FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, September 30th, 2013

CHICAGO BULLS BASKETBALL – FEATURING “THE RETURN” OF DERRICK ROSE – BACK ON COMCAST SPORTSNET STARTING OCTOBER 7

Pre-Season Action begins Oct. 7, First Regular Season game on Nov. 6, Plus – Live Pre/Post-Game Shows all season long and comprehensive nightly coverage on ‘SportsNet Central,’ Highlight 2013-14 Schedule

CSNChicago.com to feature 24/7 reporting from Bulls “Insider” Aggrey Sam; website to also feature live video of Post-Game Press Conferences, Daily Player/Coaches Interviews, Game Highlights, plus – On-Air Talent Blogs,

In-Game Twitter updates from CSN talent, “Bulls Pulse” social media center, Live interactive Scoreboard and more!

Chicago, IL (September 30, 2013) – Comcast SportsNet, the television home for the most games and most comprehensive coverage of the Chicago Bulls, is once again ready to deliver another thrill-packed season of NBA excitement with 42 live regular season Bulls games (20 home, 22 away), including in-depth pre-game and post-game shows, and the most thorough 24/7 online Bulls coverage to date on CSNChicago.com!

The 2013-14 Chicago Bulls regular season on Comcast SportsNet gets underway on Wednesday, November 6 as Chicago basketball’s favorite son Derrick Rose returns to the court this season, along with NBA “All-Stars” Luol Deng & Joakim Noah, plus – Carlos Boozer, Jimmy Butler, Taj Gibson, Kirk Hinrich and newly-acquired guard/forward Mike Dunleavy visit the Central Division rival Indiana Pacers at 6:00 PM (NOTE: Coverage gets underway on McDonald’s Bulls Pregame Live at 5:30 PM).  Kia Bulls Postgame Live immediately follows the game featuring Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau’s post-game press conference (to also be streamed live on CSNChicago.com), along with live locker room player interviews and complete post-game analysis.

Comcast SportsNet’s first home game telecast of the ’13-’14 campaign takes place on Friday, November 8 vs. Utah (with expanded, live coverage from the United Center beginning at 5:30 PM on SportsTalk Live; tip-off at 7:00 PM).

In addition to the 42 regular season games, Comcast SportsNet will also televise six Bulls pre-season games starting on Monday, October 7 at 7:00 PM, when the Bulls face the Memphis Grizzlies live from the Scottrade Center in St. Louis, MO.  Additional pre-season match-ups will air on Oct. 12 vs. Washington (in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil), Oct. 16 vs. Detroit, Oct. 18 vs. Indiana, Oct. 23 vs. Oklahoma City (in Wichita, KS) and Oct. 25 vs. Denver.

IMPORTANT NOTE: For the Saturday, October 12 live pre-season telecast from Rio De Janeiro, Brazil (4:00 PM CT start time), Comcast SportsNet will have its Bulls announcing tandem of Neil Funk and Stacey King calling the game from CSN’s downtown Chicago studios via a satellite video feed provided by the NBA.

Highlights from this season’s Bulls regular season schedule on Comcast SportsNet features 27 games against Eastern Conference foes, nine of which are against Central Division opponents.  In addition, Bulls fans can look forward to a Sunday afternoon road match-up against Blake Griffin, Chris Paul and the LA Clippers (Nov. 24), a road battle against Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler and last year’s second-seeded team in the Eastern Conference, the New York Knicks (Dec. 11), a New Year’s Eve night home game against the Toronto Raptors (Dec. 31), a home and road match-up against John Wall and the Washington Wizards (Jan. 13 & Jan. 17), a road battle against Tim Duncan and the defending Western Conference champion San Antonio Spurs (Jan. 29), a road match-up against the Bulls first round playoff opponent last season, Deron Williams, Kevin Garnett and the Brooklyn Nets (Mar. 3), a home game against newly-acquired Dwight Howard and the Houston Rockets (Mar. 13) and a home battle against last year’s Western Conference #1 playoff seed, Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder (Mar. 17).  (NOTE: Comcast SportsNet’s complete 2013-14 pre-season and regular season Bulls schedule appears at the end of this release).

For the sixth-straight season, veteran Bulls play-by-play announcer Neil Funk will be teamed up with former Bulls standout center Stacey King, who will handle color analysis all season long.  SportsNet Central’s Bulls beat reporter Aiyana Cristal will also be the primary courtside reporter for Bulls home game telecasts this season.

