Marquee Sports Network is a

regional sports network In the United States and Canada, a regional sports network (RSN) is a cable television channel (many of which are also distributed on direct broadcast satellite services) that presents sports programming to a local market or geographical region. ...

operated by

Sinclair Broadcast Group Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (SBG) is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate that is controlled by the descendants of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Headquartered in the Baltimore suburb of Cockeysville, Maryland, t ...

and the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

, launched on February 22, 2020. It is devoted exclusively to Cubs baseball, replacing a trio of channels (cable channel

NBC Sports Chicago NBC Sports Chicago (formerly Comcast SportsNet Chicago) is an American regional sports network that broadcasts regional coverage of professional sports teams in the Chicago metropolitan area, as well as college sports events and original sports- ...

and broadcast partners

WLS-TV WLS-TV (channel 7) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, airing programming from the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station maintains studios on North State S ...

and

WGN-TV WGN-TV (channel 9) is an Independent station (North America), independent television station in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, it is sister station, sister to the company's sole radio property, talk ra ...

) as the exclusive broadcaster of Cubs games not shown on national TV.

History

Wrigley Field marquee grandstand exterior IMG 2339

On November 16, 2015 in an interview with

WSCR WSCR (670 AM) – branded as 670 The Score – is a commercial sports radio station licensed to serve Chicago, Illinois, servicing the Chicago metropolitan area and much of surrounding Northern Illinois, Northwest Indiana and parts of the Milwa ...

radio, the Cubs' president of business operations Crane Kenney stated that the team was seeking to launch its own in-house regional sports network after its current broadcast contracts with

WGN Sports WGN Sports (originally known as WGN-TV Sports from 1948 to 1993) was the programming division of WGN-TV (channel 9), an independent television station located in Chicago, Illinois, United States—which is owned by the Nexstar Media Group—that ...

, and

expire after the 2019 season. On December 18, 2018, it was reported by the Chicago Sun-Times that the team was preparing to launch its RSN, "Marquee", in 2020, and that

was a frontrunner to serve as managing partner. Sinclair had previously attempted to purchase WGN's parent company

Tribune Media Tribune Media Company, also known as Tribune Company, was an American multimedia conglomerate headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Through Tribune Broadcasting, Tribune Media was one of the largest television broadcasting companies, owning 39 ...

, and runs the national sports network

Stadium A stadium ( : stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage either partly or completely surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand o ...

with the White Sox's investment arm Silver Chalice. The venture was officially announced in February 2019 to be launched in 2020 with Sinclair. On May 22, 2019, Michael McCarthy was named general manager of the Marquee Sports Network after being the Cubs' consultant on the channel. He is the former president of the

MSG Network The MSG Network (MSG) is an American regional cable and satellite television network, and radio service owned by MSG Entertainment, Inc.—a spin-off of the main Madison Square Garden Company operation (itself a spin-off of local cable provider ...

and a former top official with the

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 1968 ...

(

COO COO or coo may refer to: Business * Certificate of origin, used in international trade * Chief operating officer or chief operations officer, high-ranking corporate official * Concept of operations, used in Systems Engineering Management Process ...

) and the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the s ...

(vice chairman). On August 22, 2019, a consortium of Sinclair and

Entertainment Studios Entertainment Studios, Inc., also known as Allen Media Group, is an American media and entertainment company based in Los Angeles. Owned and founded in 1993 by businessman Byron Allen, the company was initially involved in the production and d ...

acquired

Fox Sports Networks Fox Sports Networks (FSN), formerly known as Fox Sports Net, was the collective name for a group of regional sports channels in the United States. Formed in 1996 by News Corporation, the networks were acquired by The Walt Disney Company on Mar ...

for $10.6 billion, thus making Marquee a sister to them (FSN previously operated a

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

network, but it became defunct when Chicago's professional teams abandoned it in favor of a joint venture with

Comcast Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...

—currently known as NBC Sports Chicago). The divestiture was mandated as part of

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

's acquisition of

21st Century Fox Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc., doing business as 21st Century Fox (21CF), was an American multinational mass media corporation that was based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was one of the two companies formed on June 28, 2013, f ...

, who chose not to retain the networks under its successor

Fox Corporation Fox Corporation (stylized in all-caps as FOX Corporation) is a publicly traded American mass media company operated and controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in New York City. Incorporated ...

