Cubs, White Sox announce media deals
Marquee lands on Prime Video and Hulu + Live TV; the White Sox to air ten games in The U this season
With the baseball season officially starting in a week, Chicago’s baseball teams have announced additional ways fans can tune in.
The Cubs’ Marquee Sports announced Wednesday it has struck a deal with Disney’s Hulu + Live TV virtual streamer to carry the channel in the Chicago area, and is making it available on Amazon’s Prime Video service in the same footprint. Hulu + Live TV carried Marquee when the regional sports network launched in 2020, but dropped the channel after only a year due to cost. With its return, Hulu + Live TV joins Fubo as the only virtual streamers carrying the Cubs’ channel. Hulu + Live TV and Fubo now share a corporate parent in Disney.
Prime Video subscribers can access Marquee for an additional $19.99 per month via Prime Video Channels.
“We’re committed to delivering world-class game broadcasts to our fans through our linear channel and our direct-to-consumer product. By expanding our streaming distribution, we’re providing more ways than ever to follow the Cubs all season long,” said Crane Kenney, Cubs President of Business Operations.
“These agreements represent meaningful momentum as we continue expanding distribution and providing greater flexibility for fans,” said Will Bell, SVP, Head of Distribution and Network Relations of Sinclair, which operates the network. “With the addition of Hulu + Live TV and the launch on Prime Video, we are ensuring comprehensive access to Cubs coverage across both traditional streaming bundles and direct-to-consumer platforms in time for Opening Day.”
Marquee is the only regional sports network Sinclair operates, following the bankruptcy of the former Bally Sports networks and Diamond. Cubs fans living outside the Cubs’ television footprint can watch games through MLB.TV, which is available through ESPN Unlimited.
On the other side of town, the Chicago White Sox and Chicago Sports Network (CHSN) announced Thursday that they will make some games available to Weigel Broadcasting’s The U (WCIU-TV) for the second consecutive year, with a small package of ten games with pre- and post-game coverage.
Of those ten, four of those games feature the Cubs, including one game at Wrigley Field. The others include the New York Yankees, the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Seattle Mariners, which kicks off the package on May 8. The U is simulcasting two spring training games on March 21 (a spring training prospects game) and March 22. Last year, The U simulcasted seven White Sox games from CHSN.
The White Sox are following a pattern set by other MLB teams, offering a small package of games for over-the-air viewers. Others who have done so include the Atlanta Braves (WPCH/Peachtree TV), Cincinnati Reds (WXIX), Milwaukee Brewers (WITI), and St. Louis Cardinals (KMOV). Nearly half of MLB teams stream their games via MLB.TV this year, after the collapse of FanDuel Sports Network.
The U will also carry all non-network Chicago Sky games this year after the WNBA and the WNBPA reached a tentative agreement Tuesday night, averting a work stoppage that could have canceled games this season.