This is honestly absolutely hilarious. It's 2024. While free OTA broadcasts are nice, nobody is hooking up a fucking antenna to watch the Bulls, Blackhawks, or White Sox. I'm not sure it would even be possible to do such a thing in a bar where the wiring is already in place.

The fact that the Bulls and Blackhawks are going to start the season, and the only broadcast company they have worked out a deal with is.... Direct TV, is truly amazing levels of incompetence. This doesn't surprise me from a Reinsdorf perspective, but I expect better business and decision making out of the Blackhawks. It's shocking they hitched their horse to this stupidity. 

Also, nice of them to make sure we will have HD broadcasts for hockey in....*checks notes* 2024. Hockey isn't even watchable in SD once you've watched in HD and 4k.

1 hour ago, Paulie4Pres said:

This is honestly absolutely hilarious. It's 2024. While free OTA broadcasts are nice, nobody is hooking up a fucking antenna to watch the Bulls, Blackhawks, or White Sox. I'm not sure it would even be possible to do such a thing in a bar where the wiring is already in place.

The fact that the Bulls and Blackhawks are going to start the season, and the only broadcast company they have worked out a deal with is.... Direct TV, is truly amazing levels of incompetence. This doesn't surprise me from a Reinsdorf perspective, but I expect better business and decision making out of the Blackhawks. It's shocking they hitched their horse to this stupidity. 

Also, nice of them to make sure we will have HD broadcasts for hockey in....*checks notes* 2024. Hockey isn't even watchable in SD once you've watched in HD and 4k.

I can't tell if you're joking, but most tvs have an antenna built in.

Also, countless new channels and services have launched without full deals in place, this isn't unique to the Sox. The Sox just gave access to their games to almost anyone with a TV in the Chicago area and that makes them also bad?

41 minutes ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

I can't tell if you're joking, but most tvs have an antenna built in.

Also, countless new channels and services have launched without full deals in place, this isn't unique to the Sox. The Sox just gave access to their games to almost anyone with a TV in the Chicago area and that makes them also bad?

Yeah this actually seems like a good thing. 

6 hours ago, Look at Ray Ray Run said:

I can't tell if you're joking, but most tvs have an antenna built in.

Also, countless new channels and services have launched without full deals in place, this isn't unique to the Sox. The Sox just gave access to their games to almost anyone with a TV in the Chicago area and that makes them also bad?

Most televisions don't, in fact, have an OTA tuner that works without an external antenna... Which is why they have a port specifically labeled "cable/ant". Most have a tuner, but those require....an antenna.

Edited September 17, 20241 yr by Paulie4Pres

14 hours ago, ewokpelts said:

you mean the tribune company.

PK Wrigley was a pioneer in the belief of the power of television and baseball, way ahead of his time.  

Amazon.com: HIDB TV Antenna for Smart TV Indoor, Strong Magnetic Base Indoor TV Antenna for Easy Installation, Long Range Reception HD Antenna for TV Indoor 4k 1080P Channels-10ft Long Cables : Electronics

You plug this into the "Antenna" port on the back of your TV.  $19.  You may even qualify for free shipping!

10 hours ago, Paulie4Pres said:

This is honestly absolutely hilarious. It's 2024. While free OTA broadcasts are nice, nobody is hooking up a fucking antenna to watch the Bulls, Blackhawks, or White Sox. I'm not sure it would even be possible to do such a thing in a bar where the wiring is already in place.

The fact that the Bulls and Blackhawks are going to start the season, and the only broadcast company they have worked out a deal with is.... Direct TV, is truly amazing levels of incompetence. This doesn't surprise me from a Reinsdorf perspective, but I expect better business and decision making out of the Blackhawks. It's shocking they hitched their horse to this stupidity. 

Also, nice of them to make sure we will have HD broadcasts for hockey in....*checks notes* 2024. Hockey isn't even watchable in SD once you've watched in HD and 4k.

I legitimately bought an antenna yesterday just to watch Hawks/Sox games. If I don't need to pay for another subscription to something I'm not going to. 

Edited September 17, 20241 yr by Sleepy Harold

3 hours ago, ThirdGen said:

Amazon.com: HIDB TV Antenna for Smart TV Indoor, Strong Magnetic Base Indoor TV Antenna for Easy Installation, Long Range Reception HD Antenna for TV Indoor 4k 1080P Channels-10ft Long Cables : Electronics

You plug this into the "Antenna" port on the back of your TV.  $19.  You may even qualify for free shipping!

