Media Notes: MSN to air some Cubs spring-training games remotely

In Chicago, Jeff Agrest noted Marquee Sports Network will remotely air “a majority of Cubs spring-training games” this year. Cubs TV announcers Jon Sciambi and Jim Deshaies “will be in Arizona for the first weekend of games at the end of this month,” but most of the remaining games “will be called remotely.” While the availability of broadcasters is part of the equation, sources say that MSN is also “looking to cut costs and focus on regular-season game and shoulder programming” (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 2/1).

OFF AIR: In Houston, Matt Young reported for the first time in 39 years, longtime Houston pro football writer John McClain “won’t be heard on the city’s sports talk radio stations.” McClain, who retired from the Houston Chronicle in 2022, was laid off by SportsRadio 610. The 72-year-old “appeared on the station six times a week, wrote four weekly columns for the station’s website and hosted a podcast.” McClain is “not ruling out popping up at another station in the local market” (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 1/31).