Local Cubs fans get almost all their games through Marquee Sports Network, in addition to other premium sports content. I have the details below.
In a hurry? If you just want to enjoy the Cubs season, these two streaming services provide everything you need:
- Fubo: A great sports-first streaming service with 150+ well-selected channels. Fubo allows you to try out its service with a free trial.
- DIRECTV STREAM: Easily cut the cord with this full cable replacement service. A 5-day free trial is now available for DIRECTV STREAM.
Table Of Contents
Streaming Services That Offer Marquee Sports Network
Marquee Sports Network is not widely available. Even looking at cable and satallite there are few choices. In terms of streaming, there are two choices in terms of live TV services and the DTC Marquee Sports Network service.
| Service | Price | Channels | DVR (hrs) | Screens |
 | $94.98 | 150+ | unlimited | 10 |
 | $114.99 | 125+ | unlimited | unlimited |
 | $19.99 | 1 | N/A† | 2 |
Marquee Sports Network DTC Service
The price on the direct-to-consumer (DTC) plan is quite good. But it has a number of disadvantages. First, you still need to get access to the national TV channels that show games exclusively. Note that this is also applies to any playoff games the Cubs may be in; they will all air on national channels.
There were 7 of these during the 2024 season with 3 on ESPN and 4 on FOX. Additionally, one game was streamed for free on The Roku Channel. And 3 games streamed exclusively on Apple TV+.
A potentially bigger issue is that the DTC plan only includes Marquee Sports Network. You will not get Chicago Sports Network, home of the White Sox. And depending on where you live, you may get other RSNs. 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 Fubo and DIRECTV STREAM provide access to all of these.
Streaming Features
All these services provide apps for most streaming devices in use today. These include Amazon Fire TV, Android mobile devices, Apple TV, Chromecast, iOS mobile devices, Roku, Samsung smart TVs, and web browsers. Fubo and DIRECTV STREAM also support smart TVs based on the Android TV standard. And Fubo supports the Xbox gaming systems and smart TVs from LG and Vizio.
DIRECTV STREAM and Fubo provide cloud DVRs with unlimited storage (9-month limit on any item in it). I don’t know if the MSN DTC service offers this kind of functionality. I can’t sign up for it because I don’t live in its media market. And the company doesn’t provide this information in its documentation.
Finally, all of these services allow you to watch on multiple devices at once. This is more important for the live TV streaming services given that they allow people in your household to stream different channels at the same time.
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 $29.99/month. Note that you can get MLB.TV as an add-on with Fubo. And Fubo provides the national Marquee Sports Network feed in its base plan. So you would get the Cubs games via the MLB.TV add-on and the rest via national channel.
Is Marquee Sports Network available to all Fubo subscribers?
Fubo provides Marquee Sports Network to subscribers of all of its English-language plans. The catch is that for subscribers outside the Cubs media market, the games are blacked out. But given all the other original content Marquee provides, it is still a good channel that all sports fans will want.
Sign up for MLB.TV on Fubo for Free
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.
Besides Marquee, which is focused on the Cubs, the Chicago area has one other important RSN: Chicago Sports Network. 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.
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.
Our Choice
You have only two options to get Marquee in a live TV package: DIRECTV STREAM and Fubo. My top choice is Fubo both because you can get MLB.TV with it and because it has a lower price. Fubo allows you to try out its service with a free trial.
Page Updates ▼▲
-
Updated some sub-sections. Updated some section headings. Added links.
-
Added new section. Updated some section headings. Changes to sections. Pricing updates.
-
Added VPN info. Added a few links. Various content updates.
-
Added buttons for streaming services. Pricing updates. Added useful links. Various content updates.
-
Added sub-section. Added links. Pricing updates. Image changes.
-
Added new section. Added FAQ section. Added table of contents. Updated some sub-sections. Updated some section headings. Additional links. Cleaned up list.
-
Updated one section. Pricing updates. More links.
-
Added some links. Formatting changes.
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.
- How to Watch Pac-12 College Teams This Year - 08/06/2024
- States That Have Produced Leading Actors and Actresses - 09/06/2022
- US States With the Fastest Internet - 06/21/2022
3 Comments