Once Jerry Reinsdorf had taken majority control of the multiplatform network Stadium last May, one could take that information, combine it with the knowledge that the NBC Sports Chicago contract ends after the 2024 season, and reasonably assume that the White Sox would be carrying their games on Stadium next season.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times' Jeff Agrest, you need not assume any longer. You might just have to use the word "reportedly" for a bit.
Agrest says the White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks are closing in on the other kind of Stadium deal, and an announcement could come this week.
Stadium, whose offices and studio are in the United Center, would convert into a regional sports network and seek distribution on pay-TV providers. It has a streaming platform already in place and conceivably could offer a direct-to-consumer service from its app. The teams, led by Bulls and Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, also are seeking over-the-air partners to carry the games.
It isn’t a great time to start an RSN. Cable viewership is declining, and streaming usage is rising. Changing RSNs won’t solve that problem, and it could create one by trying to gain carriage on cable and satellite providers such as Comcast and DirecTV.
If the White Sox were going it alone like the Cubs did with Marquee, it'd be an absolutely dreadful time to make this move, because their TV ratings aren't likely to start with a "1" for the remainder of their time on the widely carried NBC Sports Chicago. The hope is that the Bulls and Blackhawks will provide a little more heft, because if the Sox have to resort to urge their fans to call cable and satellite companies at this particular moment in time, they'd basically be requesting their biggest supporters to commit self-harm.
A.J. Pierzynski: One of us?
Speaking of their biggest supporters, A.J. Pierzynski revealed that he's no longer an official White Sox ambassador, which is a position he'd held since 2017. Pierzynski said as much on his Foul Territory YouTube show, and sure enough, he's not in the White Sox media guide.
That's clipped from an interview with Chuck Garfien which starts here, and it's the most novel part. The rest basically covers the problems with which we're too intimately familiar, although it's fun to watch Garfien try not to react as Pierzynski rips the team.
The White Sox were the only team that could elevate Pierzynski to such a title, and it brings two things to mind:
No. 1: A line from a Hold Steady song ("It was called The Ambassador, wasn't much diplomatic there...").
No. 2: The line from Ozzie Guillen ("If you play against him, you hate him. If you play with him, you hate him a little less.")
Maybe the organization's feelings toward Pierzynski don't rise to the level of hate, but it appears as though they like him less than they used to. Pierzynski has used his platform to knock the Sox on a regular basis. He's also been highly skeptical of Chris Getz going back to the week before his promotion last August ...
... and Pierzynski criticized Getz to his face a couple of weeks ago:
Obviously that's not the typical conduct of an ambassador, so under just about every circumstance, you'd understand why the White Sox would withdraw the title. However, the White Sox run themselves in a bizarre fashion, and Pierzynski is an unorthodox emissary. Throw in the White Sox's 2-14 start, and under this set of conditions, Pierzynski might actually offer some of the best fan outreach the team has. They can only hawk Campfire Milkshakes for so long.
It's expected that the White Sox would circle the wagons, even in response to somebody they consider their own. Still, anything that inspires White Sox fans to consider which side they're on risks asking a question they don't know the answer to.
