Chicago Cubs: Marquee Network’s issues may lead to a bleak winter for talent-hunting Cubs

The Chicago Cubs are facing a financial issue that may reinforce their usual frugal ways and put the kibosh on any thought of spending big this offseason. Their broadcast home, Marquee Sports Network, appears to be in a tough financial spot after just announcing a major re-scaling of both spending and network focus.

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This is not a good thing when it comes to the hopes and dreams of fans who want some impact talent for another playoff run this coming season.

Marquee’s plans include a downsizing of corporate staff, the decimation of their online content production, assorted firings, and the end of non-Cubs live sporting content on the network.

Per Jeff Agrest of the Chicago Sun-Times, quoting Cubs President of Business Operations Crane Kenney:

“Although all RSNs are navigating the headwinds of a changing sports-media landscape, Marquee has significantly reduced the diverse programming it heralded at launch, scaling down to focus on game coverage.

We’re continuing to prioritize live game broadcasts as the primary content on the network.”

The fallout from the Marquee Network’s crash

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None of the announced cutbacks should, in theory, affect the Cubs’ on-field product or the money allocated to acquire (and keep) talent. In theory. However, reality screams that the always budget-minded Ricketts family ownership will pull back across the board, especially as this issue intertwines with the impending labor dispute after next season and an all-but-guaranteed extended lockout in 2027.

It would require a supreme optimist take to imagine a scenario where the Cubs front office is allowed to spend even remotely freely with so much uncertainty hanging over ownership’s head. And, if one is paying attention to the headlines, there’s already a firm trickle of talent being signed elsewhere (Dylan Cease, Ryan Helsley, Devin Williams) by teams paying money that the Cubs most likely wouldn’t have paid even under the best of circumstances.

Most likely, the current situation will result in Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer taking his usual approach to talent acquisition– bargain buys, reclamation projects, and crossed fingers.

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If any impact acquisitions are made, they’ll most likely have to come via trade. Depending on how desperate the team is to prove themselves serious contenders (and drive Marquee subscriptions), they may have to part with a good chunk of the young talent they’ve been hoarding over the last couple of years. Some very uncomfortable parting-of-the-ways decisions may have to be made regarding prospects thought to be cornerstone assets of the future. This also doesn’t seem all that likely, though, considering the organization’s love of budget-friendly, team-controlled talent.

“Wheelbarrows of cash”

When the Cubs announced in 2019 that they’d be pulling their games off the superstation WGN in favor of their own subscription-only streaming app, an almost collective groan could be heard among the fans.

Daily free games on WGN had facilitated the rabid fandom of many and had made it possible for the team to become the revenue-generating powerhouse it had become. It had always been a point of pride that, wherever they played, Cubs fans piled into opposing ballparks, sometimes outnumbering the other team’s hometown fans. All of that was powered by the spotlight they had on WGN.

To ease the rancor among fans suddenly being asked to pay for something that was previously free, Cubs President of Business Operations Crane Kenney talked about the “wheelbarrows of cash” the team would now have to spend on top-notch talent.

Well, if anything, the Cubs have been more frugal since launching the Marquee Sports Network in 2020 and have been frustratingly conservative in their pursuit of impact players. To be fair, starting off their streaming app run right before the 60-game, empty ballpark COVID-19 crisis didn’t help things get off the ground in the right way. The in-the-red 2020 then led to a 2021 talent sell-off that all but declared the team to be in rebuild mode.

But the Cubs, over the entirety of the Marquee era thus far, have spent like a mid-market team working behind an upstart streaming app. Even when revenue is up, spending has trended downward. That dynamic isn’t likely to change now, with their streaming app having issues and one season away from a lockout, with a reported war brewing over MLB broadcast rights.

So, once again, fans should brace themselves for another shopping trip at the thrift shop this winter and a big-time need for lots of players to again exceed expectations.

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Source: https://www.chicitysports.com/chicago-cubs-marquee-sports-network-jed-hoyer-free-agents