The Cubs' upcoming Marquee Sports Network RSN will have "access to a national feed of programming," but the channel is "betting on the fans' huge appetite for Cubs content -- biographies, classic games, highlights, list shows, live minor-league games and features on the organization's top prospects," according to Patrick Mooney of THE ATHLETIC. Marquee has "lined up MLB Network to produce some of those shows" and has hired former WGN Dir of Production Bob Vorwald as a consultant to "help sort through the team's video archives." The RSN also has the services of the in-house Cubs Productions. Marquee Head of Programming & Production Mike Santini said, "You want to think of everything through a Cubs fan's eyes. What would they want?" Sources have indicated that Marquee's potential ideas include "simulcasting shows" on WSCR-AM, the Cubs' flagship station, as well as "content that involves the Bears." The possibility of legalized sports gambling in Illinois "could also fit into Marquee's vision." Marquee's inclusion in Sinclair's recent multiyear carriage agreement across DirecTV, AT&T TV and U-verse is an "encouraging sign that the Cubs could avoid the kind of long-running feud that has slowed SportsNet LA." A source said that there is "momentum toward a Marquee deal with YouTube TV." Marquee is in the process of finalizing deals with Cubs announcers Len Kasper and Jim Deshaies (THEATHLETIC.com, 11/5).
