The Chicago Sports Network will be available over the air on Channels 62.2 and 62.3 through an agreement with WJYS, the network announced Monday.
When CHSN launches Oct. 1 as the new home of the White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks, the channels will convert to a high-definition signal and carry the network full-time. The two channels will allow for CHSN to carry conflicting games simultaneously, just as NBC Sports Chicago has with NBCSCH+. That network will go off the air Sept. 30.
“Fan-first has been our north star,” CHSN president Jason Coyle said in the release. “We are making our content available on the platforms that our fans can watch. For those households who, for whatever reason, choose over-the-air as their primary viewing platform, they now have an opportunity to see the games and build even stronger connections with the teams and personalities they love.”
OTA viewers will need an antenna to receive the signal. The CHSN website provides information for selecting and installing the device. WJYS-Channel 62, owned by Millennial Telecommunications, is an independent channel based in Hammond, Indiana, with a signal on the Willis Tower. Comcast, the top cable provider in the market, does not carry the subchannels. Stadium, the multiplatform sports network owned by Sox chairman Jerry Reindsorf, used to be available on Ch. 62.2.
OTA access isn’t intended to replace cable or satellite distribution. It’s to make CHSN’s reach as wide as possible. The network could make such deals in other markets within its five-state territory (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin), including Des Moines, Iowa; Indianapolis and Milwaukee. Some games would be blacked out in those markets to adhere to league broadcasting rules. For example, the Bulls and Sox couldn’t be shown in Milwaukee, but the Hawks could.
More distribution agreements are expected to be announced. The Sun-Times reported last week that CHSN is close to a carriage agreement with DirecTV that also would make the network available on DirecTV Stream and U-Verse within the same footprint that NBCSCH is available. It’s the network’s only agreement with a cable and satellite provider so far. An announcement is expected this week.
The Blackhawks have three preseason games the week before CHSN launches that they hope to show online. The home game Sept. 25 will be available at chicagoblackhawks.com, and the Hawks are trying to make games Sept. 27 in Detroit and Sept. 28 in St. Louis available, as well. CHSN’s first broadcast is scheduled to be the Hawks’ preseason game against the Wild on Oct. 1.