. Early reception of Marquee was mixed by fans, culminating in fans booing Cubs chairman

Tom Ricketts Thomas B. Ricketts (15 January 1853 – 19 January 1939) was an English-born American stage and film actor and director who was a pioneer in the film industry. He portrayed Ebenezer Scrooge in the first American film adaptation of ''A Christm ...

during the annual Cubs Convention in 2020 after mention of the new network. Marquee Sports Network officially launched on February 22, 2020 at 1 p.m. CT, with its first program being a launch special hosted by actor and Cubs fan

Bill Murray William James Murray (born September 21, 1950) is an American actor and comedian. He is known for his deadpan delivery. He rose to fame on ''The National Lampoon Radio Hour'' (1973–1974) before becoming a national presence on ''Saturday Nigh ...

, followed by a documentary on

Ernie Banks Ernest Banks (January 31, 1931 – January 23, 2015), nicknamed "Mr. Cub" and "Mr. Sunshine", was an American professional baseball player who starred in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs between ...

. The channel aired its first live

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

game against the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

Sloan Park Sloan Park is an American baseball park in Mesa, Arizona, which opened in 2014. The primary operator is the Chicago Cubs and the ballpark serves as their spring training home and is also the home of the Arizona League Cubs of the Arizona League ...

later in the day; the game had been postponed from the afternoon due to the threat of rain. However, because the start of the season was postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, its first regular-season game was not until July 24, 2020. Marquee's Cubs broadcasts underwent tweaks for the 2021 season. Alongside its new play-by-play voice

Jon Sciambi Jon "Boog" Sciambi (; born April 11, 1970) is an American sportscaster for ESPN and the Marquee Sports Network, currently the everyday play-by-play announcer for the Chicago Cubs TV broadcasts. He has worked extensively as a baseball play-by-pla ...

, the network would no longer require commentators to wear a suit and tie on-air (a mandate made during the inaugural season by executives insisting that Marquee's broadcasts have a "national network quality"), and replaced an unorthodox bottom-centered score bar it had used during the first season with a more traditional scoreboard in the top-left of the screen (a move which also differentiated Marquee from its newly-relaunched sister networks in the

Bally Sports The Bally Sports Regional Networks are a group of regional sports networks in the United States owned by Diamond Sports Group, a joint-venture company of the Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios. The naming rights to the network we ...

group, whose on-air branding was derived from that of Marquee, but with an equally-unorthodox integration of a scoreboard and ticker). The network would use the slogan "We get it" in a marketing campaign to promote the new Cubs season and these tweaks.

Talent

The Cubs' previous television commentators

Len Kasper Len Kasper is an American sportscaster. As of 2021 he is the radio play-by-play announcer for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball, teaming with color analyst Darrin Jackson on ESPN 1000 and the Chicago White Sox Radio Network. From 200 ...

(play-by-play) and Jim "J.D." Deshaies (color) retained their roles on Marquee at the channel's launch. On May 1, 2019, it was reported that David Kaplan—NBC Sports Chicago studio host for Cubs games—had renewed his contract with the channel, dispelling rumors that he planned to join Marquee. Cole Wright, formerly of

NFL Network NFL Network (occasionally abbreviated on-air as NFLN) is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Football League (NFL) and is part of NFL Media, which also includes NFL.com, NFL Films, NFL Mobile, NFL Now and NFL ...

, will serve as studio host, and Taylor McGregor, formerly field reporter for the Colorado Rockies on

AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain is an American regional sports network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through its sports unit as part of the AT&T SportsNet brand of networks, and is an affiliate of Bally Sports. Headquartered in Denver, Colorado, ...

, will serve as field reporter. The channel also brought on Bob Vorwald, former executive producer of WGN Sports. After the 2020 season, Kasper left the Cubs and Marquee to become the radio voice of the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

WMVP WMVP (1000 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Chicago, Illinois, carrying a sports format. Owned by Good Karma Brands, the station serves the Chicago metro area as the market affiliate of ESPN Radio, the flagship station of the Chica ...

, then a television and radio play-by-play voice on ESPN's MLB national broadcasts, was hired to replace Kasper.

Chris Myers Chris Myers (born ) is an American sportscaster. He has covered the Super Bowl, the World Series, the NBA Finals, the NCAA Final Four, The Masters, the U.S. Open, the Triple Crown, the Olympics, and the Daytona 500. Early life and career ...

Beth Mowins Elizabeth Mowins (born May 26, 1967) is an American play-by-play announcer and sports journalist for ESPN, CBS, and Marquee Sports Network. She typically calls women's college sports, and became the second woman to call nationally televised col ...

