“There’s been a huge investment for the last year-and-a-half with no revenue, so any of the revenue doesn’t start until the games start getting played.” We’ve been really fortunate to attract some really terrific folks to come help us build this thing. “Right now, we’ve been investing a ton of money, resources in the studio (and) all the personnel. The Cubs need Comcast, one of their ex-partners in the TV business, to fully unleash Marquee and generate more revenue for Theo Epstein’s baseball operations department, which spent most of the winter minding the $208 million luxury tax threshold and signing free agents to minor-league deals. Marquee has been capturing footage around Cubs camp in advance of the spring training opener on Saturday. The Yankees’ YES Network, for example, has a presence in Florida for their fans and New York transplants. The Cubs, however, are exploring the idea of selling Marquee outside their geographic footprint, making available the rest of the network’s programming – highlight shows, documentaries and old games from the WGN library. Meaning a Hulu subscriber in California or Texas would not automatically be able to watch Cubs games - MLB’s Extra Innings package is still the primary vehicle for out-of-market games. Marquee’s live game broadcasts will be limited to subscribers within the Cubs’ territory defined by Major League Baseball: all of Illinois and Iowa most of Indiana part of southwest Michigan and a fraction of Wisconsin. That’s where I’m confident we’ll get all of this behind us by Opening Day, or pretty soon, anyway.” And then thirdly, I’m just confident because I think that in the end everyone will do what’s right for the actual customers. It’s not uncommon for these kind of discussions to end up like this. “Secondly, these types of discussions typically go like this. “First off, if it really concerns you, just call Comcast and let them know,” Ricketts said. Marquee will broadcast almost all of the Cubs’ spring training exhibitions in Arizona, but the date to circle on your calendar is March 26, the first real game of the David Ross era. Ricketts and Kenney arrived for the team’s first full-squad workout at the Sloan Park complex, where a group of Marquee producers have been gathering content and preparing for Saturday’s Cactus League opener. The Cubs’ tactics include using the weight of their Marquee partner, Sinclair Broadcast Group, providing alternatives for fans with platforms like AT&T and hoping public pressure will force Comcast to make a deal. So, uh, stay tuned on that front.“Comcast is a priority because they’ve got half the homes,” Kenney said. A deal with Comcast’s Xfinity service remains the white whale, and sources have told Cubs Insider that an agreement might have to wait until as late as May. While it’s unlikely Marquee will have all of its carriage arrangements in place by the start of spring games, you can expect to see more announcements coming over the next few weeks. The Cubs and Marquee have been adamant that they’ll reach agreements will all the major streaming services, so this deal could very well open the door to others with YouTube TV and more. Just as with their other offerings, Hulu subscribers will be able to access Marquee via tablet, computer, laptop, mobile device or smart TV through the Hulu+ Live TV service. “We’ve heard from countless Hulu subscribers who were keenly interested to see their favorite baseball team. “We are thrilled to partner with Hulu and add them to our growing list of over 30 affiliates who will carry the network,” said Mike McCarthy, Marquee’s general manager. note: A representative from Hulu indicated to a CI reader that Marquee will not be available until the first regular season game on March 26.
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