Marquee Sports Network: Stream the Official Home of the Chicago Cubs Without Cable

As a Cubs fan, I get all my baseball action through Marquee Sports Network, which broadcasts every game live and offers additional premium sports content. No cable subscription is needed to follow the team’s journey throughout the season.

In a hurry? If you just want to enjoy the Cubs season, these two streaming services provide everything you need:

Fubo

Known for its outstanding sports coverage, Fubo’s 150+ live TV channels provide a broad selection that appeals to most people. Fubo allows you to try out its service with a free trial.

DIRECTV STREAM

The king of RSNs, this is the streaming service for MLB, NBA, and NHL fans with its Choice Plan. New customers get a 5-day free trial with DIRECTV STREAM.

If you can’t watch your favorite sports because of your location, get ExpressVPN to access the content you deserve.

Why You Need a VPN Today

However, first you need a VPN to unblock US streaming services from . Our favourite is ExpressVPN. It’s definitely not the cheapest option at $4.99/month, but it just works – and across all your devices.

They have servers in 25+ US cities/states and 105 countries, which unblock access to premium streaming platforms available only in the US, as well as free “on demand” TV services worldwide.

You’ll have access to local platforms as if you were in the country, meaning you can watch BBC iPlayer as if you were in the UK, CBC Gem as if you were in Canada, plus hundreds more worldwide.

Sign Up for ExpressVPN

Hotdog users get three months free at ExpressVPN, so it’s a “no-brainer” for us. Decide for yourself with their 30 day money-back guarantee.

IMPORTANT: Once you’ve installed your VPN and connected to a US server, you’ll still need to subscribe separately to access premium streaming services.

Streaming Services That Offer Marquee Sports Network

Marquee Sports Network is available from many providers. In the cable and satellite industries, the biggest are Comcast/Xfinity and DirecTV. But in terms of streaming, there are only two options. Thankfully, they are both excellent.

Note that depending on where you live, you may get other channels beside the Chicago-based ones. If you live in Indiana, for example, you will also get Bally Sports Ohio and Bally Sports Midwest, which provides coverage of Reds (MLB), Pacers (NBA), and Blues (NHL). Both services provide these.

How to Stream Marquee Sports Network With Fubo

Fubo (formerly FuboTV) is a great service for live sports. Its base plan includes Marquee Sports Network as well as NBC Sports Chicago (home of the Chicago White Sox) for $94.98/month. It also includes all the local channels so you won’t miss out on what’s going on.

Sign Up for a Free Fubo Trial

In addition to this, Fubo is arguably the best overall sports streaming service. Of the over 150 channels in its base plan, over 35 are sports-focused. These include CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN2, FS1, FS2, NFL Network, and many more. And Fubo streams over 130 events each year in 4K. (Elite plan and higher.)

Note that Fubo provides Marquee Sports Network nationwide. But only those in the Cubs’ broadcast area get the live Cubs games. For everyone else, they are blacked out.

Cubs fans really can’t do as well with any other service. If you want more information, check out these articles:

• Fubo Review
• Fubo Packages
• Fubo Local Channels
• Fubo Devices.

DIRECTV STREAM Offers Marquee Sports Network

You can catch up on the Chicago Cubs games this Major League Baseball season through Marquee Sports Network on DIRECTV STREAM (formerly AT&T TV). It also includes NBC Sports Chicago so you will get great coverage of all the local teams. And, of course, you get the local network affiliates.

Get DIRECTV STREAM Free Trial

In order to get the RSNs, you must purchase DIRECTV STREAM’s Choice plan for $114.99/month.

You will also get other sports channels ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, FS1, and more. If you want to know more about DIRECTV STREAM, see our review.

Other Ways to Get Marquee Sports Network Content

Apart from live TV streaming services, you have two options.

Use Marquee Sports Network App With TV Everywhere

You can also watch Marquee Sports Network on the official app, which is available on Amazon Fire TV, Android, Apple TV+, iOS, and Roku devices.

There are two things to keep in mind:

1. To stream live Cubs games you still need to be located in the Cubs broadcast area. This is the area defined by MLB as part of a club’s home market.
2. You will need either a live TV subscription that includes Marquee Sports Network (eg, Fubo, DIRECTV STREAM) or to be signed up with Marquee Sports Network’s direct-to-consumer streaming service.

Fans who are laser-focused on the Chicago Cubs may want to check out this new streaming service but others will want access to live TV channels — if for nothing more than playoff games.

Subscribers can get the Marquee Sports Network service for $19.99/mo. But with 162 games during a six-month regular season, that comes to just 75¢ per game.

Out-of-Market Fans Can Use MLB.TV

MLB.TV will not provide you access to the Marquee Sports Network. But it is a great option for a certain kind of Cubs fan — the kind that doesn’t live in or around the Chicago area.

MLB.TV provides access to most live MLB games for $24.99 per month or $149.99 for the whole season. The catch? There is a blackout delay for all in-market games. So if you live near the Cubs, you will have to wait an hour and a half after each game to watch it.

But for Cubs fans who live far away, this is a great deal. And you can get MLB.TV through Fubo now.

Sign up for MLB.TV on Fubo for Free

TVs and Mobile Devices for Live Streaming Marquee Sports Network

There are a lot of details about just what TVs and devices different live TV streaming services provide.

But, the bottom line is always the same: they provide support for the vast majority of units. Unless you have an old or unusual device, you are almost certainly covered.

Fubo Supported Devices

• TVs: Hisense, LG, Samsung, Vizio and those with Android TV
• Streaming Media Players: Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku, Chromecast
• Browsers: All major
• Mobile: Android, iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch)
• Game Consoles: Xbox One. 

