When the Chicago Cubs announced plans to start up their own network, the plans actually started for Marquee Sports Network as far back as 2018. This was 2 years before Marquee debuted 1 month before the pandemic changed everything.

The Bulls, Blackhawks & White Sox didn't announce plans to start their own network until June...This year. The new network known as Chicago Sports Network (CHSN) officially debuted 3 weeks ago and to say it's been a slow start would be an understatement.

Many Bulls & Hawks' fans don't have CHSN on their cable system. A carriage deal with Xfinity, the city's largest cable provider, appears to be an elusive one and one that doesn't appear to be imminent. Some have also complained about trying to install an antenna so they can still watch CHSN over the air via WJYS 62.2 & 62.3. In plain English, it's a "Substandard" start for Chicago's newest network, just like 2 of their on air partners.

The Sun-Times' Jeff Agrest ponders if the 3 teams may have ultimately made a mistake signing on with what appears to be a starting from scratch channel in CHSN.

If you can get through the paywall, Agrest's less than flattering story about the "Substandard" start for CHSN can be found here:

https://chicago.suntimes.com/sports-media/2024/10/24/standard-media-chicago-sports-network-comcast-soohyung-kim-stan-knott-ballys-cubs-marquee-sports-network