No changes for NBC Sports Philadelphia as Comcast to close NBC Sports Chicago

NBC Sports Philadelphia isn’t going anywhere, at least any time soon.

The same can’t be said for its sister station, NBC Sports Chicago, which will cease operations after losing the rights to the Chicago White Sox, Bulls, and Blackhawks to a new network created by the teams called the Chicago Sports Network.

With no remaining TV rights with any local teams, NBC Sports Chicago will sunset in the fall once the White Sox season is over, leaving NBC with just four regional sports networks — NBC Sports Philadelphia, NBC Sports Bay Area, NBC Sports Boston, and NBC Sports California. The company sold NBC Sports Washington to Monumental Sports & Entertainment in 2022.

No immediate changes are expected at NBC Sports Philadelphia due to what’s happening in Chicago, thanks to some major differences between the two networks. For starters, the TV rights for the White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks were all set to expire, allowing the teams to pursue a joint venture they owned. In addition, Puck’s John Ourand reported Comcast didn’t make a “competitive effort” to retain the TV rights as cord-cutting continues and the traditional cable bundle continues to decline, shifts that have hit regional sports networks hard across the country.

The Phillies are in the middle of a 25-year, $2.5 billion deal that will keep their games on NBC Sports Philadelphia through 2041. Both the Sixers and Flyers also have long-term deals with the network.

There are other entanglements. The Phillies purchased a 25% stake in NBC Sports Philadelphia as part of their long-term deal. Comcast also owns the Flyers under Comcast Spectator, which also owns and manages the Wells Fargo Center, the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League, and the Seoul Infernal (formerly the Philadelphia Fusion) of the esports Overwatch League.

Before a 2017 rebranding, NBC Sports Philadelphia was known as Comcast SportsNet, which was launched in Philadelphia on Oct. 1, 1997.

Still no way to stream NBC Sports Philadelphia directly

Currently, the only way to watch Phillies, Sixers, and Flyers games on NBC Sports Philadelphia is to subscribe to a service that carries the network. In addition to Comcast’s Xfinity service and Verizon’s FiOS, NBC Sports Philadelphia is available on several so-called skinny bundles, including YouTube TV, Fubo, and Hulu + Live TV.

Rick Cordella took over as chairman of NBC Sports in September, and there hasn’t been any news on the streaming front since NBCUniversal chairman Mark Lazurus said the company planned to put all its regional sports networks — including NBC Sports Philadelphia — on Peacock in 2023. We’re halfway through 2024 now, and plans have yet to come together.

A similar plan to put live games on Peacock was halted in 2021 over internal concerns over NBC’s broader streaming strategy, according to the Wall Street Journal. In 2022, NBCUniversal Local was forced to walk back a statement that indicated the company would be launching a streaming product for its regional sports networks.

Other regional sports networks offer fans a way to stream games and content directly. In Boston, NESN charges $29.99 a month to stream Red Sox and Bruins games, while the YES Network in New York charges $24.99 a month to stream Yankees games.

Right now, the cheapest way to get NBC Sports Philadelphia is through a subscription to YouTubeTV, which runs $72.99 a month, up $8 a month from $64.99 just last year.

The network also isn’t getting any cheaper on Xfinity, where the regional sports fee for NBC Sports Philadelphia increased to $14 a month this year, up from just $3 in 2016.

Regional sports networks hit hard by cord cutting

Regional sports networks across the county are under pressure as viewers continue to cut their cable subscriptions and flock to cheaper options.

The cable bundle made regional sports networks money-generating machines, thanks to a setup where subscribers paid a high fee every month regardless if they ever watched a game. That in turn provided teams — especially those in smaller markets — a lucrative stream of revenue that is now being disrupted by streaming services and à la carte viewing.

Diamond Sports, formerly a group of regional sports networks owned by Fox Sports, is still attempting to chart a future out of bankruptcy amid concerns from both the NBA and NHL over the viability of their business plan. After their merger, Warner Bros. Discovery simply exited the business entirely, forcing teams like the Pittsburgh Pirates to scramble in order get their games on local television. In the Pirates case, they joined the Pittsburgh Penguins on SportsNet Pittsburgh, owned by NESN parent company Fenway Sports Group.

Other teams, like the Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres, and the Colorado Rockies, saw their TV rights revert back to MLB, which made direct deals with broadcast companies.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred wants a national streaming option, with a goal of having it in place for the 2025 season. But that would require the league acquiring TV rights for at least 14 teams, Manfred told reporters during the owner’s meetings in February. That wouldn’t include the Phillies and other teams that have TV rights deals in place through next season and beyond.