As baseball season approaches in Chicago, there is still some uncertainty surrounding how consumers will be able to watch the Cubs and White Sox. Marquee Sports Network, a regional sports network owned by both the Chicago Cubs and Sinclair Broadcast Group, expects to be moved to a higher-priced tier by Comcast on the Xfinity cable system, according to a report by Jeff Agrest of the Chicago Sun-Times. This would align with a pattern exhibited by Comcast in recent years with RSNs around the country, including the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, New England Sports Network and NBC Sports-branded regional channels as well.
Comcast has about 1 million subscribers in the Chicago marketplace and is among the largest cable television providers in the United States. The company has had various disputes surrounding retransmission fees, one of which was recently resolved in a deal with Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, the owner of Altitude Sports. The Cubs had previously been televised on the WGN-TV broadcast network for 72 consecutive seasons before moving to Marquee Sports Network ahead of the 2020 campaign. Agrest also reports that Sinclair is looking to get out of its contract with Marquee, something that could portend legal proceedings in the future.
Chicago Sports Network has been unable to reach a deal with Comcast, but there is reportedly hope from the RSN that the two sides will come to terms on an agreement. Since the network made its debut in October, the companies have not reached a deal amid regular-season broadcasts of Chicago Bulls basketball and Chicago Blackhawks hockey. The entity is entering its first season as the broadcast home of the White Sox, who had previously been televised on NBC Sports Chicago before it officially shuttered last September.
The Cubs and White Sox both have direct-to-consumer streaming functionalities surrounding live game broadcasts that allows viewers to tune into games without a traditional pay television subscription. Both teams have ownership stakes in their respective regional sports networks and are among the 15 most-valuable franchises in the league, according to valuations by Forbes.
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