DIRECTV STREAM Supported Devices

• TVs: Samsung and those with Android TV
• Streaming Media Players: Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Chromecast
• Browsers: All major
• Mobile: Android, iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch)

Marquee Sports Network: What It Offers and Where

Formed in February 2020, Marquee Sports Network is dedicated to the Chicago Cubs. In that way, it’s much like the Yankees’ YES Network, but even more focused.

It broadcasts virtually every home game at Wrigley Field as well as every away game from Opening Day onward. You will also get some Spring Training games but not playoff games, which appear on national stations.

In other words, Marquee is a must-have channel for Chicago Cubs fans.

It also airs well over half of WNBA Chicago Sky games.

Streaming services are the only way to watch Marquee Sports Network without cable. They have become popular for their convenience and affordability. But most of them do not provide wide support for regional sports networks (RSNs) like Marquee.

Besides Marquee, which is focused on the Cubs, the Chicago area has one other important RSN: NBC Sports Chicago. It provides coverage for the White Sox (MLB), Bulls (NBA), and Blackhawks (NHL).

Marquee Sports Network Shows

In addition to live Cubs and Sky games, Marquee Sports Network provides a lot of other content. This includes local and national sports programming, documentaries (especially related to the Cubs), behind-the-scenes Cubs coverage, and the podcasts Cubs Weekly Podcast and Off the Mound With Ryan Dempster.

It also features these original shows:

• Cubs 360: Analysis of Cubs news.
• Cubs Live: The pregame show for all Cubs games.
• Cubs Postgame Live: The postgame show for all Cubs games.
• Chicago Sky: No Limits: A monthly discussion show about Chicago’s WNBA team.
• Let’s Play Two!: Sunday morning show with Cubs highlights from the previous week.
• The Reporters: Roundtable of Chicago-area sportswriters focused on the Cubs.
• Road to Wrigley Live: Roughly a dozen shows per season highlighting all the Cubs’ Minor League teams including the Iowa Cubs, their Triple-A team out of Des Moines.

The MLB Network has produced 5 documentaries for Marquee Sports Network:

• The Remarkable Life of Ron Santo
• More than Mr Cub: The Life of Ernie Banks
• Glory and Grief: The Ferguson Jenkins Story
• Billy Williams: The Sweet Swinger
• Mayor of Rush Street.

Although Marquee does not broadcast any Chicago Bears games, they do produce a lot of content for fans of the legendary team. They produce three Bears-focused shows:

• Bears Postgame Live: This is the official postgame show for the Bears.
• Bear Essentials: A weekly show (during football season) discussing the latest NFL- and Bears-related news. Airs Tuesdays.
• Bears Den: Preview of the upcoming Bears game. Airs Thursdays.

And it features related non-Marquee original content like the sports betting shows Follow the Money, VSiN PrimeTime, and Live on the Line.

Where Marquee Sports Is Available

Marquee Sports Network, like most RSNs, is only available to customers in its coverage area. In this case, that means parts of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Wisconsin. This may seem like a great restriction, but it really isn’t. Cubs fans outside the coverage area can get MLB.TV, which we discussed above.

There are many advantages to using a streaming service to deliver Marquee Sports Network. The biggest is probably price. Even the relatively expensive streaming services are notably cheaper than cable.

Streaming services also allow you to watch TV on multiple TVs and devices. So if you have a large household that can’t agree on what to watch, there’s no problem. And the streaming services work on just about every device imaginable — from the biggest smart TV to the smallest iPhone.

Marquee Sports Network Commentators

Jon “Boog” Sciambi has been the play-by-play announcer for local Chicago Cubs broadcasts since the 2021 season. He also provides his talents to ESPN Radio’s national airings of MLB games. Veteran ESPN broadcaster Beth Mowins fills in on some Cubs broadcasts.

Color commentator Jim Deshaies joined the booth at the same time as Sciambi. Cole Wright is the studio host for pregame and postgame shows. Elise Menaker fills in for Wright and also acts as sideline reporter. Taylor McGregor is also sideline reporter.

Other assorted on-air talent include analysts Joe Girardi, Doug Glanville, Ryan Dempster, Rick Sutcliffe, Cliff Floyd, Dexter Fowler, Mark Grace, Sean Marshall, Carlos Peña, Ryan Sweeney, and Lance Brozdowski.

And the lineup is fleshed out with contributors Gary “Sarge” Matthews, Lou Piniella, Bruce Levine, Hall of Fame pitcher Fergie Jenkins.

Pat Hughes is the Cubs radio play-by-play announcer but you will also see him on TV broadcasts from time to time.

Chicago Sky On-Air Talent

Lisa Byington is the play-by-play announcer for the Chicago Sky. She also does play-by-play for the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks.

Meghan McKeown provides analysis for the Sky games. And the team is filled out by Stephen Bardo and Jason Ross Jr.

Wrapping Up

Since it is relatively new, you have only two options to get Marquee without cable: DIRECTV STREAM and Fubo. Both these services offer excellent and convenient packages even without Marquee. 

If you’re in or near the Chicago area and passionate about baseball, then get Marquee Sports Network. Fubo is our top choice. Fubo allows you to try out its service with a free trial.

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Frank Moraes

I am a Senior Content Editor at Hotdog.com, specializing in sports streaming and regional programming issues. With a PhD in Atmospheric Physics from the Oregon Graduate Institute of Science and extensive experience in remote sensing technology, including early video streaming, I bring a unique technical perspective to the streaming industry.

My expertise in sports coverage, particularly for out-of-market games and regional sports networks, stems from years of hands-on experience as an early adopter of streaming services and my work addressing fans' viewing challenges. As a longtime cord-cutter and subscriber to multiple streaming platforms, I combine my technical knowledge with practical user experience, making me a leading expert in the field of sports streaming and entertainment technology.

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