, and longtime Cubs radio broadcaster Pat Hughes will act as fill-in announcers when Sciambi is not available.

Programming

Besides game broadcasts, Marquee will carry documentaries, game replays and player profiles, as well as coverage of minor league games. The channel might attempt to pick up college basketball for the winter time. Stadium and the

networks would provide some programming. :Individual programs *''Cubs Live'', pre-game *''Cubs Postgame Live'' *''Follow The Money'', weekday morning sports betting show by Vegas Stats & Information Network hosted by Mitch Moss and Pauly Howard *a unnamed local Chicago sports talk show produced by

, a network partly owned by Sinclair :Baseball team rights *

Iowa Cubs The Iowa Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in Des Moines, Iowa, and are named for their Major League Baseball (MLB) affiliate. The ...

(

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL ...

)

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

South Bend Cubs The South Bend Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in South Bend, Indiana, and play their home games at Four Winds Field at Coveleski Stadium. The team was or ...

( Class A)

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

Non baseball programming

Marquee Sports Network is an affiliate of the

ACC on Regional Sports Networks The ACC on Regional Sports Networks (also known as simply ACC RSN) is a package of telecasts produced by Raycom Sports, in cooperation with Bally Sports, featuring Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) college sports. The package is syndicated primarily t ...

package, airing select games especially during the baseball offseason. The network also carries select college sports programming from

especially

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

and

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

. The network also has a contract with

Illinois State University Illinois State University (ISU) is a public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of th ...

to air select college football and college basketball games. Select

Chicago Sky The Chicago Sky are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Sky compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Eastern Conference. The franchise was founded prior to the 20 ...

Games are also available on Marquee.

Broadcasting areas

Marquee is broadcast in five states, particularly

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

(with the exception of

Southern Illinois Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. Although part of a Midwestern United States, Midwestern state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of th ...

), most of

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

, eastern

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

, all of

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

except areas near the Ohio River, and Kenosha County, Wisconsin. The broadcasting areas for each state are listed below.

Illinois

Chicago metropolitan area The Chicago metropolitan area, also colloquially referred to as Chicagoland, is a metropolitan area in the Midwestern United States. Encompassing 10,286 sq mi (28,120 km2), the metropolitan area includes the city of Chicago, its suburbs and hi ...

(

Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...

DeKalb County DeKalb County may refer to one of several counties in the United States, all of which were named for Baron Johan DeKalb: * DeKalb County, Alabama * DeKalb County, Georgia * DeKalb County, Illinois * DeKalb County, Indiana * DeKalb County, Missouri ...

DuPage County DuPage County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois, and one of the collar counties of the Chicago metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population was 932,877, making it Illinois' second-most populous county. Its county seat is ...

, Grundy County,

Kankakee County Kankakee County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 113,449. Its county seat is Kankakee. Kankakee County comprises the Kankakee, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. History St ...

, Kane County, Kendall County, Lake County, McHenry County,

Will County Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

) *

Rockford metropolitan area The Rockford Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of four counties in north-central Illinois, anchored by the city of Rockford. As of the 2010 census, the MSA had a population of ...

( Boone County,

Ogle County Ogle County is a county in the northern part of the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 United States Census, it had a population of 53,497. Its county seat is Oregon, and its largest city is Rochelle. Ogle County comprises Rochelle, ...

, Stephenson County, Winnebago County) * Dixon, IL micropolitan area ( Lee County) *

Quad Cities metropolitan area The Quad Cities metropolitan area, more formally known as the Davenport–Moline–Rock Island Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the metropolitan area associated with the Quad Cities in the U.S. states of Iowa and Illinois. The area consists of t ...

(

Rock Island County Rock Island County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois, bounded on the west by the Mississippi River. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 147,546. Its county seat is Rock Island; its largest city is neighboring ...

Fulton County Fulton County is the name of eight counties in the United States of America. Most are named for Robert Fulton, inventor of the first practical steamboat: *Fulton County, Arkansas, named after Governor William Savin Fulton *Fulton County, Georgia *F ...

, Henry County, Carroll County, Mercer County) *

Galesburg, Illinois micropolitan area The Galesburg, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in west central Illinois, anchored by the city of Galesburg. As of the 2000 census, the μSA had a population o ...

( Knox County,

Warren County Warren County is the name of fourteen counties in the USA. Some are named after General Joseph Warren, who was killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolutionary War: * Warren County, Georgia * Warren County, Illinois * Warren County ...

) * Macomb, IL micropolitan area ( McDonough County) *

Peoria metropolitan area The Peoria Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of six counties in Central Illinois, Central Illinois, anchored by the city of Peoria, Illinois, Peoria. As of the United States Census ...

