CHSN sweeps – While the White Sox won two of three games in the Crosstown Series, Chicago Sports Network more than matched that success on television, averaging 200,000 viewers across the simulcast on WCIU and outdrawing the Cubs’ Marquee Sports Network. The gap underscored
The White Sox won the Crosstown Series on the field last weekend. Off the field, their TV deal did the same.
Chicago Sports Network’s broadcasts of the three games—simulcast on broadcast station WCIU—averaged 200,000 viewers. Marquee Sports Network’s coverage of the Cubs averaged 112,600 viewers, according to Nielsen. The scoreboard told the story in plain arithmetic: the Sox won two out of three games. and CHSN swept the series in ratings.
On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, WCIU was the most-watched station in Chicago during the games. A precise breakdown of viewing platforms wasn’t available. but the audience pulled in on “The U” largely did so through pay-TV services. In other words, it wasn’t just about having an antenna. For viewers who watched, the channel was part of a basic package.
CHSN’s approach has always been to chase audiences wherever they watch. The network’s original plan was broad—be on broadcast. cable. satellite and streaming—an ambition that didn’t fully match how major providers were rolling out the channel. Comcast. the biggest pay-TV provider in the market. didn’t pick up CHSN until the network dropped its over-the-air access locally last June. Comcast then placed CHSN on its highest programming tier, now called TV Premium. Marquee followed later.
Even with that shift, CHSN didn’t quit the OTA plan. It struck a deal with WCIU to carry 10 Sox games this season, including four against the Cubs. The other game on that arrangement is Aug. 17 at Wrigley Field.
For Cubs fans, the timing matters. Plenty of people who didn’t follow Marquee to the higher tier likely tuned into “The U” instead.
Marquee launched in 2020. after years when Cubs games were carried on WGN. which had broadcast the Cubs since 1948 and benefited from WGN’s superstation status starting in 1978. That reach helped build a national following. When the Cubs left for Marquee and the Sox. Bulls and Blackhawks moved to then-NBC Sports Chicago. WGN was left without that anchor.
Cubs business president Crane Kenney has pushed for Marquee to be the destination for Cubs fans, even as the games moved around in earlier years, including appearances on WCIU. He has also tried OTA broadcasting at times, including a 2024 spring-training game on The U.
With CHSN, the push toward easy access has been more direct. After gaining carriage on Comcast last June, CHSN president and CEO Mike McCarthy—who helped launch Marquee as its general manager—put the Sox’ home series against the Cubs a month later on The U.
Winning, in this case, translated into measurable lift. The CHSN/WCIU viewership last weekend was up 64% from that July 2025 series. Marquee’s viewership was down 22%. The three games were also the most-watched Sox games locally since 2021.
The numbers weren’t confined to the games themselves. The postgame show with Chuck Garfien and Ozzie Guillen averaged 97,500 viewers for the weekend. On Sunday, when the Sox took the series in a 9-8, 10-inning victory, “White Sox Postgame Live” held 62% of the game audience, or 135,700 viewers.
CHSN’s “bread” still comes from linear TV, and it has more opportunities ahead. Six more Sox games are scheduled to air on WCIU, including games against the Dodgers on June 14 and the Yankees on July 29.
At minimum, those OTA-access broadcasts can draw in people who aren’t CHSN subscribers. At best, the series format and the convenience of “The U” can bring viewers along who count toward more than just the limited OTA slate.
Of course, it all starts with winning. But last weekend’s ratings made a different point just as clear: it continues with easy access.
THE SCOREBOARD
Average viewership, according to Nielsen, for each game of the Cubs-White Sox series last weekend on the Sox’ Chicago Sports Network and the Cubs’ Marquee Sports Network:
Game — CHSN/WCIU — Marquee
Friday — 207,600 — 125,400
Saturday — 172,600 — 87,200
Sunday — 219,700 — 125,300
Chicago Sports Network CHSN Marquee Sports Network WCIU Nielsen ratings Crosstown Series White Sox Cubs Mike McCarthy