Latest news with #MarqueeSportsNetwork
Forbes
23-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
ESPN Could Create Downward Pressure For Sports Streaming Prices
ESPN's forthcoming streaming service will cost $29.99 – which is both a high price for a sports-only service, but also a relative bargain compared to the larger landscape of its competitors in the sports streaming space. For instance, the Gotham Sports App, which combines YES and MSG+, also costs $29.99 per month with an annual subscription ($41 per month if you opt for a monthly plan) but doesn't include games that appear on New York's third regional sports network, SNY (which costs another $139.99 annually). Marquee Sports Network's app costs $19.99 per month for audiences to watch live Chicago Cubs games, and get coverage around other Chicago teams. But it doesn't include live games for the Blackhawks, Bulls or White Sox, which all appear on the CHSN app (another $29.99 per month if you want to watch all three teams and $19.99 if you only want one). In Los Angeles, the Dodgers' newer SNLA+ app costs $199.99 for the year (averages out to $16.67 monthly), but doesn't include any of the other local teams, who have their own streamers with their own pricing included. And notably, for all of these apps, you have to be in the coverage areas for these services in order to subscribe at all. Otherwise, out-of-market audiences are subscribing via ESPN+ or MLB/NBA/NHL-specific services, which all come with their respective own costs in a similar range. At this point, it's easy to ask: How can these prices stay where they are, when the largest provider of live sporting events (ESPN) is offering its network as a standalone service for the same price (and even less, when you figure in the $36.99 ad-supported Disney bundle price)? Simply put, they can't. Despite the market's shift toward every-game viewing for audiences' favorite teams – those fans also need access to national games. And many of those national games appear on ESPN's family of networks. So a fan of the Cubs and Bulls is paying $70 per month just to watch those two teams and only national games that appear on ESPN. Fan of the Bears, too? Well, they'll need access to Fox and CBS for afternoon NFL games, plus NBC for Sunday Night Football, and potentially Amazon Prime Video for Thursday Night Football as well. If that consumer also has interests outside of sports, they may have Netflix or another streamer, and suddenly, the entertainment bill is climbing well over $120 per month. This is not the first time that a la carte streaming's escalating costs have come under scrutiny, and those concerns will continue. But ESPN's app may be the one that actually spurs pricing and/or behavioral change. For consumers without a multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) – Comcast Xfinity, DirecTV, Hulu Live TV, YouTube TV, etc. – subscription, the soaring prices of a la carte streaming could send them back to 'cable' bundles. For these sports streaming services, the consumer math may be a wake-up call on pricing. DirecTV and other carriers have RSN add-ons for as little as $14.99 per month, and that price usually includes ALL of the local RSNs. ESPN's value at $29.99 per month is worth a debate (even if the Disney bundle price is a steal as long as you use Disney+ and Hulu) when weighing it against larger entertainment streamers like Peacock and Paramount+. But when comparing what consumers receive for that price versus what they get through any of the standalone sports streamers, it's clearly night and day. The economics of those RSNs launching and supporting streaming services may have necessitated $20-30 per month price points given how much NBA, NHL and MLB clubs have relied on payouts from those networks. ESPN's existence at the same price level stands in stark contrast, though, and is almost certain to drive down those rates as budget-conscious cord-cutters start assessing value. Will the RSNs be able to sustain price decreases? Perhaps not. They're going to be forced to figure it out, though, within months of ESPN's streaming launch.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Cubs' Craig Counsell Provides Update on the Injured Porter Hodge
The Chicago Cubs' bullpen has not performed well this season, and it recently lost one of its top arms to the injured list. Chicago placed right-handed relief pitcher Porter Hodge on the 15-day IL on Tuesday with a sore left oblique muscle. However, the Marquee Sports Network's Scott Bair reports the 24-year-old threw a bullpen session the next day. Advertisement Bair also reported that Hodge first felt the discomfort in his oblique last Friday, but still threw one inning in Saturday's 7-3 win against the Chicago White Sox. Manager Craig Counsell spoke with reporters, including Bair, before Wednesday's game against the Miami Marlins about Hodge's injury and how the move was more of a precaution. Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell (11) watches players warm up during spring training Scuteri-Imagn Images 'Not a complete shutdown,' Counsell told Bair about Hodge's timeline. 'We're going to keep his arm moving, just with a lower intensity, and hopefully by the weekend we can ramp this back up. I think his date to come off would be a week from Tuesday, so we'll just go from there. (The left oblique) is getting better.' Advertisement Before Hodge went on the injured list, he threw 19.1 innings in 21 appearances and struck out 8.8 batters per nine innings. He has a 2.89 ERA in 62.1 MLB innings. The Cubs have used multiple options at closer this season, with Hodge as one of the candidates who could have taken over the role full-time. Despite his 5.12 season ERA and 1.50 WHIP, Counsell acknowledged that sending Hodge to the injured list was not the easiest decision to make amid the Cubs' bullpen struggles. 'With pitchers, it's tough,' Counsell told Bair. 'You can try to play seven or eight days without him, but it ends up putting a lot of pressure on the other guys. In hindsight, after last night, you think you should have waited. But you don't know how the games are going to sequence. You have to be careful with Porter's health.' Related: Jed Hoyer Reveals Cubs Trade Deadline Plans With Questions Mounting Cubs' Craig Counsell Provides Update on the Injured Porter Hodge first appeared on Athlon Sports on May 22, 2025
