(670 The Score) The Cubs are less than a year away from launching their own television network, the Marquee Sports Network, and they have an important-but-tricky goal as they move forward.
Cubs president of business operations Crane Kenney hopes for the network to be as available as possible, extending not only to fans in the Chicago region but also in Indiana and Iowa -- locations that aren't able to regularly carry the team's games.
"We have a plan on the whiteboard that says we're going to have more subs on Opening Day than we have today," Kenney said on the McNeil & Parkins Show on Thursday afternoon.
The Cubs are beginning to forge the identity of Marquee, which was officially announced in February and will be launched in early 2020. On Monday, the team will launch a YouTube channel that will offer a glimpse at the network's offerings, Kenney said.
Kenney and the Cubs are still working through the details of Marquee, including the possibility of a second broadcast booth that offers a different perspective for a game -- such as angles for sports betting and statistics.
The team is also still deciding what it will offer on Marquee outside of the game broadcasts. Kenney said he has been approached about carrying college basketball, though there remain decisions for the Cubs to make on that front.
"The cool part of controlling our own destiny is those are our decisions," Kenney said. "We don't have to run them through Philadelphia and get Comcast to sign off and get the (White Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks) to sign off. If we think it makes sense for this fan base at this time of life, we can do it."
Kenney and the Cubs hosted a number of potential carriers of Marquee at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona, for the team's spring training game.
The goal for Marquee will be providing its offering to as many Cubs fans as possible.
"With all the games coming over to our channel, we think there's an opportunity to grow (the regional base)," Kenney said.
