Chicago Cubs launching their own TV network

The Chicago Cubs are moving to create their own television outlet and to do so by Opening Day of 2020

By April of 2020, you’ll almost certainly be watching the Chicago Cubs on a Cubs-owned network.

You’ll also almost certainly be paying more to do so. Hey, you didn’t for a second think this had to do with aesthetics, did you?

No official announcement has come out of Wrigleyville yet. But multiple inside sources, among them the Chicago Sun-Times and 670 The Score, reported this weekend that the long-rumored plan is close to being finalized, with a formal announcement possible at any moment.

The network reportedly will be called Marquee, and will debut in time for the opening of the 2020 regular season. It is not known how many games would be carried on the network.

Since 2004, the Cubs, White Sox, Black Hawks and Bulls all have been 20 percent partners with Comcast/NBC  Universal in NBC Sports Chicago, previously known as Comcast  Sports Net Chicago. But that deal expires in February of 2020.

While the White Sox, Bulls and Black Hawks all have reached agreement on what amounts to an extension of that deal, the Cubs’ decision sets them on a course to break out on their own. In doing so, the Cubs are expected to seek out what is referred to as a “broadcast equity  partner,” legalese for a media outlet that is also a co-owner.

Whether that co-ownership is 50-50 or based on some other percentage obviously is a matter for negotiation.

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Single-team owned networks are a rarity in sports, but they are not unprecedented. The best known is probably the Yes Network,  owned by an offshoot of the Yankees in conjunction with the Brooklyn Nets and 21st Century Fox. At the college level, the University of Texas several years ago created the Longhorn Network, which it owns in conjunction with ESPN and IMG College. It features events from 20 University of Texas sports including football and basketball.

When teams break out of joint media ventures in favor of controlling their own interests, the biggest challenge is frequently establishing a broad presence. Sun-Time media writer Jeff Agrest, discussing the proposed Marquee Network, noted that the Dodgers have tried something similar with modest results at best. “Dodger games have been available on just one outlet in southern California for five years,” Agrest reported.

Probably least likely to be affected are Cubs fans who subscribe to subscription-based services such as DirecTV or digital-only providers such as Sling TV and YouTube TV. That availability is all but certain to continue, although prices are, as would be expected, always subject to change on short notice

The network’s best selling point, obviously, is the Chicago Cubs brand identity, among the best in the majors. Partly for that reason, the idea of a Cubs-owned network has been rumored for some time. There have been published estimates, obviously speculative, that the deal could turn as much as an extra $40 million in revenues to the team.