McDonald’s Bulls Pregame Live (featuring hosts Mark Schanowski and four-time NBA champion center, including three with the Bulls, Will Perdue) is a half-hour pre-game show featuring a breakdown of the evening’s match-up, interviews with coaches and players and a look at the other games around the NBA.  McDonald’s Bulls Pregame Live will air prior to every Bulls game this season with the exception of 6:00 PM game time starts (pre-game coverage for these games can be seen at 5:00 PM on SportsTalk Live presented by Land Rover featuring host David Kaplan; SportsTalk Live will also be the place to hear from numerous Bulls/NBA experts all season long).

Immediately following every game this season, viewers can look forward to the most comprehensive post-game wrap-up show on Kia Bulls Postgame Live.  Kia Bulls Postgame Live (hosted by Schanowski/Perdue) will also feature live coverage of Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau’s post-game press conference and locker room interviews with Bulls players.  Following the majority of evening Kia Bulls Postgame Live airings, viewers can catch GMC SportsNet Central at 10:00 & 10:30 PM and SportsNet Central presented by CLR at 12 Midnight with the most complete recap of the day’s top local and national sports news.

Three regular season Bulls games are currently scheduled to be telecast on Comcast SportsNet Plus (see attached schedule).  Comcast SportsNet Plus (CSN+) telecasts are provided to Comcast SportsNet affiliates and distributed to viewers when two live events are scheduled simultaneously.  Comcast Cable and RCN subscribers can watch all CSN+ games on CLTV.  Cable and satellite operators who do not carry CLTV will place CSN+ telecasts on a to-be-determined channel.  Viewers can visit CSNChicago.com for the exact channel location of Comcast SportsNet, CSN+, Comcast SportsNet HD and CSN+ HD telecasts in their area.

From an online perspective, Comcast SportsNet’s website, CSNChicago.com, delivers comprehensive 24/7 Bulls coverage all season long, including the following highlights:

  • Live stream of Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau’s postgame press conferences (sponsored by Xfinity).
  • Video highlights from EVERY Bulls game that airs on Comcast SportsNet or any other network.
  • Bulls “Insider” Aggrey Sam returns for his fifth season, covering home and away games. Sam will also file daily stories/video reports (including reports from practice and shoot-arounds) and will make regular on-air appearances throughout the season on McDonald’s Bulls Pregame Live, SportsTalk Live, SportsNet Central and in all Comcast SportsNet Bulls games, highlighting #BullsTalk on CSNChicago.com.
  • Mark Strotman makes his debut on the beat as Bulls digital reporter and producer.  Strotman will provide Bulls and NBA reports/features on the beat with Sam.  Follow @BullsTalkCSN on Twitter for full team coverage, giveaways, fan photos and game day news straight from the United Center.
  • In addition to his on-air duties, Bulls Pre/Postgame Live host Mark Schanowski will partner with Sam this season on CSNChicago.com providing multi-platform coverage via on-going blogs, fan Q&A mailbag segments and much more. Fans can also follow Schanowski (@MarkSchanowski), Sam (@CSNBullsInsider) and Aiyana Cristal (@aiyanacristal) via Twitter 24/7 for the latest team/players news, insight and insider access.
  • BullsTalk, CSNChicago.com’s high-velocity, real-time, comprehensive Bulls news section featuring original commentary, news reports, trades and rumor via contributions from Sam, Schanowski and Perdue as they lend their knowledge and expertise to the latest happenings in the Central Division, as well as league-wide. BullsTalk is under the banner of NBC SportsTalk, NBC’s successful digital franchise on NBCSports.com that includes ProFootballTalk, HardballTalk, ProBasketballTalk, ProHockeyTalk, CollegeFootballTalk and GolfTalkCentral. SportsTalk was extended to CSNChicago.com through the creation of BlackhawksTalk, BullsTalk, CubsTalk, WhiteSoxTalk and BearsTalk, which contains interactive content and continually updated insights from the network’s digital and on-air talent.
  • “Bulls Pulse,” a one-stop social media hub that reveals the latest trending topics and player buzz from Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.  Plus, “Bulls Pulse” aggregates all Bulls player tweets, along with fan tweets that utilize the hashtag #BullsTalk.
  • Bulls In-Game Live, a second screen platform for web and mobile devices that combines state-of-the-art infographics, data visualization of real-time statistics and game info with rich social interactivity tied to CSN Chicago’s live game broadcasts.
  • CSNChicago.com’s new state-of-the-art “AT&T U-Verse Lounge” to provide expanded Bulls content through daily and weekly shows and segments.
  • CSN Chicago’s Bulls content will also be distributed via its digital network of partnerships including NBCSports.com, NBCNews.com, Yahoo! Sports and Xfinity.com.

