Blackhawks, along with Bulls and White Sox, are doing this for broader business reasons, not just because of Bedard's appeal. But will this permit wider exposure of the Blackhawks' biggest asset?

The Chicago Blackhawks, along with the Bulls and White Sox, will move to a new home television network starting in October.

This will affect viewers in the Chicago area, and has the potential to expand viewership of games and access to content across a wider footprint. 

The Chicago Sports Network (CHSN) will be available across multiple platforms and deliver more than 300 games per year. It will offer pregame and postgame coverage and operate 24/7, filling in with multisport programming, it said in a news release Monday.

CHSN is joint venture between the three teams and Standard Media. It replaces NBC Sports Chicago, which figures to be phased out since it will have no games to broadcast after its contracts with the three teams end on Oct. 1, 2024

CHSN plans on broadcasting and creating content from "highly visible" production studios from inside the United Center and Guaranteed Rate Field." The networks plans to kick off with broadcasts of Blackhawks and Bulls preseason games before the start of their 2024-25 seasons. The White Sox will move over for the 2025 MLB season with the remainder of the lowly American League's team's 2024 games on NBC Sports Chicago.

CHSN claims it will reach "a widely expanded Midwest footprint, including most of Illinois, and parts of Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin, pending league approvals."

The network also said it will launch with agreements in place with traditional cable providers and streaming services and be available via free, over-the-air broadcast. However, it did not name specific outlets where fans will be able to subscribe.

“What is the best approach to distribution?" said Jason Coyle, CHSN president in the release. "How can we push the limits of both in-game and studio production? We plan to serve our fans on as many platforms and in as many markets as our rights allow.”

It's not known how this may affect fans in Canada, where many of our THN readers and fans of the "Original Six" Blackhawks live. We plan on talking to managers to learn if say, viewers in Ontario, will be able to tune in Connor Bedard & Co on CHSN.

The three teams’ partner, Standard Media, is based in Nashville and owns four media stations, from Rhode Island to Nebraska.