to sign up. Comcast still playing hardball. Hopefully YouTube TV jumps aboard before Hawks drop the puck.

https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports-med ... ts-chicago

I have Comcast. Does this mean I won’t get to watch White Sox baseball?

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Look for an announcement today at 2:30 for more info.

Some lineup announcements....

https://x.com/jon_greenberg/status/1834609179622855071

Glad to see the same faces back, especially Ozzie

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

It's really called CHSN now after being called CSN?

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It's been "NBC Sports Chicago" for a while now. But I guess they had to create some separation from the old brand--I still think of it as Comcast SportsNet ten years later.

What I don't understand is how this works to their favor. Each team owned 25% of the cable channel (20% when the Cubs were in on it) and NBC/Comcast owned the remaining portion. Isn't that going to be more or less the same equation with the new broadcast partner?

Also, how are they replacing the money that they got from people who subscribed to the RSN but didn't consume the product? It feels too good to be true.

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it's all very strangely low-key, the business entity is literally called "Standard Media Group" and has an empty office in Nashville

https://soxmachine.com/2024/05/no-stadi ... st-future/

the actual broadcast will be using Stadium facilities, another Reinsdorf company. Unsure why not just have Stadium become an RSN, but I'm sure it's some kind of expenses reason

So apparently Standard Media owns four affiliates across the teeming Providence, Lincoln, and Paducah/Mt. Vernon/Cape Girardeau markets. And apparently they can teach Chicago a thing or two about starting a television station. This is like CapCities buying ABC, but dumber.

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Sounds like fun.

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Wattabout Kodak Black?

ridiculously quiet on the broadcast/production front. Everyone seems to think it will be business as usual (same as it ever was...Sportschannel>FoxSportsChicago>ComcastSports>NBCChicago) but that's quite an assumption...one would think there would be an effort to cut some corners...I know about a game on Sat 10/18 that appears to be the same as it was last year in terms of tv crew, so perhaps the transition will be seamless

I do know they're putting the studios in the United Center, whatever difference that will make.

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whoops, NBC Sports Chicago never really caught on with me I guess, I've always still thought of it as CSN.

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It's a subchannel of WJYS. No carriage on Comcast.

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Will this channel be available directly to consumer without having to subscribe for Comcast, DirecTV, YouTube, etc.?

Would you have to be "in-market" in get this streaming (i.e. not in California)?

If it is like the new one here in Pittsburgh Comcast has it and the only streaming is Fubo.

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If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.

yes and no

Only carriage so far is with DirecTV. It'll be available locally without a provider, but on over-the-air antenna https://radiodiscussions.com/threads/ch ... -3.773183/

I highly doubt this cheap operation will develop their own OTT app and subscription model

The similar setup being rolled out in Seattle cut a deal with Amazon Prime as well as going over the air. Not sure what their blackout rules are, if any.

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"When people want their version of the truth, they go find it, no matter how baseless their beliefs." -- Ken Rosenthal

To the best of my knowledge, the territory maps are still in play, with ESPN+ holding exclusivity for out-of-market rights. The Blackhawks' territory is roughly the following media markets:

Chicago
Rockford
Quad Cities
Peoria-Bloomington
Champaign-Springfield-Decatur
Quincy-Hannibal-Keokuk
Des Moines
Cedar Rapids
Ottumwa
Fort Wayne
South Bend
Indianapolis
Lafayette
Terre Haute
Evansville

Strangely enough, not Milwaukee, which belongs to the Wild, who give them like 20 games a year as a relic of when the Brewers and the Minnesota teams shared an RSN.

They've found stations in South Bend and Rockford that will simulcast 62.2 over the air, but no such luck for the others. If there's no independent streaming option nor cable carriage for the other markets in the Blackhawks' territory, you might be out of luck, stuck in a donut hole of no out-of-market package nor in-market coverage. Call it growing pains.

EDIT: the Bulls' territory is a little different, they give up most of Indiana to the Pacers but I think they get the entire state of Illinois plus the Missouri side of the St. Louis market, so if you're in Mount Vernon for some reason, maybe you'll have the same problem too.

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I can't help but think Reinsdorf really screwed the pooch on this one and that they're going to lose a ton of money on this. With NBCSN Chicago, the rights deals were there and you had guaranteed income from every TV subscriber, including YTTV in the market. Now you're punting all of that to go on a sub channel where you'll need advertisers alone to pay your bills. I can't imagine what the sales call is like when you try to sell ads for the White Sox broadcast next year.

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“When I walked in this morning, and saw the flag was at half mast, I thought 'alright another bureaucrat ate it.'" - Ron Swanson

I've been struggling with this one as well. It's no secret that RSNs are dying: many have lost teams and some have shut down outright, mostly the Bally/Sinclair and AT&T ones out west (Denver, Phoenix, San Diego, Portland, Las Vegas/Utah). The ones that are majority-owned by their teams, however, are chugging along, with the exception of Chicago's, which was 80% the teams and 20% Comcast. Chicago isn't dealing with the AT&T or Bally problem, so this feels premature. I'm not sure how they're coming out ahead.

I suppose the plan is to replace the universal carriage fees, which subsidized viewers by penalizing non-viewers, with pricier but more flexible subscription packages: pay $25/month to watch all the Chicago sports you want on your phone/tablet/smart TV in glorious 4K, and then if you're willing to sit in front of your TV and test fate by trying to pull down a subchannel of WJYS off your $15 Chinese-crap antenna, you can try that if you want, I guess. And that'll be the new business model across regional markets: a goodwill gesture of free programming with a premium option. The business model had to change with cord-cutting, but they're never going to stumble upon a better business model than making people pay $8 a month for a product they never consume.

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Spitballin' here:

The NHL's ESPN deal, also includes farming out the old out-of-market package to ESPN+, runs through 2029. The Rogers deal for Canadian TV expires in 2026, and they've already begun subcontracting out their Monday night games to Prime Video. I think the NHL will follow the lead of MLS and sell a leaguewide streaming contract: MLS is on Apple TV+, so I could see the NHL going to Prime. This would mean the end of territorial restrictions and the beginning of everything being available to everyone for a price. The Chicago Sports Network and the OTA/DTC models elsewhere around the league are likely just a stopgap until the league can get the big enchilada. Sure, the CBC and an American network will get their little cutouts, but you gotta believe that's the eventual goal.

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Just received and email from xfinity. Cliff notes version is 'NBC Sports Chicago goes away Sept 30th. We don't carry the new channel'.

I received similar from youtube TV back on September 11

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"I honestly don't see a good bet on the board here."

I feel like this is a question I'm supposed to answer, not ask, but why isn't WJYS a must-carry?

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CH, how are people supposed to watch these games? Is it stand alone streaming?

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Hawaii (fuck) You

They're supposed to buy a digital antenna and hope that it's powerful enough to pick up a weak signal. There's no DTC option yet.

I'm not sure what they're doing.

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Sounds like the same unrealistic hope of Jerry’s 2024 White Sox.

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Hawaii (fuck) You