 

3 hours ago, Sleepy Harold said:

I legitimately bought an antenna yesterday just to watch Hawks/Sox games. If I don't need to pay for another subscription to something I'm not going to. 

It's the principle here. Why should I have to spend any amount of money, for an inferior product? Most people already have some kind of TV subscription, so none of this is "free". Whether that be DirecTV(the only provider these imbeciles have a deal with, lol), Xfinity, or YouTube TV. Nobody is cancelling their subscriptions because they can watch these teams OTA.

An OTA antenna is also a downgrade in every way for watching sports. No rewind, no pause, no recording, inferior PQ. You want that, you get to spend more money. Not to mention, signal issues.

Also, plugging an antenna into a TV works for some people at home (I would have to literally take my 65 inch TV off the wall to do this, but I digress.) You know where plugging an antenna in doesn't work? At all the bars that you might want to watch a Bulls/Blackhawks game in a couple weeks... Most of which, have Xfinity as their provider....which these clowns don't have a deal with yet.

They should have had streaming and broadcast rights sorted out months ago, with two of these teams starting their season in a couple weeks. The Bulls and Blackhawks are going to start the season with most customers unable to view the games without installing a damn antenna. Let that sink in.

Edited September 17, 20241 yr by Paulie4Pres

28 minutes ago, Paulie4Pres said:

 

It's the principle here. Why should I have to spend any amount of money, for an inferior product? Most people already have some kind of TV subscription, so none of this is "free". Whether that be DirecTV(the only provider these imbeciles have a deal with, lol), Xfinity, or YouTube TV. Nobody is cancelling their subscriptions because they can watch these teams OTA.

An OTA antenna is also a downgrade in every way for watching sports. No rewind, no pause, no recording, inferior PQ. You want that, you get to spend more money. Not to mention, signal issues.

Also, plugging an antenna into a TV works for some people at home (I would have to literally take my 65 inch TV off the wall to do this, but I digress.) You know where plugging an antenna in doesn't work? At all the bars that you might want to watch a Bulls/Blackhawks game in a couple weeks... Most of which, have Xfinity as their provider....which these clowns don't have a deal with yet.

They should have had streaming and broadcast rights sorted out months ago, with two of these teams starting their season in a couple weeks. The Bulls and Blackhawks are going to start the season with most customers unable to view the games without installing a damn antenna. Let that sink in.

If it can stream in HD and 4k, why is it an inferior product? It seems super easy to use too.

Edited September 17, 20241 yr by Bob Sacamano

4 hours ago, ThirdGen said:

Amazon.com: HIDB TV Antenna for Smart TV Indoor, Strong Magnetic Base Indoor TV Antenna for Easy Installation, Long Range Reception HD Antenna for TV Indoor 4k 1080P Channels-10ft Long Cables : Electronics

You plug this into the "Antenna" port on the back of your TV.  $19.  You may even qualify for free shipping!

Thanks for the link! I'm about to buy one and cancel my $72.99 YouTube TV subscription. Sports are the only reason I (and probably many others) even pay for live streaming services.

Edited September 17, 20241 yr by Bob Sacamano

2 minutes ago, Bob Sacamano said:

If it can stream in HD and 4k, why is it an inferior product?

It's an inferior product because you can't pause the game, rewind the game, or record the game, without spending at least another $100.. OTA broadcast quality also depends entirely on your signal quality. You know, since it's using radio waves? Ever park your car in the garage and have some radio stations that start breaking up? Have fun with that if you live in a location that doesn't get a good quality signal for the channels they put these teams on. Which will absolutely happen for some people. Why do you think we went away from having giant antennas on our roofs in favor of cable connections?

I'm not even getting into the colossal pain in the ass it is to pipe your OTA audio into a receiver if you have a surround setup in your house.... 

53 minutes ago, Paulie4Pres said:

 

It's the principle here. Why should I have to spend any amount of money, for an inferior product? Most people already have some kind of TV subscription, so none of this is "free". Whether that be DirecTV(the only provider these imbeciles have a deal with, lol), Xfinity, or YouTube TV. Nobody is cancelling their subscriptions because they can watch these teams OTA.

