NBC Sports Chicago, the regional network run by Comcast in partnership with several professional teams in the market, said it signed new, multi-year rights deals with the White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks.
The Chicago Cubs, whose games have been on NBC Sports Chicago, are expected to start their own dedicated television network.
The new rights deal with the White Sox of Major League Baseball, the Bulls of the National Basketball Association and the Blackhawks of the National Hockey League provides for exclusive local multi-platform rights to game coverage starting with the 2019-2020 season.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
“The Chicago White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks have provided countless memorable moments for this city’s fans, and NBC Sports Chicago has been dedicated to immersive coverage of each and every one,” said David Preschlack, president, NBC Sports Regional Networks and Platform & Content Strategy. “This is a significant agreement, and we are proud to continue to provide the most comprehensive, multi-platform coverage of these historic franchises.”
NBC Sports Chicago and NBC Sports Chicago+ will be the exclusive regional home for regular season games, pre-season/spring training, and the first round of the post-season coverage for the Bulls and Blackhawks.
This new agreement also enables the continuation of all games to be streamed on NBCSportsChicago.com and the MyTeams by NBC Sports app.
“We are very pleased to extend our relationship with our partners at NBC Sports Chicago,” said Jerry Reinsdorf, Chicago Bulls/White Sox chairman. “In addition to being the experts in consistently delivering the finest game and surrounding game coverage in the business, it is their year-round commitment to providing our fans with innovative and entertaining multi-platform content that makes NBC Sports Chicago among the very best in the regional sports industry. Chicago sports fans are the greatest, and we are pleased that this agreement allows for the very best access to Bulls, Blackhawks and White Sox live action and content.”
“Blackhawks fans should be very excited that we are continuing our partnership with NBC Sports Chicago. In addition to raising the bar on our game day broadcasts, NBC Sports Chicago has elevated non-game day television coverage and evolved their digital and social media platforms into some of the most viewer-friendly in the industry,” said Rocky Wirtz, Chicago Blackhawks chairman.
