White Sox TV broadcasts took another hit with the loss of NBC Sports Chicago associate producer Christopher Kamka, who's leaving the outlet for the Cubs' Marquee Sports Network, the Sun-Times has learned.
In November, popular play-by-play voice Jason Benetti left the Sox' booth with a year remaining on his contract to be the voice of the Tigers. Now Kamka, an outstanding researcher known for unearthing nuggets of information used on broadcasts and shared on X, is joining the rival regional sports network.
The rest of NBCSCH's production crew is back, led by producer Chris Withers. New play-by-play voice John Schriffen is making his debut today on the broadcast of the Sox-Cubs game from Mesa, Arizona.
NBCSCH confirmed the status of the Sox' booth. Marquee hasn't replied to requests for comment.
NBCSCH's contract to air Sox, Blackhawks and Bulls games expires in October, and it's uncertain where the teams will appear next. Discussions to possibly renew are still in the early stages.
But Sox and Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf has other options, including launching his own network through Stadium, the multiplatform network housed in the United Center Atrium. Last year, Reinsdorf, who helped launch Stadium in 2017, acquired majority control from Sinclair Broadcast Group, with whom he partnered. Reinsdorf also is considering options for over-the-air broadcast. The Hawks have said they will stick with the Sox and Bulls.
Marquee has been looking to boost its regular-season game coverage and shoulder programming. In putting resources toward that effort, its broadcasters will call most spring-training games this season remotely.
The network is still looking to replace general manager Mike McCarthy, who stepped down in December for health reasons. It promoted Nick Steger and Maleek Ndile to executive producer roles after senior vice president of programming and production Mike Santini left for family reasons.
