FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, March 24th, 2015
COMCAST SPORTSNET ANNOUNCES ITS 2015 CHICAGO CUBS ON-AIR/ONLINE COVERAGE DETAILS
87 Regular Season Games (the most in network history) begins April 11, 7:00 PM at Colorado on CSN+;
Plus – Exclusive Cubs content 24/7 on CSNChicago.com, Every Home and Road Game in HD,
“Crosstown Classic” action vs. White Sox and much more!
Chicago, IL (March 24, 2015) – Comcast SportsNet — the television home for the most games and most comprehensive coverage of 2014 National League All-Star Anthony Rizzo (32 HRs w/78 RBI, 4th in NL in on-base & slugging pct.), new All-Star ace acquisition Jon Lester (16-11 w/2.46 ERA & 220 K’s, 4th in AL Cy Young voting), NL All-Star Starlin Castro (.292 avg, 154 hits in 134 games), starting pitcher Jake Arrieta (10-5 w/2.53 ERA), along with the return of emerging stars Javier Baez and Jorge Soler, free agent speedster Dexter Fowler, along with the eventual arrival of baseball’s #1 prospect/2014 Minor League Player of the Year Kris Bryant (2014 stats: .325 avg, .661 slugging pct, 43 HRs w/110 RBI), and new Cubs skipper/two-time AL “Manager of the Year” Joe Maddon, who leads an exciting 2015 roster — has announced its upcoming Cubs telecast schedule and accompanying on-air network coverage and online coverage on CSNChicago.com.
The 2015 Cubs season on Comcast SportsNet includes 87 live regular season games (the most in network history, all in HD) with the first telecast taking place on Saturday, April 11 at 7:00 PM CT on CSN+, as the Cubs travel to face the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field featuring the Cubs announcing tandem of Len Kasper and Jim Deshaies with the game call. (NOTE: Viewers are urged to visit CSNChicago.com’s CHANNEL FINDER page for the exact CSN+ channel location in their area). Coverage gets underway on Cubs Pregame Live presented by Fields Auto Group beginning at 5:30 PM with host David Kaplan and studio analyst Todd Hollandsworth, along with CSN’s Cubs beat reporter Kelly Crull providing live reports from Denver. The game will be immediately followed by an expanded edition of Cubs Postgame Live presented by BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois.
Comcast SportsNet’s first home Cubs telecast of the 2015 campaign will take place on Monday, April 13 on CSN+ as the Cubs host the division rival Cincinnati Reds at Wrigley Field (pre-game coverage begins with Cubs Pregame Live presented by Fields Auto Group at 6:30 PM; first pitch is set for 7:00 PM).
In-game highlights of note for the 2015 Cubs season include the return of CSN’s popular super slo-mo technology, which is capable of showing slow-motion replays of over 2,000 frames per second. In addition, fans can once again look forward to “Pitch Trax” in all games this season, which animates the precise pitch location throughout the game in a variety of angles, along with CSN’s “Telestrator” into select game telecasts this season, detailing key plays, defensive field formations and much more. Plus, viewers will once again get an in-depth look at MLB’s instant-replay system, which, upon a manager’s challenge, will review home runs, ground rule doubles, fan interference, along with numerous other in-game scenarios.
Among the 2015 Cubs regular season schedule highlights on Comcast SportsNet, featuring 58 primetime starts, include 42 NL Central battles highlighted by games against the two-time defending division champion St. Louis Cardinals (9 games), NL wildcard representative Pittsburgh Pirates (11 games), I-90 rival Milwaukee Brewers (11 games), along with the Cincinnati Reds (11 games). In addition, viewers can look forward to four games against the 2014 World Series champion San Francisco Giants, three games against 2014 NL MVP/Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw and the defending NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers, five games against the NL East champion Washington Nationals and…an expanded interleague schedule including games against AL Central foes Cleveland, Detroit and AL champion Kansas City. PLUS — Comcast SportsNet will carry all six Cubs-White Sox “Crosstown Classic” interleague games this year. (NOTE: the July 10 and Aug. 14 & 16 “Crosstown” games will be “Cubs” telecasts on Comcast SportsNet, while the July 11 & 12 and Aug. 15 games will be “White Sox” telecasts. (The below schedule details CSN’s complete 2015 regular season Cubs game schedule.).
