NBC Sports Chicago said it will produce alternative telecasts for 10 Chicago Blackhawks home NHL games this season that will include a camera dedicated to select players, including rookie sensation Connor Bedard.

The first Hawkcast will appear December 5 when the Blackhawks host the Nashville Predators.

While a traditional telecast appears on NBC Sports Chicago, the Hawkcast on NBC Sports Chicago Plus will feature a separate team of analysts announcing the “iso cam” action.

Sportscasters and hockey analysts will include pregame host Pat Boyle and Caley Chelios, Tony Granato, John Scott, Charlie Roumeliotis, Chris Vosters and Darren Pang.

Networks have been looking to appeal to viewers with specialized and alternative telecasts of games, a move popularized by ESPN’s “Manningcast” during Monday Night Football, featuring former NFL quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning

“We’re looking forward to presenting our special HawkCast presentations showcasing Connor and other select Blackhawks players during their full shift on the ice, said John Schippman, VP of Sports Content, NBCUniversal Local Chicago. “These exclusive telecasts on NBC Sports Chicago Plus will enable Blackhawks fans to experience the player’s movements and entire on-ice mindset in a brand-new way.”

The Chicago Blackhawks are getting ready to draft highly touted prospect Connor Bedard with the first pick in the National Hockey League draft this week and NBC Sports Chicago is going on a power play with three days of extensive coverage of the team’s historic selection.

Bedard had been called the most promising player to enter the league since Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby. The only other time the Blackhawks had the No. 1 overall pick in the draft was in 2007 when the team selected Patrick Kane, who helped lead it to three Stanley Cup championships.

The NHL draft will air live from Nashville on ESPN and NHL Network, with streaming on ESPN Plus. Round 1 takes place Wednesday night, with rounds 2 through 7 on Thursday.

On Wednesday, NBC Sports Chicago will air Blackhawks Draft Night Live presented by ChevyDriveschicago.com. Hosted by Pat Boyle, the one-hour live reaction special will provide details and analysis of the top pick from experts including former players Darren Pang, Denis Savard, Steve Larmer, Adam Burish, Ben Eager and Bryan Bickell, plus broadcasters Pat Foley and Charlie Roumelotis.

Blackhawks Draft Night Live will also be available on the NBC Chicago News streaming channel.

On Thursday night, following the White Sox game telecast, NBC Sports Chicago will show Blackhawks Draft Recap presented by ChevyDrivesChicago.com. The show will be hosted by Pat Bolye with analysis provided by Caley Chelios and a live report from Nashville by Roumeliotis. 

Blackhawks Class of ‘23, hosted by Boyle and Chelios, will appear on Friday. The show will feature the team’s official press conference live and feature interviews with the draft picks, coaches and front-office execs. 

Blackhawks Draft Recap and Blackhawks Class of ‘23 will also be available on the NBC Chicago News streaming channel.

NBC Sports Chicago will also be offering coverage on digital media, social platforms and via podcasts.

It’s going to be a different baseball season at NBC Sports Chicago.

The regional sports network that started as a joint venture among Comcast, the White Sox, Bulls, Blackhawks and Cubs will not be airing Cubs games for the first time since 2003.

With the Cubs opting to launch their own network, NBC Sports Chicago is doubling down on the up-and-coming Sox, whose local games, like those of the Cubs, will no longer be on broadcast.

“We’ve got all the White Sox games for the most part,” Kevin Cross, general manager of NBC Sports Chicago, said. “This will be fun.”

Last year, televised 80 Cubs games that averaged a 4.1 rating, down 7% from the prior season. It showed 105 White Sox games.

Those averaged a 1 rating, up 25%. This year, the network will carry 161 of 162 regular season Sox games.

This season, there are high expectations for the White Sox. While the team was rebuilding, was showing minor league games to familiarize fans with prospects who would be coming up to the South Side.

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When the last baseball season ended, rebranded itself as the home of Chicago Sports. That means the network will still cover that team on the north side of town.

“The fan base in this market wants that and we still have to provide it,” Cross said.

Outside of baseball season, Cross figures will have a real advantage over Marquee Sports Network, the Cubs’ outlet. When winter sets in, will be carrying Bulls basketball and Blackhawks hockey.

“There won’t be a single week of the year where we don’t have live events and pro events,” he said. “That’s a great thing for us and I love where we’re positioned.”

The addition of more live White Sox games has helped NBCSC maintain affiliate fees even with the Cubs’ departure. And while some sponsors have moved to Marquee with the Cubs, “we’re off to a really good start from an advertising standpoint,” Cross said. “The community is buying into it. They know that the Sox have something going on and they want to get in early on.”

He added, “Our biggest selling point is that we’re a year-round network.”

According to Kagan analyst Adam Gajo, is expected to generate $207 million in revenue, with $168.7 million coming from subscriber fees ($4.29 per subscriber per month) and $35.6 million from advertising. It will earn $8.8 million in cash flow, according to Kagan.

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To win the competition with Marquee, Cross believes his network needs to constantly innovate. This season the network will boast new, state-of-the-art studios, built by the folks who designed the studios NBC uses for the Olympics.

“It’s going to be a studio that allows us to create content in entirely different ways. And that’s what the fans want,” he said.

Beyond television, Cross said he wants to be strong on digital with written content, video-on-demand and fans engaged on social media. “We’ve got to be there for fans 24/7, he said.

Comcast’s CSN Chicago said it will live stream the upcoing season's Major League Baseball games featuring the World Champion Cubs as well as the White Sox.

The games will be available to authenticated pay TV subscribers via CSNChicago.com and the NBC Sports app. CSN Chicago also will stream its pre- and post-game shows.

Baseball games were not previously available online because of tangled rights issues and legacy issues related to defining each team’s home markets. Last year, Fox’s regional sports networks made deals to stream games, and now the floodgates seem to be fully open.

“With live streaming currently offered for our Bulls [NBA] and Blackhawks [NHL] telecasts, the addition of MLB streaming further illustrates our commitment to provide our viewers with the most in-depth and compelling Cubs and White Sox content in and out of the home and on any device,” said Phil Bedella, VP/GM of CSN Chicago.

CSN Chicago is a partnership of the NBC Sports Group with the Cubs, White Sox, Blackhawks and Bulls.

Read more at broadcastingcable.com.

Epix has picked up the National Hockey League’s documentary series focusing on its January Winter Classic game, sources close to both parties confirmed.

The series, which ran on HBO for four seasons, will now appear on the premium series owned by Lionsgate Entertainment, MGM and Paramount Pictures. The network is expected to produce four documentary segments leading up the Jan. 1 outdoor game between the Washington Capitals and the Chicago Blackhawks, said sources.

Epix will also produce a four-segment series leading into the Stadium Series game Feb. 21 at Levi’s Field between the San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings, according to sources.

Epix officials declined to comment on the matter and NHL officials could not be reached for comment.

HBO recently released a statement regarding its decision not to continue its 24/7 NHL Classic series: "Everybody at HBO enjoyed working with the NHL and its teams on 24/7 the past four years. It was an exciting endeavor and we’re very proud of the never-before-seen presentation of the world of hockey that 24/7 was able to capture. There was never an expectation that HBO would chronicle the lead-up to the Winter Classic every year. So we will not be involved with the NHL this season. We wish the NHL the very best and the door will always remain open."