As the Cubs & White Sox get ready for this weekend's Southside version of the Crosstown Classic, needless to say, you have options to watch the 3 games.
Cubs' fans can watch the games on Marquee Sports Network, called by Jon "Boog" Sciambi, Jim Deshaies & Taylor McGregor. White Sox games, on the other hand, have 2 ways to watch the games this weekend.
While CHSN has the Sox angle called by John Schriffen, Steve Stone, Brooke Fletcher & Connor McKnight, the reason for this thread is to let U know that there's another option for fans to tune in. See what I did there?
It was revealed this week that WCIU 26 The U & CHSN have signed a deal for the Weigel-owned independent to simulcast 7 Sox games with the team's new regional sports network starting with all 3 games of this Cubs/Sox series at Rate Field this weekend.
The simulcast includes "White Sox Countdown Live" before & "White Sox Postgame Live" after the final out with host Chuck Garfien & Ozzie Guillen.
As an added bonus, viewers watching The U will also be watching "Friday Night All Access"-style broadcasts featuring mic'd up players & coaches as well as unique camera angles that brings Sox fans even closer to the action for 5 of the 7 CHSN simulcasts.
For those that have CHSN, don't worry. The games will still be available on DIRECTV, DIRECTV Stream, Fubo TV, Comcast/Xfinity & the CHSN app.
CHSN/The U coverage starts @ 6P (CT) Friday, 5:30P (CT) Saturday & 12:30P (CT) Sunday from Rate Field.
Needless to say, the all important link was actually hard to find, but U can find comments from Weigel Senior Vice President Steve Farber regarding the CHSN/WCIU arrangement here as well as additional games that'll air on the outlets here:
This is great for cord cutters! I really miss having CHSN on OTA it took me back to the days of watching SOX games on CH.44 with my Dad when I was a kid. I know nothing about the radio and TV business so I'm hoping someone on here can explain it to me. How is it that NFL teams can make money off Ad revenue from OTA broadcasts that fans can watch free with an antenna or basic cable. But all the others need to rely on exclusive carriage deals from cable companies. And why do cable companies need to put them on their most expensive tier to make it worth their while. And why do I have to pay $20 a month for a streaming app and still have to watch commercials?
Ken "Hawk" Harrelson is still around, but he retired for good in 2018 from the White Sox TV booth. You can put that on the board.
Steve Stone, on the other hand, may have signed an extension to follow the Sox from the defunct NBC Sports Chicago to CHSN, but he's also cut back on his workload. That may also explain why former MLB pitcher & MLB Network analyst Dan Plesac has been filling in when the Sox are on the road. Plesac will be in the Sox/CHSN booth with John Schriffen this weekend when the Sox work the late shift in Anaheim starting Friday.
I know that there was a big time carriage dispute & distribution issue with CHSN & Comcast/Xfinity that was finally settled about a month ago. I wonder if the initial deal with WJYS' subchannels at 62.2 & 62.3, let alone complaints about antenna installation, played a role in CHSN dropping WJYS once they signed on with Xfinity.
What does remain to be seen is whether CHSN & WCIU 26 The U might have similar simulcast arrangements when the Bulls & Blackhawks start up again this fall.
on July 25, 2025, 1:07 am