Connor Bedard Oct 10, 2023; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard (98) reacts to a goal by center Ryan Donato (not pictured) against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the second period at the PPG Paints Arena. Beard assisted on the goal to record his first NHL point in his league debut. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
By Sam Neumann on

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.

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).

[The Athletic]

About Sam Neumann

Since the beginning of 2023, Sam has been a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. A 2021 graduate of Temple University, Sam is a Charlotte native, who currently calls Greenville, South Carolina his home. He also has a love/hate relationship with the New York Mets and Jets.

View all posts by Sam Neumann