The Chicago Cubs revealed their plans for the Marquee Sports Network this weekend at the annual Cubs Convention. The network doesn’t yet have clearance on several cable and satellite systems, but the team is hoping that will change now that it has revealed the network’s offerings.
Len Kasper and Jim Deshaies will still be in the broadcast booth for the Cubs. They have been with the team since 2005 and 2013 respectively.
There are two new additions coming to Cubs broadcasts. Cole Wright will be the Marquee Sports Network’s studio host. He joins the network from the NFL Network, where he hosted the GameDay Highlights package. Taylor McGregor will be the field reporter. She previously served in the same role for the Colorado Rockies and on ESPN’s college football broadcasts.
Several former Cubs were announced as analysts for the network. They include Ryan Dempster, Mark DeRosa, Lou Piniella, Dan Plesac, Doug Glanville, Jason Hammel, Carlos Peña, and Rick Sutcliffe. Most will be color commentators. Some will also be in the studio.
FOX’s Chris Meyers has also been revealed as part of the Marquee family. He will handle some play-by-play duties for the network.
The Cubs also revealed some other programming offerings for the Marquee Sports Network over the weekend. Most of it looks similar to other team-owned networks. Marquee will offer a show similar to HBO’s Hard Knocks called Cubs All Access. There will also be documentaries on several of the organization’s ex-players and managers.
Marquee has still not been cleared by Comcast. The cable provider reaches 1.5 million homes in the Chicagoland area. Cubs President of Business Operations Crane Kenney told fans that they could expect the Marquee Sports Network to be on all streaming services before the season begins.