An OTA antenna is also a downgrade in every way for watching sports. No rewind, no pause, no recording, inferior PQ. You want that, you get to spend more money. Not to mention, signal issues.

Also, plugging an antenna into a TV works for some people at home (I would have to literally take my 65 inch TV off the wall to do this, but I digress.) You know where plugging an antenna in doesn't work? At all the bars that you might want to watch a Bulls/Blackhawks game in a couple weeks... Most of which, have Xfinity as their provider....which these clowns don't have a deal with yet.

They should have had streaming and broadcast rights sorted out months ago, with two of these teams starting their season in a couple weeks. The Bulls and Blackhawks are going to start the season with most customers unable to view the games without installing a damn antenna. Let that sink in.

I guess I just don't understand the nit-picking that it's available OTA. It's not for everyone, clearly not yourself, and is just an option for some. What's the big issue if it doesn't affect your viewing experience? They still have time before the Bulls/Hawks seasons get underway, so if those begin and they still don't have a deal with Xfinity then it's absolutely fair to flame away on them.

9 minutes ago, Sleepy Harold said:

I guess I just don't understand the nit-picking that it's available OTA. It's not for everyone, clearly not yourself, and is just an option for some. What's the big issue if it doesn't affect your viewing experience? They still have time before the Bulls/Hawks seasons get underway, so if those begin and they still don't have a deal with Xfinity then it's absolutely fair to flame away on them.

Agree.  No way is their plan to only offer this broadcast OTA or DirecTV.  I assume they are negotiating with the streamers/cable companies and most likely in these situations the agreement never comes long before it is necessary.  

29 minutes ago, Sleepy Harold said:

I guess I just don't understand the nit-picking that it's available OTA. It's not for everyone, clearly not yourself, and is just an option for some. What's the big issue if it doesn't affect your viewing experience? They still have time before the Bulls/Hawks seasons get underway, so if those begin and they still don't have a deal with Xfinity then it's absolutely fair to flame away on them.

Hawks preseason starts in a week. Bulls preseason starts in three weeks. They haven't even mentioned the workings of a deal with Xfinity or YouTube TV. I doubt they ever get a channel with YouTube TV. If they do, that's going to take a significant amount of time. Hell, they haven't even finalized the deal with DirecTV yet!

I'm not complaining about it being available OTA. The games being broadcast for free OTA is a GREAT SUPPLEMENT for people that don't have existing services to watch the game. But to not offer the same availability to Xfinity and YouTube TV customers that you did previously is a huge gaffe on their part. There's a large portion of their fanbase that is just going to say f*** it, and not watch their shitty teams. They vastly overestimate brand loyalty here.

Just a couple more billionaires who are attempting to squeeze more profit out of their product, at the expense of the consumer. They are, once again, screwing their fanbase to do so. The owner of the Washington Capitals and Wizards bought the rights to NBC Sports Washington and rebranded it. Which leads to a seamless transition for your fans and customer base. No agreements needed with providers. No channel changes. No changes in production quality. Just a logo and some branding changes, and you're off running. These greedy, incompetent assholes decided they didn't want to pay that cost. They decided instead, that they wanted to just blow it all up. It's going to bite them in the ass.

Telling your fans who have been watching the team for years on their existing services to "just go buy an antenna and hook it up" to watch your team is marketing malfeasance. The overwhelming majority of their fanbase(old people) probably isn't even capable of figuring that out without some kind of technical assistance. Especially if you have a wall mounted TV, and have never dealt with an internal TV tuner on your Smart TV before....

Edited September 17, 20241 yr by Paulie4Pres

I would be more concerned if the regular season is what started in a week.

1 hour ago, Paulie4Pres said:

 

It's the principle here. Why should I have to spend any amount of money, for an inferior product? Most people already have some kind of TV subscription, so none of this is "free". Whether that be DirecTV(the only provider these imbeciles have a deal with, lol), Xfinity, or YouTube TV. Nobody is cancelling their subscriptions because they can watch these teams OTA.

An OTA antenna is also a downgrade in every way for watching sports. No rewind, no pause, no recording, inferior PQ. You want that, you get to spend more money. Not to mention, signal issues.

Also, plugging an antenna into a TV works for some people at home (I would have to literally take my 65 inch TV off the wall to do this, but I digress.) You know where plugging an antenna in doesn't work? At all the bars that you might want to watch a Bulls/Blackhawks game in a couple weeks... Most of which, have Xfinity as their provider....which these clowns don't have a deal with yet.

