MLB’s Chicago Cubs are slight favorites to win their division in 2025 following two straight 83-win seasons, while the WNBA’s Sky won the 2021 Finals and drafted frontcourt partners Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso last spring. That is where professional sports pride in Chicago begins and ends.
Otherwise, the city’s sports fans have not had much to cheer about in recent years. The NFL’s Bears wrapped up their fourth consecutive losing season despite selecting quarterback Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick last April. The NBA’s Bulls, which wallowed in mediocrity following a one-season wonder, are now destined for a long-term rebuild.
The NHL’s Blackhawks are suffering through their fifth straight losing campaign. MLS’ Fire has recorded one successful year (2017) in the previous decade.
To top it all off, MLB’s White Sox lost 121 games last year, setting a humiliating modern-era record.
Things have gone from bad to worse thanks to another catastrophe: the Chicago Sports Network, otherwise known as CHSN. The network replaced NBC Sports Chicago last October, offering local consumers free over-the-air coverage via antenna.
Unfortunately, it has not come to an agreement with Comcast, which is Chicagoland’s main cable TV provider, or with streaming service YouTube TV — leaving millions of longtime fans in the dust.
“It’s disappointing because I’m not able to really see the games as much as I usually do,” DePaul senior Luis Paredes said.
CHSN carries the Bulls, White Sox and Blackhawks and offers monthly subscription options on its direct-to-consumer streaming app. Fans can pay $19.99 per month to watch one team or $29.99 per month for all three.
Paredes, who follows the Bulls primarily, said CHSN’s current prices are hard to justify when considering the poor product.
“I would pay $10 a month for the Bulls,” Paredes said. “For those three teams, I’d say $15 max.”
Senior Emily Rudick said she would only pay $20 per month if the plan included all three teams. She believes Chicago fans deserve more success than they have received recently.
“We’re a committed fanbase no matter what sport you’re looking at,” Rudick said. “We ride or die with those teams.”
On Feb. 14, Sports Business Journal reported Bulls viewership has decreased 63% from last season — the largest drop in the NBA.
Last summer, the Bulls moved their leading scorer DeMar DeRozan to the Sacramento Kings in a sign-and-trade deal and swapped All-Defensive guard Alex Caruso for fourth-year guard forward Josh Giddey. They then dealt Zach LaVine — who was playing his eighth season in Chicago — to Sacramento for an underwhelming return at the February trade deadline. Recognizable names heading elsewhere makes a viewership downturn inevitable.
However, to Rudick’s point, the Bulls’ fanbase is loyal — often to a fault. The 2024-25 team has drawn 19,871 fans per game, just 750 fewer per contest than last year. The United Center’s capacity ensures the Bulls maintain a high total attendance: They are No. 2 in the NBA this season after finishing No. 1 in the three prior years.
The network change explains Bulls fans abandoning TV coverage in such large droves, which is why CHSN must take serious accountability for an embarrassing rollout.
CHSN reached its first carriage deal with pay service DirecTV less than two weeks before launching. It added streaming service Fubo three weeks into October. This timing came off as desperate rather than providing hope for cable stability.
Bulls and White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, who co-owns CHSN, has cut countless corners throughout the last few decades. He has paid into the NBA’s luxury tax once, in the 2012-13 season, and has not finalized a nine-figure contract with any internal White Sox player or free agent. Reinsdorf’s approach with his teams and the network is insulting but not surprising for existing fans.
The weather is getting warmer, indicating MLB games are on the horizon. The White Sox are far more futile and have a smaller fanbase than the Bulls and Blackhawks — so the only direction for CHSN to go is further down.
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