Chicago Sports Network, a joint regional sports venture between the Chicago White Sox, Chicago Bulls and Chicago Blackhawks, along with Standard Media Group, will officially launch on Oct. 1 and bring fans a new outlet on which to view games. NBC Sports Chicago will cease airing on the preceding day, ending a two-decade run on local television. With broadcast rights moving to a new regional sports network with a partial ownership stake held by the teams, the venture announced its talent for pregame and postgame studio shows surrounding its broadcasts of the Bulls and Blackhawks ahead of the new season.
As the Bulls look to make the NBA Playoffs for the first time since the 2022 season, several members of the NBC Sports Chicago broadcast team will make the move to Chicago Sports Network. Jason Goff, current host of the Full Go podcast from The Ringer and former midday host on 670 The Score, will be the host for pregame and postgame coverage. Goff will be joined by former Bulls player and NBA veteran Kendall Gill, who brings years of experience covering the team, including as an analyst for NBC Sports Chicago. K.C. Johnson also worked for the previous regional sports network and the Chicago Tribune, bringing an analytical approach and reporting experience to the Chicago Sports Network lineup and Bulls Countdown Live.
Earlier in the week, the Chicago Sun-Times reported that analyst Will Perdue would not make the move to Chicago Sports Network. According to the report, filed by deputy sports editor Jeff Agrest, Perdue could return as a guest during the season; however, the show will primarily be a two-person setup. Perdue won three NBA championships as a center on the Bulls over eight nonconsecutive seasons with the team.
The Blackhawks look to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since the 2020 season, and coverage will emanate from a familiar studio team. Pat Boyle will make his return to the studio for Blackhawks pregame and postgame coverage, filling a similar role he had while broadcasting on NBC Sports Chicago. Tony Granato will return to the broadcasts following a year in which he took a leave of absence upon being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Granato missed less than a month of broadcasts and resumed his work in January, and he will now contribute to the new Blackhawks Countdown Live offering.
In addition to Boyle and Granato, Caley Chelios, the daughter of former Blackhawks forward Chris Chelios, will be back for Blackhawks studio work while also serving as the backup color commentator for game broadcasts. Rick Ball will begin his first season as the team’s play-by-play announcer, primarily working alongside TNT Sports analyst and former Blackhawks goaltender Darren Pang.
“At CHSN, we put Chicago sports fans first in everything that we do,” Jason Coyle, president of Chicago Sports Network, said in a statement. “With our ‘Countdown Live’ pre-game shows, we will give our fans a front-row seat to the action, even inviting a selection of fans each night onto the set itself to meet the talent, ask questions, and become a part of the show.”
Chicago Sports Network is reportedly nearing a distribution deal with DirecTV that will grant users access to programming upon its launch on Oct. 1. Agrest reports that the entity is expected to have the same channel location as NBC Sports Chicago while also appearing across the analogous five-state geographic area. The new regional sports network is expected to televise more than 300 live White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks games annually, along with the aforementioned pregame and postgame coverage plus 24/7 multi-sport programming. Studios for the network will be located at United Center, the home of the Bulls and Blackhawks, and Guaranteed Rate Field, home of the White Sox.
