FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, March 23rd, 2016

COMCAST SPORTSNET ANNOUNCES ITS 2016 CHICAGO WHITE SOX ON-AIR/DIGITAL COVERAGE DETAILS

107 Regular Season Games, including the Season Opener on Monday, April 4 & Home Opener on Friday, April 8!

Joining CSN’s 2016 White Sox announcing crew – featuring Ken “Hawk” Harrelson & Steve Stone – will include new play-by-play home game announcer/southside native Jason Benetti!

Plus – Exclusive White Sox content 24/7 on CSNChicago.com, Every Home and Road Game in HD, “Crosstown Cup” action vs. Cubs and more!

Chicago, IL (March 23, 2016) – Comcast SportsNet — the television home for the most games and most comprehensive coverage of 2016 Chicago White Sox featuring defending American League strikeout champion/perennial All-Star Chris Sale (274 K’s in 2015), first baseman/slugging superstar Jose Abreu (.303 avg. w/66 HR’s & 208 RBI in his first two big league seasons), the arrivals of third baseman/two-time NL All-Star Todd Frazier (35 HR’s & 89 RBI in ‘15), veteran shortstop/2007 NL MVP Jimmy Rollins (winner of four Gold Gloves in his 16-year career), second baseman Brett Lawrie & outfielder Austin Jackson, along with the return of emerging stars Carlos Rodon & Avisail Garcia and veteran standouts Jose Quintana, Adam Eaton, Melky Cabrera and David Robertson among others — has announced its detailed 2016 White Sox telecast schedule and accompanying on-air network  & digital coverage on CSNChicago.com.

The 2016 White Sox season on Comcast SportsNet includes 107 live regular season games, starting off with the SEASON OPENER against the Oakland Athletics on Monday, April 4 at 9:00 PM CT, featuring the veteran White Sox announcing tandem of Ken “Hawk” Harrelson and Steve Stone on the call LIVE from the O.co Coliseum in Oakland, CA.  Opening Day coverage begins at 8:30 PM CT with the season premiere of White Sox Pregame Live presented by The Kowalis Family of Dealerships, hosted by Comcast SportsNet’s White Sox studio tandem of Chuck Garfien and Bill Melton, along with CSN’s White Sox beat reporter Siera Santos providing live reports from Oakland.  The game will be immediately followed by an expanded edition of Subaru White Sox Postgame Live, featuring White Sox manager Robin Ventura’s live post-game press conference, along with player post-game reaction, expanded highlights, detailed analysis and more.

Comcast SportsNet will also televise the 2016 White Sox HOME OPENER on Friday, April 8 at 3:00 PM CT when the White Sox host the division rival Cleveland Indians.  Coverage begins at 2:00 PM with an expanded, one-hour U.S. Cellular Field LIVE REMOTE Home Opener edition of White Sox Pregame Live presented by The Kowalis Family of Dealerships with the game immediately followed by an expanded edition of Subaru White Sox Postgame Live, also live from U.S. Cellular Field.

Beginning this season, Comcast SportsNet welcomes new White Sox play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti to the broadcast booth as he will provide the call for every White Sox home game (with the exception of the home opener and Cubs “Crosstown” series) with partner Steve Stone, along with two road games in Toronto (Apr. 25 & 27).  A southside Chicago-area native and graduate from Homewood-Flossmoor H.S., Benetti graduated from Syracuse University in 2005, where he earned bachelor’s degrees in broadcast journalism, economics and psychology. In 2011, he also earned his juris doctor from Wake Forest University’s School of Law. Prior to signing on with ESPN in 2011, Benetti called the play-by-play for the Class AAA Syracuse Chiefs, and has worked for Fox Sports 1, Westwood One Radio and Time Warner Cable SportsChannel.  Legendary White Sox broadcaster Ken “Hawk” Harrelson will shift to calling all road games this season, but will be on the call for the 2016 Home Opener on April 8, along with popular “Crosstown” series against the rival Cubs in late July.

