Marquee Sports Network, NBC Sports Chicago battle for Bears fans
Marquee expands Bears programming by adding “Bears Post Game Live” ; NBC Sports Chicago resumes similar shows
Even though neither Marquee Sports Network and NBC Sports Chicago carries any Chicago Bears games, it doesn’t mean the two regional sports networks are ignoring them – in fact, both are stepping their game bigtime to serve fans who are looking for more content.
Though hinted in an on-screen graphic during all three pre-season games, Marquee made it official Tuesday by announcing they will carry the Chicago Bears’ official post-game show live starting Sunday now known as The Official Bears Postgame Live, as first reported in the Sun-Times last week. The show is being hosted by pre and post-game Cubs post-game host Cole Wright and joined by former Bears QB Jim Miller, carrying live post-game press conferences from Bears players and coaches.
The show is a big get for the RSN, a partnership between the Cubs and Sinclair. In 2020, Marquee began carrying Bear Essentials, who is entering its fourth season this fall with Wright as host and Bear greats Dan Hampton and Tom Thayer as contributors and adding Bears Den, hosted by ESPN 1000’s Tom Waddle and Marquee’s Taylor McGregor. Essentials airs Tuesdays at 5 p.m.; Den airs Thursdays at the same time, but both shows plan to be repeated frequently on the schedule.
Essentials also gets an over-the-air broadcast run Saturday mornings at 10:30 a.m. on Weigel’s WCIU, aka CW26. WCIU will also carry the Bears postgame show live on Sept. 17 and on Oct. 1 due to conflicts with Cubs games.
Marquee was one of the names mentioned to be the “official” home of the Chicago Bears, including pre-season games and official programming. The Bears decided to renew their deal with Fox-owned WFLD, including Bears Kickoff Live and Bears Gamenight Live but decided to move Postgame Live in order to avoid conflicts with Fox sports programming on singleheader days or their Fox prime-time lineup of animated shows. The Bears believe they can get more viewers over Marquee than they could over WFLD sister station WPWR (My50), a very low-rated outlet where postgame shows wound up the last few years on several occasions due to Fox doubleheader games and despite its broader reach as an over-the-air station.
“Partnering with the Chicago Bears is a tremendous honor and we’re proud to serve as an integral part of the Bears gameday experience by broadcasting the official Bears postgame show, as well as weekly coverage throughout the season,” said Marquee Sports Network General Manager Mike McCarthy. “We look forward to reaching the dedicated Chicago Bears fans across with the region with this expanded coverage.”
Not to be outdone, NBC Sports Chicago and sister station NBC 5 (WMAQ-TV) also plan Chicago Bears programming this fall by bringing back existing shows, though not officially sanctioned by the team.
After every Bears game is Football Aftershow on NBC Sports Chicago with analysis from former Bears coach Dave Wannstedt and former Bears players Alex Brown and Lance Briggs. Airing for 90 minutes, NBC 5’s Ruthie Polinsky succeeds David Kaplan as host of the post-game show. NBC 5 also plans to have comprehensive coverage of the Bears during their Sports Sunday late-night show.
Also on tap is Football Night In Chicago, a weeknight strip airing at 6 p.m. with the NBC 5 and NBC Sports Chicago teams with news from Halas Hall and around the NFL. Also coming back is the long-running Pro Football Weekly, hosted by NBC Sports Chicago’s Pat Boyle with contributors Hampton (who’ll be the only personality to appear on BOTH Marquee and NBC Sprots Chicago), Wannstedt, and Hub Arkush, who founded the magazine of the same name.
“We’re looking forward to delivering our most comprehensive season of football coverage to date, as our team of experts and analysts will deliver expanded highlights, postgame reaction, and breakdowns of the biggest plays each week through the year,” said John Schippman, who is vice-president of sports content at NBCUniversal Local Chicago. “The lineup at NBCUniversal Chicago is second to none with the experience and knowledge of former all-pro players, championship coaches, and veteran sportscasters who have been covering this sport for decades.”
Both Marquee and NBC Sports Chicago are investing in Bears programming as regional sports networks and linear TV in general are struggling due to cord-cutting – this is quite apparent with the bankruptcy of Bally Sports and the impending closure of AT&T Sportsnet. In a huge sports town like Chicago, it makes sense to add programming about the city’s most popular team in the nation’s most popular sport, even tough RSNs don’t carry their product as every game is produced by a network partner. This way, they can attract viewers who are hungry for more Bears-related stuff – and it’s a nice way to fill time between the end of the baseball season and the start of the NHL/NBA ones.