( Marshall County,

Peoria County Peoria County is located in the U.S. state of Illinois. The 2020 United States Census listed its population at 181,830. Its county seat is Peoria. Peoria County is part of the Peoria, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Peoria County was ...

, Stark County, Tazewell County, Woodford County) * Bloomington, Illinois Metropolitan ( McLean County) * Champaign Metropolitan area ( Champaign County, Ford County,

Piatt County Piatt County is a county in Illinois. According to the 2020 United States Census, it had a population of 16,673. Its county seat is Monticello. Piatt County is part of the Champaign–Urbana, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The firs ...

) * Decatur, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area ( Macon County) * Springfield metropolitan area ( Menard County,

Sangamon County Sangamon County is located in the center of the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 197,465. Its county seat and largest city is Springfield, the state capital. Sangamon County is included in the Spr ...

)

Indiana

* Chicago metropolitan area ( Jasper County, Lake County, Newton County,

Porter County Porter County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 173,215, making it the 10th most populous county in Indiana. The county seat is Valparaiso. The county is part of Northwest Indiana, as well as the Chicago m ...

) * South Bend–Mishawaka metropolitan area ( St. Joseph County) * Elkhart-Goshen Metropolitan Statistical Area (

Elkhart County, Indiana Elkhart County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. , the county's population was 207,047. The county seat is Goshen. Elkhart County is part of the Elkhart- Goshen Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in turn is part of the South ...

) * Warsaw Micropolitan area (

Kosciusko County Kosciusko County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana. At the 2020 United States Census, its population was 80,240. The county seat (and only incorporated city) is Warsaw. The county was organized in 1836. It was named for the Polish ge ...

) *

Fort Wayne metropolitan area , the Fort Wayne–Huntington–Auburn Combined Statistical Area (CSA), or Fort Wayne Metropolitan Area, or Northeast Indiana is a federally designated United States metropolitan area, metropolitan area consisting of eight counties in nor ...

( Adams County, Allen County,

, Huntington County, Noble County, Wells County, Whitley County) * Logansport micropolitan area ( Cass County) * Lafayette metropolitan area ( Benton County, Carroll County,

Tippecanoe County Tippecanoe may refer to several places or things in the United States: * The 1811 Battle of Tippecanoe in Indiana * A nickname for William Henry Harrison (U.S. President March 1841–April 1841) from his role in the battle ** Tippecanoe and Tyler t ...

) * Frankfort micropolitan area (

Clinton County Clinton County may refer to: *Counties named for George Clinton, first and third Governor of New York, and later the fourth Vice President of the United States: **Clinton County, New York **Clinton County, Ohio *Counties named for DeWitt Clinton, s ...

) *

Indianapolis metropolitan area Indianapolis–Carmel–Anderson or Indianapolis metropolitan area is an 11-county metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Indiana, as defined by the Office of Management and Budget. The metropolitan area is situated in Central Indiana, within the ...

( Boone County, Brown County, Hamilton County, Hancock County, Johnson County, Madison County, Marion County, Morgan County, Putnam County, Shelby County) *

Bloomington metropolitan area Bloomington may refer to: Places U.S.A. (most commonly) *Bloomington, Illinois *Bloomington, Indiana *Bloomington, Minnesota U.S.A. (less commonly) *Bloomington, California *Bloomington, Idaho * Bloomington, Kansas *Bloomington, Maryland * Bloo ...

( Greene County,

Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe: * Monroe County, Alabama *Monroe County, Arkansas * Monroe County, Florida * Monroe County, Georgia *Monroe County, Illinois *Monroe County, Indian ...

, Owen County) *

Terre Haute metropolitan area The Terre Haute Metropolitan Statistical Area, also known as the Wabash Valley, is the 227th largest Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) in the United States. Centering on the city of Terre Haute, it was originally formed by the United States C ...

(

Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Flor ...

, Sullivan County, Vermillion County, Vigo County)

Iowa

Iowa City metropolitan area The Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in Iowa anchored by the city of Iowa City. The Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) had a population of 171,491 people ...

( Johnson County) * Quad Cities metropolitan area ( Scott County, Muscatine County,

Cedar County Cedar County may refer to: * Cedar County, Iowa * Cedar County, Missouri * Cedar County, Nebraska * Cedar County, Choctaw Nation * Cedar County, Washington The list of county secession proposals in the United States includes proposed new coun ...

