Marquee Network Surcharge

[steelrod]

Just got email from Xfinity with new regional sports network pricing. Was paying 8.10 for all sports, college, basketballl, football, rodeo, auto racing etc, Espn, Nbc Sports, Cbs sports, plus White Sox, Bull, and Blackhawks.
They added $6.20 monthly for Marquee Network. Outrageous .
Called and told them I didn't want it, and would cancel all sports if I had to. Their response was the only way to remove regional sports is to remove SPORTS AND NEWS package, some 80 channels!!!
I assume Directv is doing likewise.
Anyone know how to get Sox games without being gouged?

[voodoochile]

Just got email from Xfinity with new regional sports network pricing. Was paying 8.10 for all sports, college, basketballl, football, rodeo, auto racing etc, Espn, Nbc Sports, Cbs sports, plus White Sox, Bull, and Blackhawks.
They added $6.20 monthly for Marquee Network. Outrageous .
Called and told them I didn't want it, and would cancel all sports if I had to. Their response was the only way to remove regional sports is to remove SPORTS AND NEWS package, some 80 channels!!!
I assume Directv is doing likewise.
Anyone know how to get Sox games without being gouged?

No but that's insane.

[berwyn]

I just saw it too. Looking forward to daily Harry Caray specials, will miss the $6.20. I been robbed!

[PaleHoser]

I won't pay it.

If anyone has any suggestions regarding legally streaming Sox games in the Chicago area, please share it.

[FielderJones]

If anyone has any suggestions regarding legally streaming Sox games in the Chicago area, please share it.

Drop your Xfinity down to just Internet. Subscribe to Hulu live or Fubo. NBCSports Chicago included. End of Marquee problem.

[Streets]

Drop your Xfinity down to just Internet. Subscribe to Hulu live or Fubo. NBCSports Chicago included. End of Marquee problem.

This. You'll have to subscribe to some streaming service that has NBCSports Chicago, YouTube TV might also have it.

MLB.tv has one of the tightest blackout restrictions out there and if you don't want to mess with a VPN and mask your location and stay legal, then you'll have to do what is mentioned above.

[Krs1]

That $74 a year ransom would have me switching providers, immediately.

[Hitmen77]

I saw this on my bill, too. Totally ridiculous. A $6.20 monthly Cubs Tax going right into Ricketts/Sinclair's pockets. I have zero interest in watching one second of this channel EVER. At least NBC Sports Chicago covers multiple Chicago pro teams and I'm not paying a surcharge for just one team.

Not that it matters, but is there a way to contact Xfinity to let them know my anger over this?

Drop your Xfinity down to just Internet. Subscribe to Hulu live or Fubo. NBCSports Chicago included. End of Marquee problem.

Does a service like Hulu Live include Marquee too and still charges an underlying fee for such channel(s)?

[Hitmen77]

Does a service like Hulu Live include Marquee too and still charges an underlying fee for such channel(s)?

I found the answer to this. Hulu Live is set to drop Marquee tomorrow over a carriage dispute.
https://www.bleachernation.com/cubs/...work-tomorrow/

[Nellie Fox]

I found the answer to this. Hulu Live is set to drop Marquee tomorrow over a carriage dispute.

They're also dropping most, if not all, Fox RSNs. I'm losing Fox Sports North, at least for now. It won't matter to me until next season, but when the Sox play the Twins, MLBTV blacks me out because I'm in FSN coverage area, so I have to watch the games there. I'll also miss a couple of Blackhawks games when they play the Wild, but that's nowhere near as many games as the Sox have against the Twins.

Maybe by then they'll settle the issue.

[MrX]

They're dropping everything owned by Sinclair; which includes all the regional FSNs, Marquee, and the Yankees network.

[Dumpjerry]

They're dropping everything owned by Sinclair; which includes all the regional FSNs, Marquee, and the Yankees network.

Life was so simple and easy before the Internet and all that stuff that comes with it came along. 2, 5, 7, and 9; what time is first pitch?

[Marqhead]

A la carte TV can't get here soon enough.

Luckily youtubetv didn't pick up Marquee.

[TDog]

A la carte TV can't get here soon enough.

Luckily youtubetv didn't pick up Marquee.

The cable industry has been fighting ala carte for decades, insisting no cable company is "allowed" to do offer that. And there is an argument to be made against ala carte cable. Some would say looks like it would be pro-consumer, but it would end up limiting choices, just as airline deregulation led to many smaller American cities ending up with service from only one price-gouging airline. I don't think I've never seen an episode of any HBO or Showtime series, certainly not before its run was long over and it was streamed on Netflix or something. The current choices of premium channels and streaming services is probably as ala carte as you're going to get, and that balances the both creative and consumer interests. Mad Men and Breaking Bad were great television that sort of redefined what basic cable could be, but those were shows that had to be shopped around the cable industry long before anyone had an opportunity to have in interest in seeing them.

I would love to cut the cable/high-speed internet bill by not paying for ESPN or any of the sports channels. When my wife was looking for a cost-saving cable tier earlier this year, I told her I could even do without MLB, the only sports channel I've actually watched in the last year. If I lived in Chicagoland and was faced with having to pay money to see Sox games on local television, I would probably go back to listening to games on the radio. The radio in my car is still free. It's like in those simpler times.

There is a theory, a rather popular one among White Sox fans, that the reason the Cubs have been the more popular Chicago team over the last century is the availability of their games on free television. First it was the Sox moving to 32, although WGN was already heavily favoring the Cubs and was ready to go all in on the Cubs, home and away, when the Sox went to UHF. Then there was that Sportsvision thing, or whatever it was called in the early 1980s. Now it's as if the Cubs, having build up their brand loyalty during deregulation will begin gouging the consumer. And for all I know, the Sox might not be cheap either.

I actually think baseball would be better overall if the sport were more accessible. As much as baseball has meant to me in my life, I really don't want to pay for it if I'm not at the ballpark. I have to imagine it would be easy for the casual fan to give it a pass, stifling the growth of avid fandom.

[LITTLE NELL]

Life was so simple and easy before the Internet and all that stuff that comes with it came along. 2, 5, 7, and 9; what time is first pitch?

You forgot WTTW channel 11.
I remember when the 10pm news with Fahey Flynn on channel 2 was 15 minutes long, "what's the outlook PJ?" You are spot on, life was a lot simpler back then.

I also have Xfinity and will pass on channels that I have now but will have to pay more, screw that.