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Marquee Sports Network
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Marquee Sports Network
Marquee Sports Network is a regional sports network operated by the Chicago Cubs and the Sinclair Broadcast Group, launched on February 22, 2020. It replaced a trio of channels (cable channel NBC Sports Chicago and broadcast partners WGN-TV and WLS-TV) as the exclusive broadcaster of Cubs games not shown on national TV.
On November 16, 2015, in an interview with WSCR 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 NBC Sports Chicago, WGN Sports, and WLS-TV 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 Sinclair Broadcast Group was a frontrunner to serve as managing partner. Sinclair had previously attempted to purchase WGN's parent company Tribune Media, and ran the national sports network Stadium with the White Sox's investment arm Silver Chalice, prior to selling its stake to Silver Chalice in 2023. 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 and a former top official with the Milwaukee Bucks (COO) and the St. Louis Blues (vice chairman).
On August 22, 2019, a consortium of Sinclair and Entertainment Studios acquired Fox Sports Networks for $10.6 billion, thus making Marquee a sister to them (FSN previously operated a Chicago network, but it became defunct when Chicago's professional teams abandoned it in favor of a joint venture with Comcast—currently known as NBC Sports Chicago). The divestiture was mandated as part of Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox, who chose not to retain the networks under its successor Fox Corporation.
Early reception of Marquee was mixed by fans, culminating in fans booing Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts 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, followed by a documentary on Ernie Banks. The channel aired its first live spring training game against the Oakland Athletics at Sloan Park 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, its first regular-season game was not until July 24, 2020.
In October 2020, the Chicago Bears began a partnership with the channel. As part of the agreement, the channel would air a weekly show named "Bear Essentials" as well as a replay of that week's Bears game throughout the season.
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Marquee Sports Network
Marquee Sports Network is a regional sports network operated by the Chicago Cubs and the Sinclair Broadcast Group, launched on February 22, 2020. It replaced a trio of channels (cable channel NBC Sports Chicago and broadcast partners WGN-TV and WLS-TV) as the exclusive broadcaster of Cubs games not shown on national TV.
On November 16, 2015, in an interview with WSCR 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 NBC Sports Chicago, WGN Sports, and WLS-TV 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 Sinclair Broadcast Group was a frontrunner to serve as managing partner. Sinclair had previously attempted to purchase WGN's parent company Tribune Media, and ran the national sports network Stadium with the White Sox's investment arm Silver Chalice, prior to selling its stake to Silver Chalice in 2023. 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 and a former top official with the Milwaukee Bucks (COO) and the St. Louis Blues (vice chairman).
On August 22, 2019, a consortium of Sinclair and Entertainment Studios acquired Fox Sports Networks for $10.6 billion, thus making Marquee a sister to them (FSN previously operated a Chicago network, but it became defunct when Chicago's professional teams abandoned it in favor of a joint venture with Comcast—currently known as NBC Sports Chicago). The divestiture was mandated as part of Disney's acquisition of 21st Century Fox, who chose not to retain the networks under its successor Fox Corporation.
Early reception of Marquee was mixed by fans, culminating in fans booing Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts 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, followed by a documentary on Ernie Banks. The channel aired its first live spring training game against the Oakland Athletics at Sloan Park 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, its first regular-season game was not until July 24, 2020.
In October 2020, the Chicago Bears began a partnership with the channel. As part of the agreement, the channel would air a weekly show named "Bear Essentials" as well as a replay of that week's Bears game throughout the season.
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