Chicago Sports Network to Embrace the New World of Regional Sports

Today’s guest columnists are Jason Coyle and Rob Shaw, the President and Chief Revenue Officer for the newly-launched Chicago Sports Network. Coyle most recently served as President of Stadium while Shaw steps into his role with a near-decade foundation of leadership at Meta, most recently as the Director and Head of Global Sports Media Partnerships.

Regional Sports Networks are melting like icebergs. 

While the short-term concern is lost revenue for RSNs and, ultimately, teams, the long-term threat to the sports industry is even more costly: losing our connection with the next generation of fans.  

Reversing the industry’s current financial fate requires a major shift in thinking — one that prioritizes fans.

The Chicago Sports Network (CHSN), a partnership between the Chicago Bulls, Blackhawks, White Sox and Standard Media, is on a mission to offer these teams’ games via cable, satellite, streaming, over-the-air television, and a new digital/mobile app with fans at the center of it all.

Historically, a core part of the industry’s business model involves licensing the direct relationship with the fan, whether that’s through a cable TV provider, ticket operator or merchandiser. While this has historically maximized RSN and team revenue on a season-by-season basis, it also has delivered very little information about fans to the teams and very few ways to interact directly with fans.

CHSN, however, will build its own channels so the teams know who their fans are, where they are and what they’re interested in, while creating personalized commercial experiences for the most rabid among them. We’ll create a network for the fans, fueled by fans. 

CHSN will deliver a fan-centric experience that is defined by three tenets:

We must make the experience social. Sports are social by nature and connect people across generations and geographies. Technology supercharges this connection. We need to capitalize on emerging technologies to serve our fans – not only those who come together in our ballparks and arenas, but also the overwhelming majority who are watching from home or on a digital device. We will develop a video destination with the social tools that empower Chicago sports fans to react and engage with each other, building an even deeper connection with the teams they support.

We must own the relationship with our fans. A CRM with email addresses isn’t enough; we need to know who our fans are, what they want and how we can create the best experiences to foster their fandom. We will develop a digital environment and ecosystem that mimics the in-venue energy but with a personalized touch establishing a one-to-one connection between fan and team.   

We must make our product widely available. Cord cutting, evolving distribution models and platform changes are making it more challenging for fans to find their local teams, straining the connection between fans and their favorite teams and players. We must embrace every path to reach as many fans as possible. 

Our fan-first approach will continue to feature traditional cable, satellite and streaming, and we will expand our reach to fans by including over-the-air television and exciting new ways to digitally connect with our most ardent fans.  

This evolution alters the traditional RSN revenue model, but it’s a bet that the next generation of local sports television will improve accessibility, increase reach and personalize the game-day experience like never before. It’s a win for the fans, the sponsors, the distributors and the teams.  

In Chicago, we have a unique situation: Three of the most popular and iconic sports brands in the nation, all with loyal, die-hard fan bases. 

We have an opportunity to work with our distribution partners, including cable and satellite companies, vMVPDs, over-the-air broadcast stations, and best-in-class technology partners to create a personalized, social video experience built for the Chicago sports fan. 

It all starts when we go live in Chicago in October. We believe that this multi-platform experience centered around what we refer to as the “fan-affinity economy” coupled with maximum reach will be the next business model for local sports delivery across the United States.