In-game highlights of note for the 2016 White Sox season include a brand new NBC Sports graphics package, along with 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 2016 White Sox regular season schedule highlights on Comcast SportsNet include 52 match-ups in the ultra-competitive AL Central Division featuring a total of 13 match-ups against the defending World Series Champion Kansas City Royals, along with 13 games apiece against the Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians, and Minnesota Twins.  In addition, viewers can look forward to four games against AL MVP Josh Donaldson and the defending AL East champ Toronto Blue Jays, four games against the defending AL West champion Texas Rangers, four games against AL Wildcard reps New York Yankees and five against the Houston Astros, plus – an expanded interleague schedule including a pair of games against the defending NL Champion New York Mets, along with additional NL East battles vs. Atlanta, Miami, Philadelphia, and Washington featuring 2015 NL MVP Bryce Harper.  ALSO — Comcast SportsNet will carry all four White Sox-Cubs “Crosstown Cup” interleague games this year.  (NOTE: the July 25 & 27 “Crosstown” games will be “White Sox” telecasts on Comcast SportsNet, while the July 26 & 28 games will be “Cubs” telecasts).

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

  • Live stream of White Sox manager Robin Ventura’s post-game press conferences (sponsored by Xfinity) following every home game.
  • White Sox “Insider” Dan Hayes returns for his fifth season on the beat. Follow him on Twitter @CSNHayes for the latest team/player news and inside access 24/7.  Hayes will also file daily stories/video reports and will make regular on-air appearances throughout the season on White Sox Pregame Live presented by The Kowalis Family of Dealerships, SportsTalk Live, SportsNet Central and in select Comcast SportsNet White Sox home games.
  • White Sox Pre/Postgame Live host Chuck Garfien will once again offer on-going reports and insight via his popular “Sox Drawer” posts, which will include exclusive video content.  Garfien can also be followed on Twitter 24/7 @ChuckGarfien, for up-to-the-second White Sox news.
  • “White Sox Pulse,” a one-stop social media hub that reveals the latest trending topics and player buzz from Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.  Plus, “White Sox Pulse” aggregates all White Sox player tweets, along with fan tweets that utilize the hashtag #WhiteSoxTalk. Fans can also get interactive on Twitter by utilizing hashtags #WhiteSoxTalk for the latest news, rumors, trades and more by following @CSNWhiteSox.
  • CSNChicago.com digital baseball reporters JJ Stankevitz (@JJStankevitz) and Paul Roumeliotis (@PaulRoumel) will also be providing game day reports, analysis and features.
  • In addition to his on-air duties, Garfien will partner with Hayes and CSN’s White Sox baseball beat reporter Siera Santos (@SieraSantos) this season on CSNChicago.com, providing multi-platform coverage via on-going special features and more.
  • WhiteSoxTalk, CSNChicago.com’s high-velocity, real-time, comprehensive White Sox news and opinion section featuring original commentary, reporting and aggregation. WhiteSoxTalk 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.
  • “The Honda Road Ahead,” presented by the Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana Honda Dealers, will provide fans with an expanded look at upcoming White Sox opponents and key pitching match-ups.
  • CSN Chicago’s White Sox content will also be distributed via its digital network of partnerships including NBCSports.com, NBCNews.com, Yahoo! Sports and Xfinity.com.

 

For the ninth-straight season, Comcast SportsNet will produce every White Sox regular season home and road game in a high-definition (HD) format.   In addition, ten White Sox 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.  CSN+ is available in high-definition on Comcast/Xfinity ch. 201 in the Chicago area/South Bend, IN & on Comcast/Xfinity ch. 285 in the Peoria, Springfield, Rockford and Champaign markets, along with being made available in DIRECTV, DISH Network, AT&T U-verse, RCN, and WOW! homes among others; viewers are urged to visit CSNChicago.com’s CHANNEL FINDER for complete channel location details). Comcast Cable and RCN subscribers can also watch all CSN+ games in standard definition on CLTV.

