Iced Out: Wisconsin Blackhawks Fans Want to See Games Too
Blackhawks fans in Milwaukee, Racine and Kenosha. Wisconsin are missing out on the action as there is no deal in place to broadcast Blackhawks games in their market. Photo courtesy of the Milwaukee Blackhawks Fan Club on Facebook.
I gotta admit, when I learned of the potential to watch Blackhawks and Bulls games this season, without having to subscribe to a cable or streaming service, I was excited but leery. I was excited because this is how I grew up watching these teams play on free television. I was leery because I was suspicious on if it would ever happen and just how far the signal would reach.
The potential of seeing the Blackhawks and Bulls games for free is a way to reach an entire new generation of fans from different demographics. I think of a kid from a low-income family that can’t afford cable one night flipping on the TV and seeing Connor Bedard dazzle his way through the crease and score on a wicked wrister. Or another kid who doesn’t have internet in their home being able to see Zach Lavine drain a three to win the game. These are the moments I grew up with as a kid and what got me to fall in love in sports in the first place.
The Chicago Sports Network rollout however has been nothing short of a mess. Fans and potential new ones are left scrambling as the Blackhawks have already begun regular season play and the Bulls have begun their pre-season and there is still no deal in place for many within the viewing audience. Fans in southeast Wisconsin are feeling it the worst. They cannot get the channel in their area on Spectrum Cable. Also, the antenna signal from Chicago isn’t strong enough. The Chicago Sports Network has failed at this point to workout a deal in the Milwaukee market that would carry games over the air, meaning their fans are screwed.
“We don't generally get a lot of games on TV anyway, unless you purchase the center ice package,” said Andrew Wehrheim, who grew up in Elgin, but now lives in Milwaukee and runs the Facebook page Milwaukee Blackhawks Fan Club. “Most of us are pretty working class and that's not really an option for a lot of us. However, it is disappointing knowing that CHSN was supposed to put games out there and isn't able to deliver thus far.”
This is a very odd business practice seeing that this past Saturday the Blackhawks played a pre-season game in Milwaukee that drew thousands for the second year in a row. Since Milwaukee doesn’t have an NHL team, many hockey fans there pull for the Blackhawks, even if they hate every other Chicago team, making for a strange dynamic. Not to mention the tens of thousands of Chicago transplants who live in the Kenosha and Racine areas where you see homes dotted with Blackhawks, Bulls and White Sox flags on a daily basis.
“In the past, this has been a Minnesota Wild market for whatever reason. So if we would purchase a regional sports package through our cable provider, they would block games out. So our only options have been TNT, ESPN, and ESPN+ over the last few years,” Wehrheim explained.
The negotiating is supposedly ongoing, according a spokesperson for CHSN. However, there is no timeframe on when a deal can take place, who is being talked to or where the negotiations stand. What the holdup is just makes matters worse.
Fans in Salt Lake City, Utah were excited Tuesday night during the pre-game introductions in front of a sellout crowd at the Delta Center. Photo by Jcoydenreports.
I attended the Blackhawks season-opener in Utah on Tuesday. Those fans brought energy in the first-ever NHL game in Salt Lake City. The NHL will do well in that new market. The game was broadcasted on ESPN. But Blackhawks fans won’t be so lucky Friday, as the game in Winnipeg, as of this writing, won’t be seen outside of the Chicago area for people who can’t get the signal in southeast Wisconsin. Those in Rockford and South Bend, Indiana can, but not southeast Wisconsin, which I will argue has way more Blackhawks fans than those other two areas combined.
This means that fans in Wisconsin will have to either buy an NHL Center Ice package, or go to a local bar or pub that may carry the game. I mean it is Wisconsin so there is no shortage of pubs and bars, but people also want to relax in their own home and watch the games, especially during the harsh winter months that are just around the corner. But I go back to the key of this whole thing, the games being FREE to watch, would be a game-changer for the White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks.
One of the worst business practices is having a product that people want, but not being able to distribute it. This is where CHSN is failing. When I look at the Chicago Sky, for years they did the exact same thing. Even during their championship in 2021, when fans could not find team apparel.
I also think one of the reasons why professional boxing fell off the cliff with American viewers is because they put the best product on pay-per-view and outpriced their audience, thus alienating them. Now, nobody knows who the heavyweight champion of the world is. The NFL and MLB are getting close to doing the same by making some games exclusively on Amazon Prime and Apple TV respectively.
I would hate to see the Chicago Sports Network make the same error. Longtime fans like Wehrheim will stick with the team through this. To expect others, who are new to the sport however is a big ask.
“It is anticlimactic to go from that awesome preseason game and event to not being able to watch much Hawks hockey. There is a market here and the market can grow,” Wehrheim believes. “I think they are missing out on capitalizing on a real opportunity to engage new fans. I would definitely like to see them become even more engaged with this area. We've tried to connect with them as a fan club and have never received a response.”