When baseball season begins in the U.S. on March 27, Cubs and White Sox fans might have to search — and pay a bit more — to watch the teams’ games.
The Cubs’ Marquee Sports Network expects Comcast to move it to a higher-priced tier on its Xfinity cable system soon and does not anticipate being dropped, the Sun-Times has learned. A Comcast spokesperson had no update, and Marquee and broadcast partner Sinclair had no comment.
Meanwhile, Chicago Sports Network, the Sox’ new home, remains off Comcast but is hopeful that baseball season will prompt its carriage, though it also expects to land on a higher tier.
Comcast has moved regional sports networks across the country to its Ultimate TV programming tier, which costs about $20 more per month than the Popular tier. The company moved its own RSNs in California and Boston in January.
When Comcast moved Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, home of the Nationals and Orioles, a year ago, it offered the Ultimate tier for free for three months followed by $10 per month for the next three months before charging full price. It’s unknown whether such a promotion will be available in the Chicago market.
The Cubs are working on communicating the expected to move to fans, many of whom have run the gamut of watching Cubs games for free on WGN to paying more money than ever to watch. The club expects to lose viewers who choose not to upgrade their cable package. It likely will direct fans to other means of receiving Marquee, such as its direct-to-consumer service.
Comcast, which has about 1 million subscribers in the market, has continued to carry Marquee on short-term agreements with Sinclair. The latest deal was set to expire Thursday. But the partnership between Marquee and Sinclair has soured.
Sinclair’s joint venture with Marquee hasn’t been nearly as successful as the broadcast company hoped, and it’s looking to get out of its contract, which could prompt a legal fight, sources said. Sinclair declined to comment. Though Marquee has lost viewers to cord-cutting since launching in 2020, Sinclair is still obligated to pay rights fees while it’s losing money.
The situation didn’t come up on Sinclair’s earnings call Wednesday, and, strangely, Marquee isn’t listed on the company’s website with its other sports holdings, Tennis Channel and YES Network, home of the Yankees, which was the model for Marquee.
Viewers dropping cable for streaming services has upended the RSN business model, which is behind Comcast’s push to move expensive sports programming to a higher-priced tier. The days of non-sports viewers subsidizing sports programming are over.
Skyrocketing baseball salaries also have played a part. Teams reliance on other people’s money to foot the bill is coming home to roost as TV providers push back against higher costs. Cable companies are allowed to make money, too, and streaming has not been the savior.
There’s irony in Sinclair’s desire to leave Marquee behind. It played a part in exacerbating RSNs’ demise after buying Fox’s 21 RSNs from Disney in 2019. Sinclair put the networks, then valued at $10.6 billion, under subsidiary Diamond Sports Group and watched their value plummet as the coronavirus pandemic expedited cord-cutting in 2020. DSG went on its own in 2022 and in 2023 filed for bankruptcy, from which it emerged in January as Main Street Sports Group.
Sinclair could be starting another painful journey with a different partner.
Remote patrol
The Cubs are scheduled to make 10 appearances on Fox Sports this season, seven on Fox and three on FS1. Fox will carry the season opener March 18 against the Dodgers in Tokyo, and FS1 will air the second game. Marquee will carry both locally. The Cubs’ first Fox broadcast stateside is April 26 against the Phillies at 3 p.m. The White Sox aren’t scheduled for any Fox appearances.
• Beloved former Blackhawks broadcasters Pat Foley and Eddie Olczyk will reunite for the Sports USA radio call of the Red Wings-Blue Jackets game at 5 p.m. Saturday at Ohio Stadium. WGN Radio will carry it locally and SiriusXM nationally.
• The U (Channel 26) will air “The IHSA March Madness Tip Off Show” at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. Hosted by Kenny McReynolds, the show will examine the boys’ and girls’ basketball tournaments. It will re-air at 11 a.m. Sunday on The U Too (Channel 48).
• In a relief to many, ESPN replaced the Blackhawks-Penguins game April 8 with Maple Leafs-Panthers. The Hawks are still scheduled for two more appearances on TNT.