Chicago Sports Network close to its first distribution deal, with DirecTV

Chicago Sports Network is close to its first distribution agreement, nearing a carriage deal with DirecTV, the Sun-Times has learned.

When CHSN launches Oct. 1, subscribers of DirecTV, DirecTV Stream and U-Verse TV are expected to see a seamless transition from NBC Sports Chicago, which will shut down Sept. 30, to the new home of the White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks.

CHSN is expected to have the same channel location and appear in the same five-state footprint on DTV that NBCSCH has (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin). The network is anticipating more distribution announcements ahead of its launch.

CHSN's biggest challenge regarding distribution is negotiating a carriage agreement with Comcast, the largest cable provider in the market. Its Xfinity service is believed to be in roughly half of households. Comcast has been moving regional sports networks to its highest programming tier, Ultimate TV, because of the high cost of carrying sports.

In July, Cubs president of business operations Crane Kenney told The Score that he was concerned about the team's Marquee Sports Network maintaining carriage on Xfinity when their agreement expires at the end of September.

Last month, Comcast ended a three-month blackout of Diamond Sports Group's Bally Sports Network channels, putting them in the Ultimate TV tier.