In 1992, Wirtz, who had a reputation for stubbornness and frugality,[2] ended all Blackhawks broadcast agreements with network and cable television outlets. While vilified for this decision by many Blackhawks fans, he felt that broadcasting regular home games was unfair to the team's season-ticket holders.[3] Only Blackhawks games picked up by national broadcasters (which only happened when the Blackhawks made the playoffs) were shown on basic cable (complicated further by SportsChannel America having various issues with carriage).
Hawkvision only broadcast for a short time, ending after the 1994–95 season. However, regular Blackhawk home games did not resume airing on television until the 2007–08 season after Wirtz's death. His son Rocky took over the team's operations and agreed to allow WGN-TV and NBC Sports Chicago to carry those games.
1 Indicates the channel is still in existence, but currently operates as a basic cable channel. 2 Star Channel was part of Warner Communications' QUBE interactive cable service, and was the precursor to present-day The Movie Channel.
