Chicago Sports Network reaches agreement with Comcast, blackout on cable provider will end Friday

The Chicago Sports Network will finally be available on Chicagoland’s main cable provider.

CHSN will to launch on Comcast via Xfinity’s Ultimate tier on Friday. The Chicago Sun-Times was the first to report the story. The network, which launched on Oct. 1, 2024, is the home of the Blackhawks, Bulls and White Sox.

When CHSN launched, it had agreements with Astound/RCN cable and DirecTV satellite and streaming services. It’s also been available via antenna for households without a pay-for-TV service. Since launching, CHSN has expanded its distribution by reaching agreements with popular streaming service Fubo

and other digital platforms.

But all the while, CHSN had been blacked out for Comcast’s 1 million Chicagoland customers, as the network and the cable provider had been unable to reach a carriage agreement.

Now, that deadlock appears to be over.

The Sun-Times reports that Comcast has been moving regional sports networks around the country to its highest programming tier. This became a roadblock to an agreement with CHSN, according to the Sun-Times, because the network wanted to be on the less expensive and more widely viewed Popular tier.

According to the Sun-Times, Xfinity’s Ultimate tier will cost customers $20 per month. Customers had been getting a monthly credit of $8.85 after NBC Sports Chicago — the former home of the Blackhawks, Bulls and White Sox — went of the air on Sept. 30, the Sun-Times reports.

The paper also reports that Marquee Sports Network, the Cubs’ home channel, will remain on Xfinity’s Popular tier through the rest of this season and then move to the Ultimate tier prior to next season.