FanSided

The Chicago Blackhawks are having a major issue getting their TV product to their fans

The new Chicago Sports Network is still not available on Xfinity, the largest cable provider in Chicago.

By Todd Welter |
/ Michael Reaves/GettyImages
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Things are not looking for the Chicago Blackhawks during the preseason. Good thing the games do not count. Also, it sounds like no one is watching the contests, either.

However, not being able to score goals or keep opponents from scoring could be a major problem when the games count.

Also, fans not being able to watch the local TV broadcast during the regular season seems to be a major problem the team's new sports network is facing too.

The Blackhawks teamed up with fellow United Center resident, the Chicago Bulls, along with the Chicago White Sox (the Sox and Bulls are owned by the infamous Jerry Reinsdorf), to form the Chicago Sports Network to replace longtime TV home, NBC Sports Chicago.

In the era of cord-cutting and NBC pulling out of the regional sports business, it made sense for the Blackhawks to team up with their NBA and MLB local brethren and take control of their television deal.

Diamond Sports, the operator of the Bally Sports RSN, which has most of the local TV deals for NBA, MLB, and NHL teams, is in bankruptcy and trying to get out of a lot of baseball deals lately. That has led to a lot of volatility in teams' television revenue streams.

The problem is the Chicago Sports Network still has not secured deals with major carriers such as Xfinity and YouTube TV.

Making matters worse, it sounds like YouTube TV, a popular streaming carrier for Generation Z consumers, wants nothing to do with Hawks' new television station.

Comcast owns Xfinity, the largest cable provider in the Chicagoland area. It sounds like a deal could happen, but Comcast prefers to put CHSN on their highest priced package.

The worst part of this is the Blackhawks are looking like the bad guys in this negotiation.

YouTube sounds like they want to deny their Chicago audience Blackhawks games, but the perception is the Hawks creating this network is why Gen Z will likely not get Hawks games.

Now CHSN will be available for free on an over-the-air channel. It sounds like a lot of fans, especially younger fans, do want to go back in time and use an attenna.

Also, the Hawks will now be blacked out on ESPN+, the NHL's delivery service for out-of-market games in markets such as Milwaukee, where there is a decent Hawks fan presence. Or at least that has been the case during the preseason.

While it is smart for the Hawks to exploit no hockey teams in markets such as Milwaukee and Indianapolis, the network is still not set up with a digital signal in those cities. Until that is established, those markets with a potential decent following cannot watch Blackhawks games unless the game is on TNT or ESPN.

They did strike a deal with Direct TV which is a start. The over-the-air option is a neat idea. A stand-along streaming service would be a great fall back for those that live in Wisconsin and an Indiana who will not be within range to get the over-the-air signal.

Heck, it would be a great option to be available for Indianapolis and Milwaukee right now to get around the blackouts on ESPN+.

The frustrating part was this network was announced in June, and is only now getting around to getting agreements with providers.

To be fair, rolling out RSNs are never clean nor accepted at the beginning. People left the Sox back in the 1980s for leaving channel 44 for Sportsvision. Ten years later, cable was practically accepted as the way you got television.

Plus, deadlines spur deals, and maybe the Hawks, Sox, and Bulls are hoping the over-the-air option will force Comcast's hand into making the station available on all packages.

It just feels like CHSN dragged their feet. Everyone knew the Hawks season was starting on October 8th. This was not a shock. Let's remember, the key is that it feels like, since behind the scenes, maybe the people in charge were working on deals only to face roadblocks.

The roadblock is being on the higher-price tier.

Being on a higher-priced package is what teams fear the most. They crave the carriage revenue from all the paying customers, not the ones who want it. That is what has caused these battles between carriers and RSNs.

The carriers, well mostly the customers who have cut the cord, are getting tired of paying higher prices for a station only a target audience consumes.

That is why they want to put the RSNs on the higher-priced packages. That might be something owners and the leagues will have to accept if they want to keep the local TV money revenue to roll in.

The other option is to eliminate blackout restrictions, so fans who prefer to use streaming or live out of the market but within the "home territory" can still get their Blackhawks games. If owners were willing to see that is another leverage option for better tiering placements, then there would be no problem at all.

Instead, it feels like, keyword feels like, the owners still want these blackouts to protect their own backyard not realizing that audience is consuming their products in different ways.

The whole reason the Hawks became popular in 2008 was Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Duncan Keith. Also, because home game were finally available on television. Now, here we are 14 years later with none of those three players and situation where all games are not available to most of the audience.

Well, it is available if you have Direct TV, Astound, or live with the signal of channels 66.2 and 66.3. The problem is not many people want to go back in time to use rabbit ears, and some have no clue what the heck they are. You know, the all-important 18-34 demographic.

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