Like many other NHL teams, mostly those broadcasted on the Bally Sports-branded family of networks, the Blackhawks are changing their television home. Unlike others, they’re not divesting from the regional sports network model entirely. They, along with the NBA’s Chicago Bulls and MLB’s Chicago White Sox, have reached a media rights deal with Standard Media Group to broadcast their games next season and beyond on a yet-to-be-named network, The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus and Scott Powers report.
The move succeeds NBC Sports Chicago as the Blackhawks’ TV home. Their contract is set to expire in October.
Per Lazerus and Powers, the unnamed network will have carriage agreements with both traditional cable providers as well as streaming options. Blackhawks fans within the Chicago media market had the option to stream games on the NBC Sports app if the channel was included in their cable package, but there was no separate streaming-only package offered. It’s unclear if that will change with the new agreement with Standard.
Previous reports indicated the Blackhawks’ next TV deal may have come in partnership with Stadium, a channel primarily broadcasting college sports of which Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of the Bulls and White Sox, is also the majority owner. That evidently will not be the case.
Other teams, namely the Coyotes and Golden Knights, stopped utilizing the RSN model entirely this season and opted to broadcast their games on over-the-air channels. Both clubs also provided additional streaming subscription options that could be purchased by in-market viewers who aren’t cable subscribers.
Can I just get the Hawks and skip the Reinsdorf teams?
Amen to that. I’d rather not watch any Reinsdorf-owned teams on my TV
Good thing I kept my UHF rabbit antennas, lol! :D
@Gbear – If you ever need to borrow my old-ish VHF/UHF combo, just let me know! :)
@Mac – This is why I never throw anything out, lol! :D
@gbear
I think I have the last hawks cup run recorded on Betamax if you want lol.
(Sorry had to join in on the joke because I too remember the pain of rabbit ears)
@Gbear — Me either. Except for a few VCRs that ate my tapes, including Stanley Cup playoff games. That alone is a capital offense in my book. :(
@Mac – This reminds me of whether my two VHS tapes of the Penguins winning back to back Cups in the early 90’s will even play anymore. :(
@Gbear — If I had good advice at finding a non-hostile VCR, I’d happily share it. I had a similar exchange with a friend, and he was surprised I had the problems I did. He had a unit that belonged to his late Mom, and he said it worked fine, only needing a little bit of PM. I think some of my playoff games went back to the 80’s, when Doc Emrick and Dan Kelly were doing games.
@Mac – An old VCR will definately need its moving parts lubricated. But I’m worried the tape itself has deteriorated. Should’ve upgraded to DVR when Genesis video out in Pittsburgh made the offer years ago. :(
@Gbear — And, the belts. I even had a traitorous RCA DVD recorder pull that crap on me. Mangled tapes, and almost as many DVD coasters as readable ones. :(
Pro sports teams need/want more of your money.
Jerry Reinsdorf- a name that every Chicago Sports fan wants to hear. Not! He is just trying to put more money in his pocket!
And he probably wants to buried with it, thus why I refer to him as “The Pharoah”.
I wonder if there’s any truth to the rumor that Standard Media Group (SMG) is next door to SMH. Asking for a friend. ;)