Chicago Sports Network president says he's ready to make a deal with Comcast, but it is refusing
Comcast has refused to engage earnestly with Chicago Sports Network in negotiations over a carriage agreement, CHSN president Jason Coyle said Saturday.
Coyle went on the offensive in a meeting with reporters, claiming the network he oversees — the new TV home of the Blackhawks, Bulls and White Sox — has made two offers to Comcast/Xfinity but received zero offers in return.
CHSN's latest offer proposed a "significant" free reduction versus what Comcast previously paid NBC Sports Chicago, Coyle said, but even that generated no traction — although communication between the two parties remains ongoing.
"We are willing, in order to ensure more people can watch, to take less money," Coyle said. "They've given us zero offers to say 'yes' to."
In Illinois and the surrounding states, the network is currently available on DirecTV, DirecTV Stream, U-Verse and Astound/RCN, as well as via an over-the-air antenna near certain cities, including Chicago, Rockford, South Bend and Indianapolis. Over-the-air service is also expected to begin within the next couple weeks in Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Fort Wayne and several other cities, Coyle said.
Outside of Illinois and the surrounding states, Hawks games are available through the ESPN+ and Center Ice subscription services, just like they were last year.
Coyle said he expects CHSN to soon reach an agreement with Fubo. YouTube TV has entirely pivoted away from regional sports networks in their business model, and Coyle confirmed CHSN won't be carried there, as previously reported.
CHSN has built a direct-to-consumer app similar to Marquee Sports Network's app — through which customers could pay a monthly fee to watch the channel independently, outside of any TV carrier or streaming service — and they could be technologically able and ready to release it very soon, Coyle said.
However, since CHSN believes releasing that app would further reduce Comcast's willingness to strike a deal, they're holding out for now. Coyle said he doesn't believe the over-the-air availability matters to Comcast, since that's intended to reach consumers who were already accessing TV in that way, not new cord-cutters.
"This is a significant potential partnership and one that our fans and their customers do want," Coyle said. "We did not want to miss any of the games, and we don't want to miss any further games, but we're trying to look at this longer-term as we reset and expand this reach. [Comcast is] a core part of it."
Hawks fans on Comcast missed their fifth consecutive game Saturday when the Hawks hosted the Sabres, and Bulls fans will begin missing regular-season games starting Wednesday with the Bulls' opener against the Pelicans.
Coyle said he hopes the start of the NBA season will increase the pressure on Comcast to begin carrying CHSN, but the channel hasn't set a hard deadline for negotiations with the Chicago area's dominant cable provider.
"I don't know that we're ready to draw a line in the sand," Coyle said. "I'd love to just see where they are. We are ready to move fast. We are already out there at a significant discount.
"We are not being greedy. We just want to give the fans the games that they want, and we don't want them to have to pay more than they used to, and we don't want them to have less access than they used to."
The longer CHSN goes without a Comcast deal, the greater the negative effects on the Hawks will be. Chairman Danny Wirtz said earlier this week the franchise is generating significantly less revenue from the local-TV piece of the puzzle than they used to, and although that will remain true even with a deal, the difference wouldn't be as big.
Meanwhile, ticket sales for the Hawks' first two home games have been underwhelming, suggesting the team may be suffering from an out-of-sight, out-of-mind situation.