ESPN has made so many errors while covering the White Sox over the years that overlooking the South Side has become less a mistake than a national-media tradition. Now, on the rare occasion when both Chicago baseball teams have reached October together, both series will stream on Peacock and air on NBC Sports Network—not NBC—making them difficult for many local viewers to watch.
The White Sox play Houston at 4 p.m. Central, while the Cubs face San Diego at 9 p.m. Central. MLB’s official schedule confirms that NBC instead carries Philadelphia-Atlanta and Boston-New York, while Chicago’s teams receive secondary treatment.
That treatment feels like an extension of ESPN’s long-running inability to remember that the White Sox exist. In 2016, ESPN omitted the Sox’s 2005 World Series championship from a graphic counting Chicago titles, then apologized and admitted it had made an error.
A year later, ESPN Stats & Info overlooked the 2005 Sox while discussing teams that had won a World Series with fewer than two postseason losses, even though Chicago went 11-1 that October. In 2018, another SportsCenter graphic celebrated major sports events since 1999 without mentioning the Sox’s championship. As recently as the 2025 MLB Draft, ESPN mistakenly described former Houston Astro Chris Burke as a 2005 World Series champion.
After enough errors, an image takes hold. Chicago means the Cubs, while the White Sox are treated like an optional footnote. That is why ESPN deserves part of the blame for creating the atmosphere in which MLB and its television partners apparently believe they can give the Second City zero meaningful broadcast-network attention on a day when both local clubs are playing postseason games. When national outlets minimize half of Chicago baseball, the league learns that South Side fans can be pushed behind another subscription.
The insult is greater because this season is genuinely historic. The Cubs and White Sox have reached the postseason in the same year only four times 1906, 2008, 2020 and 2026. This was also the first time they clinched on the same day, securing their berths within two minutes of each other. Instead of celebrating this extraordinary achievement on readily available television, Chicago received another reminder that Yankees-Red Sox commands the prime NBC window while two playoff teams from the same city are redirected elsewhere.
The White Sox story alone should have demanded a larger stage. After three consecutive 100-loss seasons, they became the first team to follow such a stretch by reaching the playoffs. It was a stunning reversal for supporters who had endured losing, frustration and ridicule. Then the Sox validated their place immediately, beating the Astros 6-3 in Game 1 behind a Colson Montgomery home run and two RBIs from Sam Antonacci. They enter Wednesday one victory from advancing, yet their potential clincher still is not important enough for NBC.
The Cubs reached October with an 89-73 record, giving Chicago another contender and North Side fans another chance to dream. Their postseason started painfully with an 8-0 loss in San Diego, so Game 2 is an elimination game and the definition of must-see local television. Requiring viewers to locate Peacock or NBC Sports Network adds another barrier when the simplest and most fan-friendly decision would have been putting the game on NBC in Chicago. ‘
Yes, NBC Sports Network gives some cable and streaming-package subscribers another route, so Peacock is not literally the only option. But that technical distinction does not excuse the central failure of having neither Chicago game is on the main NBC broadcast network, and Peacock requires a paid subscription for its Wild Card coverage.
For antenna viewers or those unwilling to add another service, one of Chicago baseball’s rarest days is functionally inaccessible. That is not growing the game. It is asking loyal fans to pay an extra toll at the moment their loyalty should be rewarded.
Chicago baseball usually divides the North Side and South Side, blue and black. This October, however, both fan bases have reason to care from afternoon through late night. The White Sox can finish an extraordinary turnaround, and the Cubs can keep their season alive. MLB should showcase that citywide drama, not hide it from local viewers.
Here’s the thing, folks: ESPN’s years of White Sox mistakes helped make this neglect seem normal, and MLB’s television arrangement has turned that attitude into an access problem. Chicago did its part by sending two teams to the playoffs. Its fans did their part by caring through rebuilds, collapses and disappointment.
With that . . . The league and its media partners should have done theirs by ensuring that both games were easy to find on local television. Instead, the Second City was treated as secondary again—and unless fans have Peacock or access to NBC Sports Network, this historic Chicago postseason moment may pass them by.
If you cannot play with them, then root for them!