The Chicago Blackhawks are offering full season-ticket holders complimentary subscriptions to Chicago Sports Network's soon-to-be-released direct-to-consumer app for the remainder of the team's season.
The Blackhawks sent an email from team chairman and CEO Danny Wirtz to season-ticket holders Wednesday afternoon offering a subscription to the app, which will launch via web browsers and mobile apps on Friday.
The Blackhawks, Chicago Bulls and Chicago White Sox launched CHSN together in the fall after parting ways with NBC Sports Chicago. Since its debut on Oct. 1, CHSN has been a cause of frustration for a lot of Blackhawks fans due to its limited viewership options. While the network is available within market for free as an over-the-air broadcast via an antenna, finding the network's signal has been challenging for some people and an inconvenience for others. The network is also available by subscription to Astound, DirecTV, DirecTV Stream, U-Verse and Fubo, but CHSN has been unable to reach a carriage agreement with Comcast, YouTube TV or Hulu. Although a direct-to-consumer app was always expected to come, there had been no set timeline.
CHSN has broadcast 13 of the Blackhawks' 16 games, and fans have seemingly become more and more agitated about their inability to see the team's games. The Blackhawks acknowledged that frustration in their email to season-ticket holders on Wednesday.
The email read, "Season ticket members are the heart and soul of this franchise, and your passion for Blackhawks hockey drives everything we do. I'm reaching out today to acknowledge how frustrating and confusing our recent television broadcast situation has been for many of you.
"We want everyone, anywhere, however they choose, to be able to watch Blackhawks hockey. That goal remains the same, and the Chicago Sports Network's highest priority right now is to get distribution deals done with as many carriers as possible."
The network will broadcast 56 more of the Blackhawks' games over the rest of the regular season. More information about the app is expected to be released by CHSN later this week.