Marquee Sports Network Announces Partnership, Weekly Show with Chicago Bears
Marquee Sports Network announced Tuesday that it has entered into a partnership with the Chicago Bears. The agreement calls for a weekly Tuesday night show called “Bear Essentials” which will be hosted by studio analyst Cole Wright.
Following the show, Marquee will air a two-hour director’s cut of the Bears’ most recent regular-season game.
You may have noticed that our weekly webcast, The Rant Live, has recently started to be more Bears-centric since Cubs season ended. In addition, we’ve rolled out the show as a podcast that can be listened to anytime on your favorite podcast player. We’ll have more official details once we get everything set up completely, but for now you can find the show in places like Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts and more.
And no, we weren’t in the know on this announcement, it’s just that sometimes things work out like that. Here’s the official press release:
CHICAGO/October 13, 2020 – Marquee Sports Network and the Chicago Bears today announced a partnership that will bring a weekly Chicago Bears show, followed by the exclusive re-airing of Bears regular season games to the cable network.
The weekly show, “Bear Essentials,” will typically air Tuesday evenings and will be hosted by Marquee Sports Network host Cole Wright. Wright, who came to Marquee from the NFL Network, will be joined by Chicago Bears personnel and analysts as they break down the week in Chicago Bears action and look ahead to the following Bears matchup. Immediately following the show, Marquee Sports Network will air a two-hour director’s cut of the Chicago Bears most recent regular season game.
“The opportunity to build on our Chicago Cubs foundation with the addition of unique Bears content and weekly game carriage is tremendous,” said Mike McCarthy, General Manager of Marquee Sports Network. “We’re thrilled to partner with the iconic Chicago Bears organization and serve Chicago sports fans more original content.”
“Given our long and storied history together and the special relationship between the McCaskey and Ricketts families, a reunion of Cubs and Bears programming on Marquee feels incredibly natural,” added Cubs President of Business Operations Crane Kenney.
“We’re excited to bring Bears fans more access to the news and information they crave with additional Bears coverage and analysis on Marquee Sports Network,” said Scott Hagel, Chicago Bears Senior Vice President, Marketing & Communications.
Beginning this Wednesday, October 14, “Bear Essentials” will air at 7 p.m. immediately following “The Stadium.” The Chicago Bears vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers matchup, which had a fantastic finish, will re-air immediately following “Bear Essentials” at 7:30 p.m.
“Wrigley Field was home to the Chicago Bears from 1921 to 1970, and it will be spectacular to have Bears coverage back in Wrigleyville on Marquee Sports Network,” McCarthy added.
Marquee Sports Network is jointly owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. and the Chicago Cubs. For more information, visit www.marqueesportsnetwork.com and follow the network on social media at @WatchMarquee.