The debut of the Cubs' Marquee Sports Network on Saturday "did not go as smoothly as all concerned might have hoped," but problems "appeared to center on cable, satellite and streaming distribution, rather than on Marquee’s end," according to Phil Rosenthal of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE. Some customers of cable operator RCN had to "wait at least an hour" after the channel’s 1:00pm CT launch to "see Marquee on their TVs." Marquee said that "not all providers had enabled their customers to use Marquee Sports Network’s app." Among those "shut out because companies had not yet enabled its customers to access Marquee’s stream were AT&T/DirecTV and Charter Spectrum subscribers." In addition, some DirecTV customers complained they "weren’t getting the channel despite being under the impression they would" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 2/23). In Chicago, Paul Sullivan wrote the Cubs "could be must-see TV in 2020 -- at least if you're able to see them." Ready or not, Marquee is here and "changing the way you watch Cubs baseball." But not being able to watch the Cubs, even the "meaningless" Cactus League games, has "infuriated many fans, some of whom took to Twitter to vent" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 2/23).
IT HAS POTENTIAL: Cubs play-by-play announcer Len Kasper said Marquee's first game -- which featured A's-Cubs -- was "special." Kasper: "The fact that this has all started really from scratch is pretty mind-boggling." Kasper added, "I don't think there will be as much done in the studio in spring training because it's not opening day. There will be more bells and whistles once the season starts that people certainly will notice" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 2/24). The TRIBUNE's Rosenthal wrote during Marquee analyst Mark Grace's "too-short, three-inning visit" to the booth Saturday night, Grace called the Reds "baseball's equivalent of the NFL's underperforming" Browns. The Cubs beat the A's 12-2 in their exhibition opener, but the "real winner was Grace, who was funny and charming and insightful." Rosenthal wrote for now, it is Grace's "brief guest turn that should entice fans, not the technology." Rosenthal: "If Marquee is smart, it will figure out a way to make him a full-timer (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 2/23).