For the third-straight season, Cubs play-by-play man Len Kasper and former MLB pitcher/veteran game analyst Jim Deshaies join forces for every Cubs telecast on CSN. Plus, Comcast SportsNet’s David Kaplan will be joined by former Cubs/MLB standout Todd Hollandsworth before and after the majority of Comcast SportsNet Cubs telecasts on Cubs Pregame Live presented by Fields Auto Group and Cubs Postgame Live presented by BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois.
From an online perspective, Comcast SportsNet’s website, CSNChicago.com, delivers comprehensive 24/7 Cubs coverage all season long, including the following highlights:
- Live stream of new Cubs manager Joe Maddon’s post-game press conferences (sponsored by Xfinity) following every home game.
- Cubs “Insider” Patrick Mooney returns for his sixth season on the beat. Follow him on Twitter @CSNMooney for the latest team/player news and inside access 24/7. Mooney will also file daily stories/video reports and will make regular on-air appearances throughout the season on Cubs Pregame Live presented by Fields Auto Group, SportsTalk Live, SportsNet Central and in select Comcast SportsNet Cubs home games. Mooney’s online content this season will be presented by Nationwide ®.
- Cubs Pre/Postgame Live host David Kaplan will once again offer on-going reports and insight via his popular “The Kapman” blog, which will include video content. Kaplan can also be followed on Twitter 24/7 @thekapman, for up-to-the-second Cubs news.
- “Cubs Pulse,” a one-stop social media hub that reveals the latest trending topics and player buzz from Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Plus, “Cubs Pulse” aggregates all Cubs player tweets, along with fan tweets that utilize the hashtag #CubsTalk. Fans can also get interactive on Twitter by utilizing hashtags #CubsTalk for the latest news, rumors, trades and more by following @CSNCubs.
- CSNChicago.com digital baseball reporters Tony Andracki (@TonyAndracki23) and JJ Stankevitz (@JJStankevitz) will also be providing game day reports, analysis and features.
- In addition to his on-air duties, Kaplan will partner with Mooney and CSN’s Cubs baseball beat reporter Kelly Crull (@kcru11) this season on CSNChicago.com, providing multi-platform coverage via on-going special features and more.
- CubsTalk, CSNChicago.com’s high-velocity, real-time, comprehensive Cubs news and opinion section featuring original commentary, reporting and aggregation. CubsTalk is under the banner of NBC SportsTalk, NBC’s successful digital franchise on NBCSports.com that includes ProFootballTalk, HardballTalk, ProBaskteballTalk, ProHockeyTalk, CollegeFootballTalk and GolfTalkCentral. SportsTalk was extended to CSNChicago.com through the creation of BlackhawksTalk, BullsTalk, CubsTalk, WhiteSoxTalk, ChiFireTalk, BearsTalk, PrepsTalk, IrishTalk and B1GTalk which contains interactive content and continually updated insights from the network’s digital and on-air talent.
- CSNChicago.com’s state-of-the-art “AT&T U-Verse Lounge” to provide expanded Cubs content through daily and weekly shows and segments.
- CSN Chicago’s Cubs content will also be distributed via its digital network of partnerships including NBCSports.com, NBCNews.com, Yahoo! Sports and Xfinity.com.
For the eighth-straight season, Comcast SportsNet will produce every Cubs regular season home and road game in a high-definition (HD) format. In addition, ten regular season Cubs 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 in a standard definition format on CLTV.
HD games can be found on Comcast Cable channel 200 (channel 201 for CSN+HD telecasts), RCN channel 685 (channel 616 for CSN+ HD telecasts), WOW channel 220, AT&T U-verse channel 1740 (channel 1741 for CSN+HD telecasts), Mediacom channel 732 (channel 733 for CSN+HD telecasts), Dish Network channel 5429 (channel 9575 for CSN+HD telecasts) and DIRECTV channel 665 (channel 665-1 for CSN+HD telecasts). Viewers who do not own an HDTV will still be able to watch all non-CSN+ Cubs games in the standard analog format on Comcast Cable channel 37, DIRECTV channel 665 and DISH Network channel 429 among others. Viewers can visit CSNChicago.com for the exact channel location of Comcast SportsNet, CSN+, Comcast SportsNet HD and CSN+ HD telecasts in their area.
