Comcast/Xfinity – Not Likely to Pick Up Marquee Before Spring Training Games, Ricketts Optimistic They Will Before the Start of the Season

On Monday we learned that Marquee Sports Network struck a deal with Hulu+ Live TV. If you are considering the switch, Hulu offers a free week trial of their service. I would personally wait until February 22nd, the day Marquee goes live and start the trial then.

We have also learned through Cubs chairman, Tom Ricketts, that they do not expect to have Comcast in the fold at the start of Spring Training, but they are optimistic that they will strike a deal before the regular season starts.

Ricketts sounded pretty confident Marquee will eventually get on Comcast (by opening day) but has no more info on it. He said he has Direct TV and Comcast in his house. "I might have to cancel one," he joked.

— Jesse Rogers (@ESPNChiCubs) February 17, 2020

Comcast represents 1.9 million subscribers in the Chicagoland area. Not having Marquee on this network would be a major misstep for the Cubs and Marquee. However, this isn’t abnormal.

Back in 2013 the Los Angeles Dodgers signed the second-largest TV deal in baseball, only behind the New York Yankees. The deal was reportedly worth $8.35 billion (yes, billion with a *B*) for SportsNet LA to become the sole place to find Dodgers games. But, with carriage fees coming in high, several local providers refused to carry the network, and there are still 70% of the LA area without the chance to watch Dodgers games.

Similarly, in New York, Comcast and the Yankees “YES” network had a stalemate that lasted more than a year. With Comcast refusing to pay the RSN its carriage fee, citing low ratings among its 900,000 customers within the New Jersey, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania areas. Comcast dropped the network in November 2015 and didn’t bring them back until the 2018 season.

The Cubs have reached deals with RCN, AT&T, TVision, as well as Hulu so far. I would be surprised if there isn’t a deal with YouTube TV soon as MLB and YouTube had a solid relationship in the 2019 season, broadcasting many games. With team’s having more ownership of their streaming rights, places like YouTube TV make too much sense to not have them eventually carried. YouTube TV is also still advertising an MLB Game of the Week, so that partnership is still strong.

Ultimately it comes down to carriage fees and ratings. Comcast is already in bed with NBC and NBC Sports. Since NBC is owned by Comcast, they are naturally going to carry their own network. But, that leaves a smaller piece of the pie for any additional RSN’s in the area. Comcast charges a Regional Sports Fee of $8.25 a month. This includes NBC Sports Chicago, NBC Sports Chicago Plus, and Big 10. If the Cubs are selling Marquee at $4 (as reported) this would certainly mean that RSN fee would increase a little.

At what price point do the folks at Comcast and the folks at Marquee believe is reasonable? There is precedent for the Cubs to stick at $4 per sub, since they already struck deals with several of Comcast’s competitors. But, some of those competitors needed to add the channel and be early adopters, Comcast doesn’t.

AT&T took a giant hit in 2019, losing 1.164 million subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2019 and a total of nearly 3.5 million throughout the year. This is the third consecutive year in which AT&T has seen a decrease in subscriber base, and appears to have changed its business model to add as much content for cable or satellite customers.

Comcast is still a stronghold. While they are certainly experiencing a loss of TV subscription base, they offer the highest-rated internet packages in the area. So they understand that even if customers cut the cord, they are still likely to retain them through their internet services – which are their second most profitable service.

While Ricketts feels confident, and Marquee feels confident, I’m not sure I hold the same confidence level as they do, at this point.

“It’s in their hands,” said Mike McCarthy, Marquee’s general manager. “I’d be very surprised if something weren’t to work out sooner than later with Comcast.”

As for Comcast…

“We have received the proposal from Marquee and are reviewing it,” said Jack Segal, a Comcast spokesman.

If you want Marquee and have Comcast, here is how you can possibly provoke them.

Xfinity Chat – https://www.xfinity.com/xfinityassistant/?INTCMP=ILC:XA:GEN:GEN5bfebd84b5e3a

Xfinity Phone – 800-934-6489

Comcast Twitter – @comcast @xfinity @comcastcares

Call them, chat with them, send them messages on Twitter. Ask them to carry Marquee Sports Network.