, Jackson County) * Dubuque, Iowa metropolitan area (

Dubuque County Dubuque County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 99,266, making it the eighth-most populous county in Iowa. The county seat is Dubuque. The county is named for Julien Dubuque, the first Eur ...

) * Waterloo metropolitan area (

Black Hawk County Black Hawk County is a county in the northeastern part of U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 131,144, making it Iowa's fifth-most populous county. The county seat is Waterloo. Black Hawk County is part of the Water ...

, Bremer County, Buchanan County, Butler County,

Chickasaw County Chickasaw County is the name of two counties in the United States: * Chickasaw County, Iowa * Chickasaw County, Mississippi Chickasaw County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 17,39 ...

, Grundy County) *

Cedar Rapids metropolitan area The Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of three counties in Iowa, anchored by the city of Cedar Rapids. As of the 2010 census, the MSA had a population of 257,940, and a ...

( Benton County, Jones County, Linn County) * Fort Dodge, IA micropolitan area ( Webster County) *

Burlington, Iowa micropolitan area The Burlington, IA-IL Micropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties – one in southeast Iowa and the other in west central Illinois, anchored by the city of Burlington, Iowa ...

(

Des Moines Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

) * Fairfield, Iowa micropolitan area ( Jefferson County * Ottumwa, Iowa mircopolitan area (

Wapello County Wapello County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 35,437. The county seat is Ottumwa. The county was formed on February 17, 1843, and named for Wapello, a Meskwaki chief. Wapello County ...

Davis County Davis County is or was the name of the following counties in the United States: *Davis County, Iowa, named in honor of Garrett Davis, a Congressman from Kentucky *Davis County, Utah, named for Daniel C. Davis, captain in the Mormon Battalion *Cass ...

) * Ames, Iowa metropolitan area ( Story County) *

Des Moines metropolitan area The Des Moines metropolitan area, officially known as the Des Moines–West Des Moines, IA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is located at the confluence of the Des Moines River and the Raccoon River. Des Moines serves as the capital of the U.S ...

(

Dallas County Dallas County may refer to: Places in the USA: * Dallas County, Alabama, founded in 1818, the first county in the United States by that name * Dallas County, Arkansas * Dallas County, Iowa * Dallas County, Missouri * Dallas County, Texas, the nin ...

, Guthrie County, Jasper County, Madison County,

Polk Polk may refer to: People * James K. Polk, 11th president of the United States * Polk (name), other people with the name Places *Polk (CTA), a train station in Chicago, Illinois * Polk, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Polk, Missouri ...

) *

Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area The Omaha metropolitan area, officially known as the Omaha-Council Bluffs, NE-IA Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), is an urbanized region in Nebraska and Iowa in the American Midwest, centered on the city of Omaha, Nebraska. The region consists ...

( Harrison County, Mills County, Pottawattamie County) *

Sioux City metropolitan area The Sioux City metropolitan statistical area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of five counties in three states – Iowa, Nebraska, and South Dakota, anchored by the city of Sioux City, Iowa. As of the 2010 c ...

( Plymouth County, Woodbury County)

Michigan

* South Bend–Mishawaka metropolitan area ( Cass County)

Nebraska

* Sioux City metropolitan area ( Burt County,

Cuming County Cuming County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 9,139. Its county seat is West Point. In the Nebraska license plate system, Cuming County is represented by the prefix 24 since it ...

Dakota County Dakota County may refer to: *Dakota County, Minnesota in the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area of east-central Minnesota *Dakota County, Nebraska Dakota County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of th2020 United States Census the populati ...

Dixon County History Dixon County was formed in 1856. Dixon was named for an early settler. Dixon County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 6,000. Its county seat is Ponca. The county was creat ...

, Stanton County, Wayne County) * Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area ( Cass County, Douglas County, Sarpy County, Saunders County, Washington County) *

Lincoln, Nebraska metropolitan area The Lincoln Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in Nebraska, anchored by the city of Lincoln. As of the 2020 census, the MSA had a population of 340,217 . Counties * ...

( Lancaster County, Seward County) *

Grand Island metropolitan area The Grand Island metropolitan area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of four counties in Nebraska, anchored by the city of Grand Island, Nebraska, Grand Island. It was upgraded from a micropolitan area and Hamilt ...

( Hall County, Hamilton County, Howard County, Merrick County) *

Kearney Micropolitan area The Kearney Micropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of two counties in Nebraska, anchored by the city of Kearney. As of the 2010 census, the area had a population of 52,591 (though a Ju ...