They should have had streaming and broadcast rights sorted out months ago, with two of these teams starting their season in a couple weeks. The Bulls and Blackhawks are going to start the season with most customers unable to view the games without installing a damn antenna. Let that sink in.

As someone who works in the industry - it doesn't really work like that. Deals always come down to the wire. You also need the groundswell of people calling the providers and complaining that they are not able to see their teams. There is a reason that all sports channels deals run out right when college and pro football is about to start. 

7 minutes ago, PaleAleSox said:

As someone who works in the industry - it doesn't really work like that. Deals always come down to the wire. You also need the groundswell of people calling the providers and complaining that they are not able to see their teams. There is a reason that all sports channels deals run out right when college and pro football is about to start. 

So their customers will suffer so they have leverage to deal with Xfinity and streaming providers. All in the name of the almighty dollar.

Again, see my post above. They could have avoided all of these headaches by doing exactly what the Capitals/Wizards JUST did in Washington. They CHOSE not to. Almost assuredly because it would cost JR and Wirtz more money.

Edited September 17, 20241 yr by Paulie4Pres

4 minutes ago, Paulie4Pres said:

So their customers will suffer so they have leverage to deal with Xfinity and streaming providers. All in the name of the almighty dollar.

Again, see my post above. They could have avoided all of these headaches by doing exactly what the Capitals/Wizards JUST did in Washington. They CHOSE not to. Almost assuredly because it would cost JR and Wirtz more money.

Not really, since NBC Sports is still available until the deadline.

5 minutes ago, Paulie4Pres said:

So their customers will suffer so they have leverage to deal with Xfinity and streaming providers. All in the name of the almighty dollar.

Again, see my post above. They could have avoided all of these headaches by doing exactly what the Capitals/Wizards JUST did in Washington. They CHOSE not to. Almost assuredly because it would cost JR and Wirtz more money.

This has been the mode of operation in pro sports for 2 generations now.  Yeah it sucks at times, but with the failure of the RSNs, this was the next step to keep it all in house.

12 minutes ago, Bob Sacamano said:

Not really, since NBC Sports is still available until the deadline.

NBC Sports Chicago will be shutdown before the Bulls or Blackhawks play a single regular season game.

I would put $1000 on CHSN not being available on YouTube OR Xfinity come October 1st. 

Edited September 17, 20241 yr by Paulie4Pres

13 minutes ago, southsider2k5 said:

This has been the mode of operation in pro sports for 2 generations now.  Yeah it sucks at times, but with the failure of the RSNs, this was the next step to keep it all in house.

Weird. The Capitals and Wizards fans suffered through no such thing. Oh, that's because they made the best decision for their fanbase, and not their owner's pocket.

9 minutes ago, Paulie4Pres said:

NBC Sports Chicago will be shutdown before the Bulls or Blackhawks play a single regular season game.

I would put $1000 on CHSN not being available on YouTube OR Xfinity come October 1st. 

If the Sox, Bulls, and Hawks are unviewable, it is probably a favor to us honestly

15 minutes ago, Paulie4Pres said:

NBC Sports Chicago will be shutdown before the Bulls or Blackhawks play a single regular season game.

I would put $1000 on CHSN not being available on YouTube OR Xfinity come October 1st. 

I meant with the launch of the channel being 10/1, the soft deadline for negotiations being talked about.

Edited September 17, 20241 yr by Bob Sacamano

7 minutes ago, Bob Sacamano said:

I meant with the launch of the channel being 10/1, the soft deadline for negotiations being talked about.

Well, the White Sox season has been over since March. Neither the Bulls or Blackhawks will have started their season come that deadline. So I'm not sure why it matters that NBC Sports will still be available until 10/1?

Edited September 17, 20241 yr by Paulie4Pres

14 minutes ago, Paulie4Pres said:

Well, the White Sox season has been over since March. Neither the Bulls or Blackhawks will have started their season come that deadline. So I'm not sure why it matters that NBC Sports will still be available until 10/1?

Idk you’re the one complaining about negotiations going up until a deadline lol I’m just saying no one is getting screwed if they do end up with a deal with Xfinity or whoever before the 10/1 soft deadline.

Edited September 17, 20241 yr by Bob Sacamano