There was a recent shift in broadcast rights for the Chicago White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks.
While negotiations with Stadium seemed likely for a fall debut, a new partnership with Standard Media Group has been announced. This means Standard Media, not Stadium, will become the latest television broadcast home for all three Chicago teams starting in October after their current deal with NBC Sports Chicago expires.
BREAKING: Blackhawks, Bulls and White Sox partnering with Standard Media Group to create new broadcast home beginning in October, reporting with @MarkLazerus https://t.co/jz3uK5EQeq
— Scott Powers (@ByScottPowers) May 4, 2024
Many analysts expected a deal to get done with Staidum, given that White Sox and Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf helped create Stadium in 2017 and acquired majority control in 2023.
Earlier reports from the Chicago Sun-Times predicted Reinsdorf would leverage Stadium for the teams’ broadcast rights due to struggles in the Regional Sports Network (RSN) market. This comes after Diamond Sports Group, owner of the Bally Sports networks (19 total), filed for bankruptcy in 2023. While Stadium planned to become an RSN with an existing streaming platform, it would still have needed traditional cable and broadcast partners to reach a wider audience.
And according to The Athletic, Standard Media Group will not be associated with Stadium in any form.
Here’s more from The Athletic’s reporting:
The media group is expected to make the network, which is unnamed, available across “multiple platforms,” including over-the-air and carriage agreements with cable and streaming providers.
Standard Media Group, headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, has contoured to extend its broadcast and digital media presence beyond its local roots. Its website reveals television stations operating in Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, Rhode Island, and now Illinois (Chicago).
