Frequently Asked Questions
Why are the Cubs leaving NBC Sports Chicago?
The Cubs are breaking away from NBC Sports Chicago to build their own year-round Cubs Network. The move would allow the organization to control every aspect of the broadcast, bring in all television and media sales revenue, and create multimedia job opportunities in the third-largest market in the country.
What happened when the Dodgers launched their own TV network?
In 2013, the Dodgers signed a 25-year, $8.35 billion deal with Time Warner Cable to create SportsNetLA, but fans never switched providers to follow the team. By 2017, Dodger games reached fewer than half of local LA households, even as the team made the World Series.
When is the Cubs Network expected to launch?
The Cubs Network is expected to launch in October 2019, though details about what the network will look like were still unclear at the time the news broke.
What is the YES Network and why do the Cubs want to copy it?
The YES Network is the Yankees' own regional sports network that launched in 2002 as a joint venture with 21st Century Fox, and it became the gold standard for team-owned networks. The Cubs would love to build a similar empire, but the YES Network launched during a cable boom 16 years ago when the media landscape was far less fragmented.
Could Cubs fans end up unable to watch games if the new network launches?
Yes, that's a real concern. If cable providers like Comcast, AT&T, or DISH refuse to pay a premium carriage fee to carry the Cubs Network, fans could find themselves without access to games, which is exactly what happened to the majority of Dodgers fans after SportsNetLA launched.