Before a number of White Sox games on Comcast SportsNet (including all weekend telecasts), fans can tune to White Sox Pregame Live presented by The Kowalis Family of Dealerships featuring a half-hour of pre-game analysis, interviews and the very latest White Sox 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 featuring host David Kaplan 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 Subaru White Sox Postgame Live featuring live coverage of White Sox manager Robin Ventura’s post-game press conferences and live locker room interviews with White Sox players.  Following primetime editions of White Sox 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
2016 Chicago White Sox Schedule

 Regular Season: (every game available in HD)

  1. Mon, April 4               9:00 pm            @ Oakland                              (Road/Season Opener!)
  2. Wed, April 6               9:00 pm            @ Oakland
  3. Thu, April 7                2:30 pm            @ Oakland
  4. Fri, April 8                  3:00 pm            vs. Cleveland                          (Home Opener!)
  5. Sun, April 10              1:00 pm            vs. Cleveland
  6. Mon, April 11             3:00 pm            @ Minnesota
  7. Thu, April 14              12:00 pm          @ Minnesota
  8. Fri, April 15                6:00 pm            @ Tampa Bay
  9. Sun, April 17              12:00 pm          @ Tampa Bay
  10. Mon, April 18             7:00 pm            vs. Los Angeles Angels
  11. Thu, April 21              1:00 pm            vs. Los Angeles Angels
  12. Fri, April 22               7:00 pm            vs. Texas
  13. Sun, April 24            1:00 pm            vs. Texas
  14. Mon, April 25            6:00 pm            @ Toronto
  15. Wed, April 27           6:00 pm            @ Toronto
  16. Thu, April 28             6:00 pm            @ Baltimore
  17. Fri, April 29               6:00 pm            @ Baltimore
  18. Sun, May 1               12:30 pm          @ Baltimore
  19. Tue, May 3               7:00 pm            vs. Boston
  20. Thu, May 5               7:00 pm            vs. Boston
  21. Fri, May 6                 7:00 pm            vs. Minnesota
  22. Sun, May 8               1:00 pm            vs. Minnesota
  23. Tue, May 10             7:00 pm            @ Texas
  24. Wed, May 11            1:00 pm            @ Texas
  25. Fri, May 13               6:00 pm            @ New York Yankees
  26. Sat, May 14              12:00 pm          @ New York Yankees
  27. Wed, May 18            7:00 pm            vs. Houston
  28. Thu, May 19             7:00 pm            vs. Houston
  29. Fri, May 20               7:00 pm            vs. Kansas City
  30. Sat, May 21              1:00 pm            vs. Kansas City
  31. Mon, May 23            7:00 pm            vs. Cleveland                          CSN+
  32. Tue, May 24             7:00 pm            vs. Cleveland                          CSN+
  33. Thu, May 26             7:00 pm            @ Kansas City
  34. Fri, May 27               7:00 pm            @ Kansas City
  35. Sun, May 29             1:00 pm            @ Kansas City
  36. Mon, May 30            12:00 pm          @ New York Mets
  37. Tue, May 31             6:00 pm            @ New York Mets
  38. Fri, June 3                6:00 pm            @ Detroit
  39. Sat, June 4               3:00 pm            @ Detroit
  40. Tue, June 7              7:00 pm            vs. Washington
  41. Wed, June 8             7:00 pm            vs. Washington
  42. Fri, June 10              7:00 pm            vs. Kansas City                       CSN+
  43. Sun, June 12            1:00 pm            vs. Kansas City
  44. Tue, June 14            7:00 pm            vs. Detroit
  45. Wed, June 15           7:00 pm            vs. Detroit
  46. Fri, June 17              6:00 pm            @ Cleveland
  47. Sat, June 18             5:00 pm            @ Cleveland
  48. Tue, June 21            6:00 pm            @ Boston
  49. Wed, June 22           6:00 pm            @ Boston
