NBC Sports Chicago Upcoming Renewal

[SpaethCo]

I pretty much hate the Apple remote, so maybe a real remote would help.

I hated the Apple remote until I got a hang of “touching” instead of “swiping” to navigate with it. If you touch the top/bottom/left/right you move the cursor or selector one step in that direction. Touch 4 times on the right of the touchpad, the cursor moves exactly 4 spaces to the right on the Apple TV.

They should call that out more somehow, because swipe navigation was the source of most of my frustration with the AppleTV remote.

 

[Ziaka]

I have been with Dish since 1997 and this is the first time I am thinking about switching providers. I will wait until the end of the year to see if by any miracle they will bring back NBC Sports Chicago. If not, I will be adding TV to my Xfinity internet/phone account.

 

[CubsWin]

I have been with Dish since 1997 and this is the first time I am thinking about switching providers. I will wait until the end of the year to see if by any miracle they will bring back NBC Sports Chicago. If not, I will be adding TV to my Xfinity internet/phone account.

I'm pretty much in the same boat. If Dish doesn't get the new Marquee Sports Network in Chicago, I'll be dropping them and adding TV to my Xfinity internet service. I have been with Dish for over 15 years, but not having sports (especially the Cubs) is a dealbreaker for me. If they want to turn themselves into a budget TV provider without sports, I guess that is fine, but it isn't for me.

 

[DISH Support]

I'm pretty much in the same boat. If Dish doesn't get the new Marquee Sports Network in Chicago, I'll be dropping them and adding TV to my Xfinity internet service. I have been with Dish for over 15 years, but not having sports (especially the Cubs) is a dealbreaker for me. If they want to turn themselves into a budget TV provider without sports, I guess that is fine, but it isn't for me.

We would hate to see you leave the DISH family! I would be happy to forward your request for the new Marquee Sports Network to our Programming Team for review and consideration. - Christina W.

 

[jgags6]

If Dish doesn't re-add NBC Sports Chicago by Feb I will be dropping Dish for Xfinity also.

 

[Riverpilot]

Still nothing with Sports Chicago.... yesterday Mediacom came to agreement for the new Cubs Marquee channel as well, so... Mediacom has both now, as well as the RSN that I would watch. :sigh:
Metronet, which is laying fiber currently in the QC area, also seems to be carrying both of the channels.

I don't like change. lol

 

[zippyfrog]

Today DishPromise.com was updated, and it says nothing new to report. I know you can't read tone on a website,but it sounds like they are waiting for NBC Sports Chicago to come back to the table.

 

[Riverpilot]

Yeah, I don't expect Dish to carry this or the RSN again. Charlie figures those who want it have already left, and those who are staying don't care enough to leave.

My free month of youtube tv will expire soon... It's ok, pretty much the same thing as Hulu TV, but I wouldn't want to use them full time yet.
Mediacom has the mg2 with 6 tuners available. After asking, they stated I can get two of the mg2, which would give me 12 tuners for recordings etc...

 

[Riverpilot]

Still nothing new from Dish on carrying Sports Chicago. Only saving grace is the Bulls and Blackhawks are sucking it up this season.

AT&T Now has both this and the Cubs new channel available. Though I'm not sure of the whole IPTV working 100% of the time at the moment.
I've decided to hang onto Dish until spring (March area).. if they don't have this and the Cubs channel by that time, I'll decide between Mediacom, Metronet or the AT&T IPTV.

 

[nyrfan1]

We would hate to see you leave the DISH family! I would be happy to forward your request for the new Marquee Sports Network to our Programming Team for review and consideration. - Christina W.

When is the deal over for NBC Sports Bay Area? Good to know before I go long term? Anyone know?

 

[zippyfrog]

Still nothing new from Dish on carrying Sports Chicago. Only saving grace is the Bulls and Blackhawks are sucking it up this season. AT&T Now has both this and the Cubs new channel available. Though I'm not sure of the whole IPTV working 100% of the time at the moment. I've decided to hang onto Dish until spring (March area).. if they don't have this and the Cubs channel by that time, I'll decide between Mediacom, Metronet or the AT&T IPTV.

This has made not having NBC Sports Chicago easier this year. My YouTube TV time has run out, and in all, I only watched 2 full Bulls games. I can't see Dish getting the new Cubs channel this year especially since the contract with Sinclair's local channels doesn't end until 2021. Plus, since there is the new RSN surcharge, if Dish was going to add the RSN's, I would think they would have put in a surcharge as opposed to adding the RSN then adding the surcharge midway through the year. It is always easier to drop a charge midstream than add a charge.

 

[Riverpilot]

This has made not having NBC Sports Chicago easier this year. My YouTube TV time has run out, and in all, I only watched 2 full Bulls games. I can't see Dish getting the new Cubs channel this year especially since the contract with Sinclair's local channels doesn't end until 2021. Plus, since there is the new RSN surcharge, if Dish was going to add the RSN's, I would think they would have put in a surcharge as opposed to adding the RSN then adding the surcharge midway through the year. It is always easier to drop a charge midstream than add a charge.

I'm not sure about the Cubs channel. I don't really expect Dish to carry it, but I dunno. Metronet states they should be able to provide service to my address by summer at the latest.
Regardless what I do with video service, I'm adding Metronet for internet as my main. Mediacom internet will be my backup. Even doing that, then adding Mediacom or Metronet TV, I'd still be $50 cheaper than Dish as my TV provider.