( Buffalo County, Kearney County)

Wisconsin

* Chicago metropolitan area (

Kenosha County Kenosha County is located in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 169,151 as of the 2020 census, making it the eighth most populous county in Wisconsin. The county shares the same name as the city of Kenosh ...

)

Carriage

As of February 2020, Sinclair had secured distribution deals with

Charter Communications Charter Communications, Inc., is an American telecommunications and mass media company with services branded as Spectrum. With over 32 million customers in 41 states, it is the second-largest cable operator in the United States by subscribers, ...

, RCN,

DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. It ...

Mediacom Mediacom Communications Corporation is the United States' fifth largest cable television provider based on the number of video subscribers, and among the leading cable operators focused on serving smaller cities and towns. The company has a s ...

, and

Frontier Communications Frontier Communications Parent, Inc. (known as Citizens Utilities Company until May 2000 and Citizens Communications Company until July 31, 2008) is an American telecommunications company. The company previously served primarily rural areas and s ...

to carry Marquee Sports Network at launch. Upon the announcement of the channel, the network's ability to gain carriage was compared to the troubled negotiations of the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

SportsNet LA Spectrum SportsNet LA and Spectrum Deportes LA (otherwise known as simply SportsNet LA and Deportes LA and originally known as Time Warner Cable SportsNet LA) is an American regional sports network jointly owned by the Los Angeles Dodgers Major L ...

. Industry observer Phillip Swan thought Marquee would have a "50-50 chance of working" while commenting "“How can you not look at the disaster of the SportsNet (LA) scene and not be a little skeptical?" Charter has since come to terms with DirecTV to carry SportsNet LA. Industry experts predicted that Marquee would seek around $5 per subscriber placing it behind

YES Network The Yankee Entertainment and Sports Network (YES) is an American pay television regional sports network owned by Yankee Global Enterprises (the largest shareholder with 26%), Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios (which owns 20%), A ...

and

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

. Sinclair secured Marquee's first major carriage agreement with Charter Communications on July 11, 2019. As part of the multi-year carriage agreement, Marquee was bundled alongside Sinclair's owned-and-operated television stations,

Tennis Channel Tennis Channel is an American sports-oriented digital cable and satellite television network owned by the Sinclair Television Group subsidiary of the Sinclair Broadcast Group. It is devoted to events and other programming related to the game of ...

and the regional Fox Sports Networks that Sinclair was in the process of buying from Disney at the time. On October 17, 2019, AT&T agreed to carry Marquee on its television services (including DirecTV, the second largest provider serving the region behind Comcast) as part of a larger, multi-year carriage agreement with Sinclair. Sinclair later reached a deal with Mediacom on November 6, 2019 to carry Marquee Sports Network. On February 17, 2020, the network announced an agreement to carry the network on Hulu's live streaming service. On February 27, the network announced an agreement with

WOW Wow or WoW may refer to: Games and toys *''World of Warcraft'', a massively multiplayer online role-playing game *''World of Warplanes'', an online flight simulator *''World of Warships'', an online naval simulator *''Wizard of Wor'', a 1981 a ...

cable. Comcast, the largest television provider in the region (with an estimated 1.5 million subscribers), reached an agreement to carry Marquee on July 24 (in time for the Cubs' opening game) as part of a larger renewal for Sinclair-owned television stations and cable networks. Until May 2022, Marquee's deal with DirecTV was for in-market coverage only. Unlike many other regional sports networks, Marquee was not included in DirecTV's Sports Pack, which carries RSNs nationwide with appropriate blackouts of professional events. That changed May 9, 2022, wit
the announcement
that Marquee would be available nationwide with the Sports Pack, albeit with the appropriate blackouts. Dish Network and

YouTube TV YouTube TV is an American streaming television service operated by YouTube, a wholly owned subsidiary of Google. Announced on February 28, 2017, the virtual multichannel video programming distributor offers a selection of live linear channel f ...

(which has indicated they have no deal for Marquee's sister RSNs after February 29 and would remove them from the platform on that date) have not reached an agreement with Sinclair to carry Marquee Sports Network. Additionally, Marquee also has the rights to the games for the Cubs' Minor League Baseball clubs, including

and the

South Bend South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...

Cubs, ending deals with local broadcast subchannels to leverage Iowa and northern Indiana cable systems into carrying the network.

References

External links

* {{U.S. regional sports networks Chicago Cubs Sinclair Broadcast Group Major League Baseball broadcasters Ricketts family Television stations in Chicago Television channels and stations established in 2020 Bally Sports