Before a number of Cubs games on Comcast SportsNet (including all afternoon and weekend telecasts), fans can tune to Cubs Pregame Live presented by Field Auto Group featuring a half-hour of pre-game analysis, interviews and the very latest Cubs news (NOTE: for weeknight 7:00 PM game start times or earlier, pre-game coverage can be found SportsTalk Live presented by The Chevy Silverado or SportsNet Central presented by Comcast Business). Following the majority of all games, viewers can look forward to the most comprehensive post-game wrap-up show on Cubs Postgame Live presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois featuring live coverage of new Cubs manager Joe Maddon’s post-game press conferences and live locker room interviews with Cubs players. Following primetime editions of Cubs Postgame Live, Comcast SportsNet will air GMC SportsNet Central with the most complete recap of the day’s top local and national sports news.
Comcast SportsNet
2015 Chicago Cubs Schedule
Regular Season: (every game available in HD)
- Sat, April 11 7:00 pm @ Colorado CSN+
- Mon, April 13 7:00 pm vs. Cincinnati CSN+
- Tue, April 14 7:00 pm vs. Cincinnati
- Sat, April 18 1:20 pm vs. San Diego
- Mon, April 20 6:00 pm @ Pittsburgh
- Wed, April 22 6:00 pm @ Pittsburgh
- Thu, April 23 11:35 am @ Pittsburgh
- Fri, April 24 6:00 pm @ Cincinnati
- Mon, April 27 7:00 pm vs. Pittsburgh
- Wed, April 29 7:00 pm vs. Pittsburgh
- Fri, May 1 1:20 pm vs. Milwaukee
- Sat, May 2 1:20 pm vs. Milwaukee
- Mon, May 4 7:00 pm @ St. Louis
- Wed, May 6 7:00 pm @ St. Louis
- Thu, May 7 12:30 pm @ St. Louis
- Fri, May 8 7:00 pm @ Milwaukee
- Sat, May 9 6:00 pm @ Milwaukee
- Mon, May 11 7:00 pm vs. New York Mets
- Tue, May 12 7:00 pm vs. New York Mets CSN+
- Thu, May 14 1:20 pm vs. New York Mets
- Fri, May 15 1:20 pm vs. Pittsburgh
- Wed, May 20 9:00 pm @ San Diego
- Thu, May 21 8:00 pm @ San Diego CSN+
- Fri, May 22 8:30 pm @ Arizona CSN+
- Sat, May 23 9:00 pm @ Arizona
- Tue, May 26 6:00 pm vs. Washington
- Wed, May 27 7:00 pm vs. Washington CSN+
- Fri, May 29 3:00 pm vs. Kansas City
- Mon, June 1 6:00 pm @ Miami
- Tue, June 2 6:00 pm @ Miami
- Fri, June 5 6:00 pm @ Washington
- Sat, June 6 11:00 am @ Washington
- Sun, June 7 3:00 pm @ Washington
- Tue, June 9 6:00 pm @ Detroit
- Wed, June 10 6:00 pm @ Detroit
- Thu, June 11 7:00 pm vs. Cincinnati
- Sun, June 14 TBD vs. Cincinnati
- Tue, June 16 7:00 pm vs. Cleveland CSN+
- Wed, June 17 6:00 pm @ Cleveland
- Thu, June 18 6:00 pm @ Cleveland
- Tue, June 23 7:00 pm vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
- Wed, June 24 7:00 pm vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
- Sun, June 28 1:00 pm @ St. Louis
- Tue, June 30 6:00 pm @ New York Mets
- Fri, July 3 1:20 pm vs. Miami
- Sun, July 5 TBD vs. Miami
- Tue, July 7 7:00 pm vs. St. Louis
- Wed, July 8 7:00 pm vs. St. Louis
- ‘Fri, July 10 3:00 pm vs. White Sox
- Fri, July 17 6:30 pm @ Atlanta
- Mon, July 20 6:00 pm @ Cincinnati
- Tue, July 21 6:00 pm @ Cincinnati
- Mon, July 27th 7:00 pm vs. Colorado CSN+
