Cubs quietly dealing with Marquee Sports Network setback despite aggressive offseason

Between the arrival of Alex Bregman and the trade for Edward Cabrera, expectations are high for the Chicago Cubs' 2026 season. Over the past month, the Cubs have returned to the big-boy table and are among the leaders in spending this offseason. With that comes the imminent arrival of spring training, where Cubs fans are undoubtedly looking forward to watching games. The only problem is that most of the spring training games this season won't be on Marquee Sports Network.

Lost in the fanfare of the Cubs Convention this past weekend was team president Crane Kenney telling the Chicago Tribune that there will be a reduction in spring training games on Marquee Sports Network this season.

The Cubs' spring training broadcast schedule has yet to be announced, but Kenney suggested that of the 32 games the team is scheduled to play, the number of games available on Marquee will probably be in the single digits.

The number of spring training games on Marquee has declined over the past three years. There were 28 games aired in 2024, 17 in 2025, and now the expectation is that there will only be a handful of games aired this season.

While Cubs spend big, Marquee Sports Network quietly takes a hit

It's been an offseason of significant changes at Marquee Sports Network. While most of the on-air talent is expected to return for the 2026 season, there were notable layoffs behind the scenes and on their digital platform.

For reference, if you navigate to the Cubs' tab on Marquee's website, their last piece of information was the report that the Cubs signed Alex Bregman. Despite Marquee covering Bregman's introductory press conference and airing several segments from the convention over the weekend, there's been no digital coverage of either event.

The good news is that the changes taking place at Marquee don't appear to be impacting the Cubs' ability to spend this winter. After signing Bregman, the Cubs are expected to go into the luxury tax this season, and by most accounts, they may not be done making moves this offseason.

The bad news is that the Cubs may not have much of a long-term future at Marquee. They are promising that the presentation of games won't change, but it's hard to overlook the changes that were made this offseason. It's clear that the coverage of the Cubs, outside of regular-season games, is becoming less of a priority. Something that would go against the main reason for the Cubs having their own network.