I have good news and bad news about baseball broadcasting this season.
The good news is that Marquee Sports Network and NBC Sports Chicago are unaffected by the upheaval other regional sports networks are facing. The owner of the Bally Sports-branded RSNs, Diamond Sports Group, filed for bankruptcy, clouding the channels’ future. Warner Bros. Discovery, which has RSNs branded AT&T SportsNet, wants out of the business.
The bad news is that watching baseball will cost you more than it did last season. Apple TV+ put up a paywall for “Friday Night Baseball” after making the package free in its inaugural year. And Peacock, which created the “MLB Sunday Leadoff” package, won’t be free to Comcast customers starting June 26.
Granted, we’re talking about a handful of games per team that will be affected. But that’s not the point. The point is that fans are being milked for more money. The NHL put games on ESPN+. The NFL put games on Prime Video. You can bet your bottom dollar that the NBA will put games on another platform in its next media-rights deal.
But let’s take one sport at a time. Here’s a baseball TV broadcasting primer, explaining where you’ll find the Cubs and White Sox this season:
Marquee Sports Network
The channel is scheduled to carry 151 Cubs games. Jon “Boog” Sciambi and Jim Deshaies will be in the booth, and Taylor McGregor and Elise Menaker will report from the field. Beth Mowins and radio voice Pat Hughes will fill in for Sciambi, who resumes calling “Sunday Night Baseball” on ESPN Radio. Cliff Floyd will be the lead studio analyst with host Cole Wright, Joe Girardi will be more involved with game broadcasts and Dexter Fowler will contribute in the studio.
NBC Sports Chicago
The network has 151 Sox games scheduled and returns its entire cast. Jason Benetti and Steve Stone will call the action, Chuck Garfien will host in the studio and Ozzie Guillen, Frank Thomas, Scott Podsednik and Gordon Beckham will share analyst duties. When Benetti is away calling his first season of games for Fox, radio voice Len Kasper will fill in. Beckham will cover for Stone when he’s away.
Apple TV+
The streamer released its schedule through June. The Cubs will appear twice and the Sox three times. The first of those is next Friday, when the Cubs host the Rangers at 1:20 p.m. Apple revamped its announcers, hiring play-by-play voices Wayne Randazzo and Alex Faust and analysts Dontrelle Willis and Ryan Spilborghs. It also added former umpires Brian Gorman and Dale Scott as rules analysts. The service costs $6.99 per month but offers a free seven-day trial.
Cubs — April 7 vs. Rangers (1:20 p.m.), May 12 at Twins (7:10 p.m.).
Sox — May 5 at Reds (5:40 p.m.), May 26 at Tigers (5:40 p.m.), June 16 at Mariners (9:10 p.m.).
ESPN
Karl Ravech and analysts Eduardo Perez and David Cone return to call “Sunday Night Baseball.” But neither the Cubs nor Sox is scheduled to appear on a Sunday night. After appearing on opening night, the Sox have one other ESPN game scheduled: June 14, a Wednesday night, at the Dodgers. The Cubs’ only scheduled ESPN appearance is June 25, a Sunday morning, against the Cardinals in London.
Fox/FS1
Joe Davis and John Smoltz return as the No. 1 tandem. Benetti and Bulls voice Adam Amin will get plenty of games, too. Benetti’s first game is Phillies-Rangers on Saturday with A.J. Pierzynski (the Chicago market gets Giants-Yankees). The Cubs are scheduled for six Fox appearances and the Sox five. Both also will appear twice on FS1, but those games will coexist with the local broadcast.
Cubs — April 29 at Marlins (3:05 p.m.), May 27 vs. Reds (6:15 p.m.), June 10 at Giants, (6:35 p.m.), June 24 vs. Cardinals in London (12:10 p.m.), July 1 vs. Guardians (6:15 p.m.), Aug. 26 at Pirates (6:15 p.m.).
Sox — April 22 at Rays (3:05 p.m.), May 13 vs. Astros (6:15 p.m.), July 15 at Braves (6:15 p.m.), July 22 at Twins (6:15 p.m.), Aug. 12 vs. Brewers (6:15 p.m.).
Peacock
The Cubs are scheduled for two appearances (April 30 at Marlins and June 18 vs. Orioles) and the Sox one (Aug. 6 at Guardians). Parent NBC hasn’t released its announcing plans. The service costs $4.99 per month, but Peacock said Comcast customers can expect a limited-time offer when the paywall goes up.
TBS
Warner Bros. Discovery (formerly Turner) is celebrating 50 years of baseball on TBS. Brian Anderson and Bob Costas will call the action with analysts Ron Darling and Jeff Francoeur. The Cubs will appear May 16 at the Astros on a non-exclusive broadcast.
