That is an incredibly difficult read. Coyle seems completely out of touch with the current reality for RSNs and sports broadcasting in general. How many times can you say the words “soon,” “hope,” & “believe” in regards to a network that is already weeks into its launch, 6 games into the NHL season, & days from the NBA regular season?
Regardless of what Coyle would have us believe, the Athletic has reported that CHSN was offered the standard deal for RSNs by Comcast. They hope to have OTA in outlying areas “soon.” They hope to reach an agreement with Fubo “soon.” They plan to have an app ready to release “soon.” Coyle “hopes” that start of the NBA season will increase pressure on Xfinity…hint, it won’t. Coyle doesn’t “believe” OTA broadcasting matters to Comcast…hint, it does.
The guy is completely incompetent and is the one running the entire network apparently. This happening in the third largest media market in the country for a channel that broadcasts an MLB, NBA, and NHL team is a mind blowing disaster. I honestly don’t know if you could roll out this network more poorly if you were actually trying to tank the project on purpose.
Jason is a Harvard Law graduate so he’ll be mortified when this ends up as an HBS case study. As mentioned in the article, there’s already a possibility that limited TV access is affecting in person attendance and revenue. The Hawks and Bulls are both fringe franchises that cannot afford that in the modern NHL and NBA. The Sox are very solidly the second team in the second city, just set the league record for futility, and certainly can’t withstand access limitation to the fan base when Marquee is pretty available on most providers. If this carries on long enough, it could actually affect the franchise valuation of the Sox. Maybe that’s the long game here and Jerry is trying to force a sale, relocation, new stadium, etc but…Comcast could probably take a billion off the franchise value if they want to and, as opposed to Coyle, they are smart enough to know they have that leverage.
CHSN really doesn’t have much of a negotiating position here. Studio content? People can easily get that from places like CHGO or barstool on podcasts or YouTube. White Sox games? Marquee and the Cubs are already available, and although existing fans won’t “switch,” new ones will. NBA ratings continue to decrease and the Bulls don’t have a Bona Fide superstar that people will tune in to watch during a middling season. The NHL is still a fringe sport and despite Bedards talent and ceiling, how many people in the Chicago market could actually name him? Theres a reason they haven’t even gotten on Fubo yet. A provider that carries Bein Sports 6 recognizes that this network is simply not that valuable…