White Sox debut on CHSN: Will fans watch?

[caulfield12]

The intrigue: Two recent polls show that fans are not watching the new network.

• A Sun-Times reader poll found that an overwhelming majority of fans haven't watched a single Bulls or Blackhawks game this year.
• A recent analysis of NBA ratings showed the Bulls have lost 63% of their viewership year over year, the most in the entire league.

Reality check: Both the Blackhawks and the Bulls have had terrible seasons, so fed-up fans may not be inclined to support losing teams.

• Attendance at Bulls games has dropped, too.

Yes, but: These franchises have had losing seasons before.

CHSN declined to give an update on Xfinity negotiations and wouldn't give Axios their subscriber numbers for their streaming service.

Zoom in: The Sox are making moves to strengthen their broadcast after much criticism last year. They revamped their reporting team to include Brooke Fletcher and Connor McKnight while retaining legendary color commentator Steve Stone.

• That may not matter if fans can't get, or won't search for the channel.

The bottom line: The White Sox may lose more than just a record amount of baseball games. They are in jeopardy of losing their fanbase, too.

 

https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/2025/02/24/white-sox-broadcasts-chsn-ratings

https://chicago.suntimes.com/bulls/2025/01/31/bulls-blackhawks-sky-chicago-chsn-courtney-vandersloot

 

Edited February 25 by caulfield12

[Y2Jimmy0]

I’m on their side with Comcast though. Putting them on the higher tier doesn’t help anyone. I can’t believe anybody still uses Xfinity for cable 

[southsider2k5]

The bright side is that after last year, the Sox don't have much of an audience to lose.