Comcast SportsNet later this month will give Chicago Bulls fans an opportunity to watch online the team's push toward the National Basketball Association playoffs with the debut of the CSN Chicago's live game Internet streaming service.
The regional sports network will stream six of the team's final regular season games online via CSNChicago.com beginning with the March 19 Bulls-Cleveland Cavaliers contest, said Comcast SportsNet Chicago president James Corno. The network will also stream Bulls first-round playoff games on the site.
CSN Chicago is the second Comcast Cable-owned regional sports network to stream live NBA games on a regional basis, following CSN Philadelphia's launch last November of a similar streaming service for the Philadelphia 76'ers. Unlike the 76'ers, the Bulls streaming service will be free of charge to CSN Chicago viewers within the Bulls' television territory, said the network. CSN Philadelphia charged a "season pass" price of $76 (which included a pair of tickets), a mid-season price of $29.99, and a 30-day price of $17.76 for its 76'ers service.
CSN officials would not reveal subscriber numbers for the Sixers online streaming package.
To be eligible to watch Bulls games online, viewers must receive Comcast SportsNet Chicago from a TV provider that has agreed to participate in the network's authentication process. To view Bulls games on CSNChicago.com, consumers will log onto CSNChicago.com and register their name, e-mail address and the name of their cable provider and then create a user name and password to begin viewing the game telecasts.
"After several weeks of testing, Comcast SportsNet is pleased to give our viewers the option to watch our Bulls coverage with online portability in addition to our traditional television coverage," said Corno. "Streaming our Bulls coverage gives our viewers more convenience than ever before."