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Alan Ritchson Films ‘Reacher' Spin-off in Stands During Chicago Cubs Game
Imagine sitting in the stands at Wrigley Field for a Chicago Cubs baseball game, and in front of you are two stars of your favorite television show doing recon on something that sounds terrifyingly important. That was the case over the weekend, as Reacher star Alan Ritchson and his former co-star Maria Sten, who played Neagly, were filming in the stands of a Cubs game, as Marquee Sports Network showed. However, while Sten has appeared in 20 episodes, second only to Ritchson himself, they were reportedly filming a different show. Upcoming Reacher spin-off, Neagly, was apparently the focus here, but it appears that Ritchson will make at least one crossover appearance in the future show. Some of the film crew can be seen in this photo of the duo at the game: Not surprisingly, the reactions poured in from fans of the Cubs and the popular television show. Even before it was pointed out that they were filming, fans stated how apparent it seemed that the two weren't just in attendance to check out the game, and that it looked as though they were doing a scene. "Are they filming cause he's straight in character as Reacher. I think they're filming," said one fan. "They look like they are in character," said another with a crying laughing emoji. "they were definitely filming a scene + used all of the fans for free extras," joked another fan. "That's not the cast; that's Reacher and Neagley on a surveillance job," read a comment. Other fans chimed in while joking about how huge Ritchson is in real life, along with how terrified they'd be sitting there if they didn't know filming was happening. "That guy is huge, lol," said another comment. "I don't know but if I was sitting next to them I'd be terrified that shit was about to go down! (Love the show!)," replied a fan with a laughing emoji. It was a cool moment to see, and it had to be quite an experience for the fans attending the game. However, those fans around Ritchson and Sten were almost certainly informed of what was going on before filming.
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Cubs Analyst Says Twins' Lopez May Be More ‘Attainable' Than Marlins' Alcantara
If the Chicago Cubs decide to find a replacement in the starting rotation for an injured Justin Steele, there's a strong chance they'll go shopping at the deadline. The biggest name rumored to be moved is Miami Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara, who will be a free agent at the end of the 2027 MLB season. Advertisement When healthy, the righty is one of the better starting pitchers in baseball, winning the National League Cy Young Award in 2022. However, in 2025, Alcantara is struggling, with a 6.56 ERA and 12 walks allowed in 23.1 innings. Another name floating around the rumor mill is Pablo Lopez of the Minnesota Twins, who was reinstated from the 15-day injured list and will start Friday's game against the Los Angeles Angels. On Friday, Bruce Levine of the Marquee Sports Network noted that he believes the Cubs could more easily acquire Lopez from the Twins than trade for Aclantara. Miami Marlins pitcher Sandy Alcantara (22) pitches in the first inning against the Washington Nationals at loanDepot Rassol-Imagn Images "It would probably take an awful lot, a big package, to get Alcantara," Levine said on "Cubs Live!" a talk show on the Marquee Sports Network. "The Cy Young Award winner two years ago, and he was out all of last year, and now he's back finding his way." Advertisement Just a few moments later, Levine mentioned Lopez as a possible trade target for the Cubs. "Another pitcher that I think is more attainable is getting Pablo Lopez from the Minnesota Twins," Levine said. "The Twins' situation is really up in the air as far as ownership, and their record is nothing close to where they thought they would be, and Lopez might be the guy for them to get some money back. He has a contract for $21 million a year for the next three years." Before Lopez was placed on the injured list with a right hamstring strain on April 11, he allowed a combined three earned runs in his first three starts and struck out 14 in 16.2 innings. While Alcantara would undoubtedly be a significant upgrade to the Cubs' rotation, the Marlins could ask for a substantial return package involving MLB-level players and top 30 prospects. Related: Cubs' Craig Counsell Provides Ryan Pressly Update
Chicago Tribune
22-04-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Column: Chicago Cubs superfan Ronnie ‘Woo Woo' Wickers is rehabbing for a return to Wrigley Field
