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Cubs leaving NBC Sports Chicago, starting own network (link corrected!)


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The Cubs' decision to start their own network has set in motion a new deal that will make NBC Sports Chicago the exclusive home to ALL White Sox, Bulls, and Blackhawks games starting next fall. WGN Sports is all but dead.

 

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/sports/nbc-sports-chicago-announces-new-deal-with-white-sox-bulls-and-blackhawks-503802931.html

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17 minutes ago, Spring Rubber said:

https://www.robertfeder.com/2019/02/13/cubs-sinclair-announce-marquee-sports-network-today/

 

It's official today. Sinclair is indeed the Cubs' partner in this venture. Sounds like the rumors were 100% accurate on this one.

 

There are people right now on Twitter thinking that Boris Epshteyn is going to be aired on Marquee. SMH.

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11 hours ago, Georgie56 said:

 

There are people right now on Twitter thinking that Boris Epshteyn is going to be aired on Marquee. SMH.

Not only that but also they've basically boycotted the Cubs because of this decision. As much as I'm a Cardinals fan (and I despise the Cubs btw) I would tell those "fans" to go find something else they enjoy or go become a White Sox fan. I wouldn't take those "fans" that boycott teams for stupid reasons, myself. Another thing to note if those Cubs "fans" would even care to look at is that Chris Ripley said that there will be ZERO must runs during the Cubs games. So there's that.

 

With that said, Go Cardinals!

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Cubs president of business operations Crain Kenney has done interviews today, and he suggested that Marquee might not cost extra on cable tiers, that NBC Sports Chicago and WGN-TV might command less from the cable companies, one without the Cubs, the other without any sports at all. Most matters with Sinclair have been settled, but carriage is still being negotiated.

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3 hours ago, 24994J said:

Cubs president of business operations Crain Kenney has done interviews today, and he suggested that Marquee might not cost extra on cable tiers, that NBC Sports Chicago and WGN-TV might command less from the cable companies, one without the Cubs, the other without any sports at all. Most matters with Sinclair have been settled, but carriage is still being negotiated.

That's an encouraging sign if the Cubs and Sinclair want this Marquee network to be successful and not be riddled with problems Spectrum still faces with SportsNet LA

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2 hours ago, 24994J said:

Kenney did say that they've contacted the Dodgers and Astros staffs that have had a ton of hiccups with their networks, trying to make up for their failures.

They must've done their homework then...

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1 hour ago, 24994J said:

 

"Monday, Kenney acknowledged that Sinclair will be calling many of the shots — especially when it comes to programming and hiring."

 

Oh boy.

I would be down for an update from the Terrorism Alert Desk after the postgame show, just for kicks. 

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A little bump, but tonight is another "last" in the history of Cubs broadcasting. Opting to stay with NBC Sports Chicago, Thursday night's game marks David Kaplan's final time hosting pre and post game coverage, ending a 25-year run. He will remain as host of NBCSC's evening roundtable show, while developing other programming. He also hosts 9am-noon on ESPN 1000AM.

 

 

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49 minutes ago, 24994J said:

Marquee has cleared its first major carriage hurdle, with Sinclair coming to terms with AT&T/DirecTV to carry the newly-acquired FSN properties and the upcoming Cubs network.

 

https://www.bleachernation.com/cubs/2019/10/17/big-cubs-tv-news-marquee-has-at-least-one-major-carriage-deal-locked-down/

Next is Comcast. If Sinclair charges Comcast a reasonable fee, then it's carried.

Dish is a long shot, however.

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1 hour ago, 24994J said:

Marquee has cleared its first major carriage hurdle, with Sinclair coming to terms with AT&T/DirecTV to carry the newly-acquired FSN properties and the upcoming Cubs network.

 

https://www.bleachernation.com/cubs/2019/10/17/big-cubs-tv-news-marquee-has-at-least-one-major-carriage-deal-locked-down/

 

The fact that Marquee is now grouped in with the former FSNs and local affiliates definitely helps give Sinclair leverage with the providers. 

 

So basically it was "we'd like to give you our local affiliates and RSNs, but you have to add Marquee in return".

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Some great hires have been made by Marquee, including Bob Vorwald (as a video archives consultant), Mike Santini (from MLB Network to helm the studio shows side), and they're finalizing deals to retain Len Kasper and Jim Deshaies.

 

They also got on Mediacom in Iowa (and some IL/IN systems), which did not have NBC Sports Chicago. This should improve access in rural areas. In addition, they have a deal with Charter. Still outstanding: Comcast.

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6 minutes ago, Samantha said:

Some great hires have been made by Marquee, including Bob Vorwald (as a video archives consultant), Mike Santini (from MLB Network to helm the studio shows side), and they're finalizing deals to retain Len Kasper and Jim Deshaies.

 

Vorwald is the gold standard in the business, so excellent pick-up. It should also be noted that frequent studio fill-in Luke Stuckmeyer and dugout reporter Kelly Crull have both left NBCSC in recent weeks, so it might be worth keeping an eye on them, as they could certainly slip right into on-air roles, with viewer familiarity.

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On 11/6/2019 at 12:44 PM, Samantha said:

Some great hires have been made by Marquee, including Bob Vorwald (as a video archives consultant), Mike Santini (from MLB Network to helm the studio shows side), and they're finalizing deals to retain Len Kasper and Jim Deshaies.

 

They also got on Mediacom in Iowa (and some IL/IN systems), which did not have NBC Sports Chicago. This should improve access in rural areas. In addition, they have a deal with Charter. Still outstanding: Comcast.

Don't forget the other OTTs. They already have ATT/Now. Just Hulu, Sling, YTTV and maybe Fubo are left

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