- Tue, July 28 7:00 pm vs. Colorado CSN+
- Thu, July 30 7:00 pm @ Milwaukee
- Mon, Aug 3 6:00 pm @ Pittsburgh
- Wed, Aug 5 6:00 pm @ Pittsburgh
- Thu, Aug 6 7:00 pm vs. San Francisco
- Sun, Aug 9 TBD vs. San Francisco
- Tue, Aug 11 7:00 pm vs. Milwaukee
- Fri, Aug 14 3:00 pm @ White Sox
- Sun, Aug 16 1:00 pm @ White Sox
- Thu, Aug 20 7:00 pm vs. Atlanta
- Fri, Aug 21 3:00 pm vs. Atlanta
- Wed, Aug 26 9:00 pm @ San Francisco
- Thu, Aug 27 2:30 pm @ San Francisco
- Sun, Aug 30 TBD @ Los Angeles Dodgers
- Mon, Aug 31 7:00 pm vs. Cincinnati
- Wed, Sept 2 1:20 pm vs. Cincinnati
- Fri, Sept 4 1:20 pm vs. Arizona
- Sat, Sept 5 1:20 pm vs. Arizona
- Tue, Sept 8 7:00 pm @ St. Louis
- Wed, Sept 9 12:30 pm @ St. Louis
- Thu, Sept 10 6:00 pm @ Philadelphia
- Fri, Sept 11 6:00 pm @ Philadelphia
- Sat, Sept 12 6:00 pm @ Philadelphia
- Wed, Sept 16 6:00 pm @ Pittsburgh
- Sun, Sept 20 TBD vs. St. Louis
- Mon, Sept 21 7:00 pm vs. Milwaukee
- Tue, Sept 22 7:00 pm vs. Milwaukee CSN+
- Wed, Sept 23 7:00 pm vs. Milwaukee
- Sat, Sept 26 TBD vs. Pittsburgh
- Sun, Sept 27 TBD vs. Pittsburgh
- Tue, Sept 29 6:00 pm @ Cincinnati
- Thu, Oct 1 11:35 pm @ Cincinnati
- Fri, Oct 2 7:00 pm @ Milwaukee
- Sat, Oct 3 6:00 pm @ Milwaukee
87 Regular Season Games – 41 home, 46 away
Schedule Subject to Change
All Times Central Time
Comcast SportsNet Chicago, a partnership between the Chicago Blackhawks (NHL), Chicago Bulls (NBA), Chicago Cubs (MLB), Chicago White Sox (MLB) and the NBC Sports Group, features over 275 live pro games in high definition each year. In addition, CSN delivers extensive pre/post-game coverage for its core pro team partners, as well as the Chicago Bears, along with Emmy Award-winning regional sports news and analysis via SportsNet Central and SportsTalk Live. Through the network’s growing digital platform, CSNChicago.com, Chicago sports fans tap into the most comprehensive and dedicated 24/7 online destination for breaking news, up-to-the-minute game previews/recaps, highlights, multimedia video clips, blogs and standout coverage from CSNChicago.com’s team of “Insiders.” Follow the network on Twitter via @CSNChicago.
NBC Sports Regional Networks, part of the NBC Sports Group, consist of 11 regional networks that deliver more than 2,400 live sporting events annually, along with award-winning breaking news, comprehensive analysis, digital content and original programming to more than 43 million homes. The NBC Sports Regional Networks are: Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, Comcast SportsNet California, Comcast SportsNet Chicago, Comcast SportsNet Houston, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic, which serves Baltimore and Washington D.C., Comcast SportsNet New England, Comcast SportsNet Northwest, The Comcast Network, Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia and SportsNet New York. For more information, visit ComcastSportsNet.com. For more information about NBC Sports Group properties, including press releases, photos, talent and executive bios and headshots, please visit NBCSportsGroupPressBox.com.