Chicago Cubs will be more visible in 2017 thanks to CSN streaming deal

Beginning with this year’s regular season, The Chicago Cubs and White Sox will be more accessible than ever.

Chicago Cubs‘ fans who get Comcast SportsNet Chicago’s channel in their cable package will be able to live-stream games in 2017, the company announced on Thursday. The new offering will be available without any new charges as an added value to participating providers of CSN and their subscribers.

Phil Bedella, Vice President/General Manager of CSN Chicago said the network is thrilled to have covered the city’s baseball teams like CSN covers the Bulls and Blackhawks. This all but guarantees 100 percent visibility for the Cubs in 2017.

The addition of MLB streaming further illustrates CSN’s commitment to provide viewers with the most in-depth and compelling content of any Chicagoland sports network.

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When a game is blacked out at your home, it will be live via computer, iPad or smartphone. CSN’s initiative will improve the MLB’s already resounding social media presence. The MLB Fan Cave App was a Shorty finalist for the Best Use of Social Media for Sports Award.

Crain’s Business Journal reported that this deal has been long-awaited. NBCUniversal, CSN’s parent company, recently launched “TV Everywhere”, and the new streaming service is an advancement of the technology.

Bonus coverage for the Cubs

This initiative is mutually beneficial for both the league and its teams.  Also, clubs with a lacking social media presences will now have access to more market visibility than before. In turn, the uptick in fan engagement will generate more interest in the game nationwide.

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TrackMaven, an integrated marketing analytics company, ranked the Cubs first in social media presence on both Facebook and Twitter.

Their engagement rate means that about 1.7 million people interact with every tweet the Cubs put out. Conversely, the St. Louis Cardinals ranked in the bottom three on Twitter. For more information on CSN’s streaming service, click here.