  50. Fri, June 24              7:00 pm            vs. Toronto                              CSN+
  51. Sat, June 25             1:00 pm            vs. Toronto
  52. Tue, June 28            7:00 pm            vs. Minnesota                          CSN+
  53. Wed, June 29           7:00 pm            vs. Minnesota
  54. Fri, July 1                 7:00 pm            @ Houston
  55. Sat, July 2                3:00 pm            @ Houston
  56. Sun, July 3               1:00 pm            @ Houston
  57. Mon, July 4               1:00 pm            vs. New York Yankees
  58. Tue, July 5               7:00 pm            vs. New York Yankees
  59. Fri, July 8                 7:00 pm            vs. Atlanta                               CSN+
  60. Sun, July 10             1:00 pm            vs. Atlanta
  61. Fri, July 15               9:00 pm            @ Los Angeles Angels
  62. Sat, July 16              8:00 pm            @ Los Angeles Angels
  63. Mon, July 18             9:00 pm            @ Seattle
  64. Wed, July 20            2:30 pm            @ Seattle
  65. Thu, July 21             7:00 pm            vs. Detroit
  66. Fri, July 22               7:00 pm            vs. Detroit
  67. Sat, July 23              6:00 pm            vs. Detroit
  68. Mon, July 25             7:00 pm            vs. CUBS
  69. Wed, July 27            7:00 pm            @ CUBS
  70. Fri, July 29               7:00 pm            @ Minnesota
  71. Tue, Aug 2               6:00 pm            @ Detroit
  72. Thu, Aug 4               12:00 pm          @ Detroit
  73. Fri, Aug 5                 7:00 pm            vs. Baltimore
  74. Sun, Aug 7               1:00 pm            vs. Baltimore
  75. Tue, Aug 9               7:00 pm            @ Kansas City
  76. Wed, Aug 10            7:00 pm            @ Kansas City
  77. Fri, Aug 12               6:00 pm            @ Miami
  78. Sat, Aug 13              6:00 pm            @ Miami
  79. Tue, Aug 16             6:00 pm            @ Cleveland
  80. Thu, Aug 18             6:00 pm            @ Cleveland
  81. Fri, Aug 19               7:00 pm            vs. Oakland                             CSN+
  82. Sun, Aug 21             1:00 pm            vs. Oakland
  83. Wed, Aug 24            7:00 pm            vs. Philadelphia
  84. Thu, Aug 25             7:00 pm            vs. Seattle
  85. Sat, Aug 27              6:00 pm            vs. Seattle
  86. Tue, Aug 30             6:00 pm            @ Detroit
  87. Wed, Aug 31            12:00 pm          @ Detroit
  88. Thu, Sept 1              7:00 pm            @ Minnesota
  89. Fri, Sept 2                7:00 pm            @ Minnesota
  90. Sat, Sept 3               6:00 pm            @ Minnesota
  91. Mon, Sept 5              3:00 pm            vs. Detroit
  92. Tue, Sept 6              7:00 pm            vs. Detroit
  93. Fri, Sept 9                7:00 pm            vs. Kansas City
  94. Sat, Sept 10             6:00 pm            vs. Kansas City
  95. Tue, Sept 13            7:00 pm            vs. Cleveland
  96. Wed, Sept 14           7:00 pm            vs. Cleveland
  97. Thu, Sept 15            1:00 pm            vs. Cleveland
  98. Fri, Sept 16              7:00 pm            @ Kansas City
  99. Sat, Sept 17             6:00 pm            @ Kansas City
  100. Wed, Sept 21           6:00 pm            @ Philadelphia
  101. Fri, Sept 23              6:00 pm            @ Cleveland
  102. Sat, Sept 24             6:00 pm            @ Cleveland
  103. Mon, Sept 26            7:00 pm            vs. Tampa Bay                        CSN+
  104. Tue, Sept 27            7:00 pm            vs. Tampa Bay                        CSN+
  105. Thu, Sept 29            7:00 pm            vs. Tampa Bay
  106. Fri, Sept 30              7:00 pm            vs. Minnesota                          CSN+
  107. Sun, Oct 2                2:00 pm            vs. Minnesota

107 Regular Season Games – 53 home, 54 away

Schedule Subject to Change
All Times Central Time

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