Ronnie Wickers was looking around his room for his get-well cards. 'Where are they?' he asked his daughter, Yolanda Linneman. 'I know they're around here somewhere.' After a brief search of the room at The Pearl of Evanston nursing home, Linneman reached into a box and pulled out a couple dozen cards. Almost all of them were addressed to 'Ronnie Woo Woo,' the nickname Wickers earned in the Wrigley Field bleachers for chanting the word 'woo' after the names of Cubs players, becoming well-known in the 1980s: 'Jody, Woo! Davis, Woo! Leon, Woo! Durham, Woo!' To some he's the sweet sound of a Wrigley summer, and to others he's a car alarm that can't be turned off. 'The best way to appreciate Ronnie,' Hall of Fame owner Bill Veeck told me in 1983, 'is when he's about 100 feet away and not in your ear.' Now 83, Wickers is rehabbing from a lung disease at the Evanston facility. He has been there since shortly after making his annual appearance at the Cubs Convention in January, and he's hooked up to an oxygen tank and monitored closely by staff. Wickers said he hopes to get a portable oxygen concentrator when doctors allow him to go back to the ballpark. He was scheduled for an appointment Tuesday morning at Northwestern Memorial Hospital but said Monday he felt good and was aiming for a return to Wrigley sometime around the All-Star break. Naturally, Wickers believes the Cubs will remain in first place by then. 'They're playing such good ball, I'd like to get out there and see them play,' he said while looking at a magnet schedule and wearing one of his many Cubs uniforms. 'I'll get there.' A friend brought a small Roku TV to Wickers' room so he could stream the games on Marquee Sports Network, and Wickers was eager to see how they Cubs would fare Tuesday and Wednesday against the superstar-laden Los Angeles Dodgers. Friends have stopped by with gifts from the park: the magnet schedule, Cubs shirts and hats. 'We've had so many people visiting, it's hard to keep track of everyone,' Linneman said. I've known Wickers for decades, having met him in the bleachers in my teens. He's an acquired taste, for sure, because of his unique gift: the ability to yell, 'Cubs, Woo!' at the top of his lungs for an entire three-hour game. When I last saw him before Monday, he was in good spirits at the Cubs Convention and even conversed with Chairman Tom Ricketts, opening a door many thought was closed when Wickers was ejected from the bleachers in April 2017 after security asked him to produce a ticket. 'Throughout the years, Ronnie Wickers has attempted to enter Wrigley Field without a ticket and he is politely turned away by staff,' former Cubs spokesman Julian Green said that day. 'Wickers, like any other fan or celebrity, must have a ticket to attend a game at Wrigley Field. No exceptions. We take ticket integrity seriously, so if you attempt to enter a section in the first or seventh inning, you must produce a ticket when asked.' Wickers insisted a friend gave him an e-ticket and it was on the friend's phone. The friend couldn't produce it, so 'Woo Woo' got the boot. He claimed he was being singled out and harassed, joking he would take his case to the Supreme Court. But he eventually was allowed back in and soon was wooing like the old days. I've seen Wickers at his highest and lowest, from his loudest days in the bleachers to his recent struggles with health problems. When Durham homered in San Diego to give the Cubs the lead in the fourth inning of Game 4 of the 1984 National League Championship Series, the team was one win from its first World Series in 39 years. Wickers hopped up on the bar at the Cubby Bear and began yelling, 'Leon, Woo! Durham, Woo!' The entire bar chanted along. Five innings later, Padres first baseman Steve Garvey hit a walk-off home run off Cubs closer Lee Smith, and Wickers trudged out of the bar like he'd lost his dog. In 1987 he was missing from the ballpark early in the season, which led to a Sun-Times story headlined: 'Cubs 'Woo man' vanishes. Misses first game in 17 yrs. amid murder rumor.' Radio personality Jonathan Brandmeier located Wickers working as a pizza delivery man, and the Tribune sports editor ordered a half-dozen pizzas with the stipulation that Wickers personally deliver them to Tribune Tower. Wickers entered the fourth-floor newsroom holding the pizzas aloft and chanting: 'I'm alive, Woo! I'm alive, Woo!' Cubs players all knew him, or at least knew the voice. One day in '87, former Cubs great Billy Williams stood near the batting cage 2½ hours before a day game and heard Wickers chanting outside the ballpark. Williams noticed the shades of the rooftop buildings were drawn. 'Those people won't be sleeping much longer,' he said. The next year Wickers came to Wrigley on opening day wearing a gorilla suit. He has been friends with players for decades, from Fergie Jenkins in the 1960s to Bill Madlock in the '70s, from Davis and Gary 'Sarge' Matthews in the '80s to Ben Zobrist in the 2010s. Former New York Mets star Darryl Strawberry, whom Wickers razzed relentlessly at Wrigley, called him last year on his birthday. Still, the outpouring of love since news of his latest health setback was posted on Facebook wasn't something Wickers expected. Andre Dawson called and told Wickers he would stop by the facility. Zobrist sent well wishes, and on Monday Wickers read a card from former pitcher Glendon Rusch telling him to get back to chanting 'Cubs, Woo!' soon. (For those interested in sending a message, Wickers can be reached at The Pearl of Evanston Skilled Nursing Facility, 820 Foster St., Evanston, IL 60601.) Over the years, players, including Durham, sometimes gave Wickers money to supplement his income from washing windows, shoveling snow and other odd jobs. It was payback, Durham said, for supporting them year after year. 'It was a blessing to know that he was not just there for the game but also to inspire the team, to cheer us on,' Durham told the Tribune in 2004. 'Some fans might have thought he was annoying, but you come out to the ballpark to cheer. If you don't want cheering, you stay home.' One fan who sent Wickers a card enclosed a copy of a photo of him posing with Wickers when the fan was a little boy. Wickers might be one of the most photographed people at Wrigley over the last 60 years. Players come and go, but Ronnie Woo Woo has been around forever. 'They can't trade me and they can't fire me,' he said, laughing.
