NBC Sports Chicago tells staff grim prospects for deal with White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks

NBC Sports Chicago is coming to terms with the loss of the White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks this fall. The regional sports network painted a grim picture to its staff on Thursday, the Sun-Times has learned, saying it sees no possibility of reaching an agreement with the teams before their contracts expire on Oct. 1.

Kevin Cross, president and general manager of NBC 5, Telemundo Chicago and NBC Sports Chicago, has personally begun meeting with affected employees at the NBC Tower and RSN studios at the River North Point Center. While he was still hopeful of reaching an agreement, he is now focused on making sure employees get back on their feet.

Cross did not discuss the new network that will own the rights to the teams in the fall, nor did he give an end date for NBCSCH, which would shut down without any games to broadcast. Last month, Cross held a video town hall meeting to allay employee concerns after the Sun-Times reported that the teams would launch their own RSN. NBCSCH declined to comment.

An announcement of the new network is expected next week, but there have been no previously planned announcements.

The structure of the network has become clearer. Stadium, the cross-platform sports network of Sox and Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, will not serve as the network's home but will provide programming. Stadium will remain as is part of Reinsdorf's Silver Chalice media company and will be available online and through its app and distributors.

The new network will be part of a new company that will invest in and help distribute the network, along with partner Standard Media Group, a small company based in Nashville, Tennessee. The latter will be RSN's biggest challenge, especially with Comcast, given the high prices providers pay to carry sports and the low local viewership.

Comcast has tried to move RSNs into a higher-priced category. Last year, the company moved Seattle's ROOT Sports (Mariners and Trail Blazers) from the Popular TV package to the Ultimate TV package. This year, it moved MASN (Nationals and Orioles) and SportsNet Pittsburgh (Penguins and Pirates) up, and dropped Diamond Sports Group's Bally networks when Diamond refused to move up.

It's conceivable that Chicago's new RSN will be placed in the Ultimate tier, while the Cubs' Marquee Sports Network will remain in the Popular tier until its agreement with Comcast expires. MSG in New York and Altitude in Denver should serve as cautionary tales for Chicago networks and fans alike. MSG and Altitude have been off Comcast for years because of broadcast disputes.

With that in mind, the new network has been in talks with local terrestrial broadcasters about airing games, a growing trend in sports broadcasting as cable subscriptions decline and broadcasters seek broad distribution. As streaming options proliferate—the new network is expected to have one—and OTA broadcasts regain prominence, cable TV is under pressure.

Without televised games, NBC Sports Chicago would shut down, continuing parent company NBCUniversal's reduction of RSN inventory. NBC Sports Northwest was shut down after the Trail Blazers moved to ROOT Sports, and NBCU sold NBC Sports Washington to Capitals and Wizards owner Ted Leonsis, who renamed the channel Monumental Sports Network. NBCU's RSNs in Boston, Philadelphia and California will remain.

The new network is expected to maintain some continuity with personnel that have helped produce games and ancillary programs for years, such as producers, directors, production technicians and salespeople. Some NBC Sports Chicago employees have been with each of the network's inaugural editions – SportsChannel, Fox Sports Net and Comcast SportsNet.

CSN launched on October 1, 2004, in partnership with Comcast as the cable broadcaster of the Cubs, Sox, Bulls and Hawks, whose games were also broadcast on WGN-Channel 9 and WCIU-Channel 26. On October 2, 2017, CSN was rebranded as NBC Sports Chicago to join NBC's then-eight other RSNs. The Sox, Bulls and Hawks renewed their contracts with the network in 2019, which was the Cubs' final year with them before Marquee launched.

Remote monitoring

Fox Sports has announced its full schedule for “Fox College Football Friday,” a special primetime slot that will primarily feature Big Ten teams. Illinois will host Nebraska on Sept. 20 at 7 p.m. and Northwestern will host Maryland on Oct. 11 at 7 p.m.

• NFL analyst at Fox and former Bears tight end Greg Olsen won the Sports Emmy for Outstanding Personality/Event Analyst this week. Of course, the honor will not stop Fox from replacing Olsen with Tom Brady in his stand no. 1.

• Bulls TV voice Adam Amin and analyst Adam Wainwright will commentate on the Cubs-Cardinals game on Saturday night on Fox 32. The game on Sunday night will be broadcast on ESPN, with Karl RavechAnalysts David Cone And Eduardo Perez and reporter Buster Olney when calling.

• Joe Buck will return to the Cardinals broadcast booth on Friday to commentate on the Cubs-Cardinals game with Chip Caray at Bally Sports Midwest. Joe's father, Jackand Chip's grandfather, Harryformed one of the most famous duos in baseball history as commentators of Cardinals games.

• Wayne Randazzoanalyst Dontrelle Willis and reporter Heidi Watney will commentate on the Orioles' game against the White Sox on Friday night on Apple TV+.