Marquee Sports Network adds WOW cable provider to lineup, possibly loses YouTube TV

The Cubs’ Marquee Sports Network announce a new carriage agreement with WOW cable. WOW serves the south, west and northwest suburbs as well as northwest Indiana.

WOW will begin broadcasting Marquee on March 13, according to a release from the channel.

“WOW is the fourth-largest provider in Chicago and an important part of our distribution landscape, and we are pleased to have them join the more than 40 carriage partners who have already signed on,” Marquee general manager Mike McCarthy said in a press release.

Though Marquee has added another partner, a deal with Comcast — the largest cable television provider in Chicago — has eluded the channel. Deals are in place with AT&T’s Uverse, DirecTV and AT&T TV, streaming service Hulu and other providers.

And it now appears unlikely that Marquee will come to streaming service YouTube TV anytime soon. YouTube TV announced Thursday afternoon that it is dropping sports channels owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group. Sinclair is the Cubs’ partner in Marquee.

“We purchase rights from Sinclair to distribute content to you,” YouTube TV tweeted. “Despite our best efforts, we’ve been unable to reach an agreement with Sinclair. As a result, we will no longer offer FOX Regional Sports Networks, including YES Network, beginning February 29th.”

Marquee is the exclusive home for Cubs game broadcasts.