Chicago Cubs new television deal raises many questions

In the Ricketts family’s latest victory, the Chicago Cubs announce a new television deal. The Cubs-centric station is set to debut in 2020.

The Chicago Cubs ownership has been working to inject a new television network for a while now, and that vision turned into reality early Wednesday morning. The Cubs joined Sinclair Broadcast Group in announcing the launch of Marquee Sports Network. The network will have the television rights to all Cubs games after next season.

"“We are excited to better serve our fans with expanded and exclusive programming showcasing our remarkable players, beloved ballpark and storied past,” Cubs President of Business Operations Crane Kenney said in a statement.The press release added that the network will, ” provide unprecedented access and exclusive, in-depth Cubs content.”"

How will it affect Cubs fans?

In short, we’ll see.

The network has announced that Len Kasper and Jim Deshaies will continue to call games for Marquee Sports Network. It is also believed that Marquee will come at a monthly price of roughly $5 per month. This also means that WGN and ABC will not be covering Cubs games past this season. The network will provide its own pre and post-game shows.

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It’s too early to know any other details. Will the network be available on streaming devices? Will the Cubs radio team of Pat Hughes and Ron Coomer have a part of the Marquee Sports Network? Will fans outside of Chicago have access to the station? What types of programs will Marquee Sports Network offer during the offseason? Hopefully, things will become more evident in the coming weeks.

Perhaps the most critical question is whether this substantial revenue increase will translate to a more aggressive approach in upcoming free agencies. There was a lot of noise surrounding the stagnant nature of the Cubs offseason. The Cubs front office has been heavily active in recent years but was constrained this offseason due to an already massive budget.

It’s possible that Tom Ricketts and Co. were waiting for this television deal to become official, and construction to near completion before adding more cash to their current payroll. Since they bought the Cubs in 2011, the Ricketts have mostly been able to have their way. They won a battle with 44th Ward Alderman Tom Tunney to go forward with building two large scoreboards and create The Park at Wrigley.

With the Marquee Sports Network, Ricketts idea of a Cubs monopoly has come to fruition. Time will tell if Cubs ownership will continue to venture into more business opportunities, or if they turn their attention to maintaining an elite product on the field.