 

COMCAST SPORTSNET CHICAGO

2013 – 2014 Chicago Bulls Schedule 

Pre-Season:

  1. Mon, Oct 7               vs. Memphis                                     7:00 pm           (from St. Louis, MO)
  2. Sat, Oct 12               @ Washington                                 4:00 pm           (from Rio De Janeiro, Brazil)
  3. Wed, Oct 16             vs. Detroit                                         7:00 pm
  4. Fri, Oct 18                vs. Indiana                                        7:00 pm
  5. Wed, Oct 23             @ Oklahoma City                             8:30 pm           (from Wichita, KS)
  6. Fri, Oct 25                vs. Denver                                        7:00 pm

Regular Season:

  1. Wed, Nov 6              @ Indiana                                         6:00 pm
  2. Fri, Nov 8                 vs. Utah                                            7:00 pm
  3. Mon, Nov 11             vs. Cleveland                                   7:00 pm
  4. Mon, Nov 18             vs. Charlotte                                     7:00 pm
  5. Fri, Nov 22               @ Portland                                       9:00 pm
  6. Sun, Nov 24             @ LA Clippers                                  2:30 pm
  7. Wed, Nov 27            @ Detroit                                          6:30 pm
  8. Mon, Dec 2               vs. New Orleans                               7:00 pm
  9. Tue, Dec 10             vs. Milwaukee                                  7:00 pm     CSN+
  10. Wed, Dec 11            @ New York                                     7:00 pm
  11. Fri, Dec 13               @ Milwaukee                                   7:30 pm
  12. Sat, Dec 14              vs. Toronto                                       7:00 pm
  13. Sat, Dec 28              vs. Dallas                                         7:00 pm
  14. Tue, Dec 31             vs. Toronto                                       7:00 pm
  15. Thu, Jan 2                vs. Boston                                        7:00 pm     CSN+
  16. Fri, Jan 10                @ Milwaukee                                   7:30 pm
  17. Sat, Jan 11               vs. Charlotte                                     7:00 pm
  18. Mon, Jan 13             vs. Washington                                7:00 pm
  19. Wed, Jan 15             @ Orlando                                        6:00 pm
  20. Fri, Jan 17                @ Washington                                 6:00 pm
  21. Wed, Jan 22             @ Cleveland                                    6:00 pm
  22. Sat, Jan 25               @ Charlotte                                      6:00 pm
  23. Mon, Jan 27             vs. Minnesota                                   7:00 pm
  24. Wed, Jan 29             @ San Antonio                                 8:30 pm
  25. Mon, Feb 3               @ Sacramento                                 9:00 pm
  26. Tue, Feb 4                @ Phoenix                                       8:00 pm
  27. Tue, Feb 11              vs. Atlanta                                        7:00 pm
  28. Wed, Feb 19            @ Toronto                                        6:00 pm
  29. Wed, Feb 26            vs. Golden State                              7:00 pm
  30. Fri, Feb 28                @ Dallas                                          7:30 pm
  31. Mon, Mar 3               at Brooklyn                                       6:30 pm
  32. Wed, Mar 5              @ Detroit                                          6:30 pm
  33. Fri, Mar 7                  vs. Memphis                                     6:00 pm
  34. Thu, Mar 13              vs. Houston                                      6:00 pm
  35. Mon, Mar 17             vs. Oklahoma City                            7:00 pm
  36. Wed, Mar 19            @ Philadelphia                                 6:00 pm
  37. Mon, Mar 24             vs. Indiana                                        7:00 pm
  38. Mon, Mar 31             vs. Boston                                        7:00 pm
  39. Wed, Apr 2               @ Atlanta                                         6:30 pm
  40. Wed, Apr 9               @ Minnesota                                    7:00 pm     CSN+
  41. Mon, Apr 14             vs. Orlando                                       7:00 pm
  42. Wed, Apr 16             @ Charlotte                                      7:00 pm

6 pre-season, 42 regular season (20 Home, 22 Road regular season)

Total 48 Games

All Times Central Time/ Schedule Subject to Change