(but I'm still saving money over last year)
Here’s a true-life story. My grandfather, Harry Welstein, left Ukraine at the age of 17 for the promised land of the USA. After debarking at Ellis Island, he traveled to the West Side of Chicago, speaking barely a word of English. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how I became a White Sox fan.
You see Harry was told that in order to be a real American, he had to like baseball. Back then, the only way to catch a game without being there was to listen to it on the radio. So, he dutifully started listening to Bob Elson broadcast Sox games while learning to speak English. I can only imagine the conversations between my grandmother and him when it was time to wash his white socks or to explain why it was OK to steal a base. My grandfather passed along his Sox fandom to my father, who passed it along to me. Somehow, the line skipped a generation as my son became an avid Cub fan. Who knows...This just might have something to do with my wife being a Cub fan. Thankfully, the universe has realigned, and my grandson is a Sox fan. Full disclosure, I have a Vegas bet on the Cubs winning the NL Central Division in 2023. I have no such bet on the White Sox. I may be a Sox fan, but I know a good team when I see one and it ain’t them. Before the season started, I had a feeling that the Cubs were going to be a lot better than most "experts” thought, so I stepped up to the window. However, actually watching the Cubs on TV might be a tougher bet.
Last year, we moved away from Cable and subscribed to YouTube TV (YTTV). We were able to save over $150 a month by making that switch. However, YTTV only offers NBC Sports Chicago. So, while we were able to watch Bulls and Blackhawk games this past winter, when baseball season arrived, it was only the White Sox. In order to preserve domestic tranquility, we had to find a way to watch Cub games on Marquee Network. For those of you who don’t keep track of this stuff as much as I do, the Cubs and Sinclair Broadcast Group launched Marquee Network as the exclusive home for Cubs baseball in February of 2020, just in time for the pandemic.
Since signing-on, Marquee Network has had its best carriage deals with Chicago area cable operators as most of them offer Marquee Network. The results are mixed in satellite with DirecTV carrying Marquee while DISH Network does not. It gets a lot trickier for cord-cutters. The only streaming services that offer Marquee are DirecTV Stream and fuboTV. So to recap, if you live in the Chicago area and want to watch the Cubs, your choices are limited to your local cable provider, DirecTV (satellite or stream) or fuboTV. But, as I wrote in a post the other day, fuboTV does not carry any of the Turner Broadcast Networks, meaning no TBS and TNT. Without those two networks, you won’t see all NBA and NHL playoff games and none of the Stanley Cup finals.
It's too bad because YouTube TV and fuboTV cost significantly less than Cable or DirecTV. In my case, switching from YouTube TV to DirecTV stream upped my monthly cost from around $73 a month, which includes White Sox games, to around $100 a month for its “Choice” plan which includes both the Cubs and Sox. While it’s less than going back to Cable (see my blog post on hidden fees), it’s still $27 a month more just to watch Cub games. BTW, there is one other option; we can move away from Chicago and for $149, purchase the MLB.TV plan. We would then get all Cubs and Sox games. However, we best be sure we’ve moved far enough away because states like Iowa and Indiana are still considered Chicago baseball territory and games are blacked-out on the MLB.TV application.
Thankfully, there are no contracts with streaming services, so we can opt-out of DirecTV and go back to YTTV or for that matter, any service any old time we want. That’s one of the reasons I implore clients to NEVER sign an agreement with a provider that does not give you the ability to leave that service at your convenience. Now I’m not suggesting that you change providers like Taylor Swift changes boyfriends, but it’s good to have options readily at-hand. Being under contract could impede your ability to take advantage of a bargain when it arises. For example, YouTube TV recently secured the rights to the NFL Sunday Ticket package and prices are going to be significantly lower for YTTV subscribers. For NFL fans, you only have until June 8th to get the lowest Sunday Ticket price. Which means if you’re a Cub fan, it’s the sports version of "Sophie’s Choice”. Should you move to YTTV now or stick with a service that carries the Marquee Network? I guess if the Cubs keep playing as they have been, Sophie won’t have much of a choice.
It's a never-ending battle to keep-up with the latest opportunities in the Television, Cellular and Internet worlds. Since I retired from the radio business, I’ve had the time to continually do both in-store and online research in order to help save households from hundreds to even thousands of dollars with most savings ongoing. For a free look at your bills and to discuss options, email hmwellsradio@gmail.com or visit lowertechbills.com because you may not have the time to keep up with all of the changes, but I do.
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