CW26 will simulcast Marquee's broadcast of Cubs game March 12

It’s only an exhibition, but the Cubs’ game next Tuesday will have significance on the Chicago sports-media landscape.

The 8 p.m. game against the Brewers will be simulcast on the Cubs’ Marquee Sports Network and Weigel Broadcasting’s WCIU, branded as CW26. Marquee will use the game as a promotional tool, and Weigel will make it known that it’s available to air local teams’ games.

Marquee has made its spring-training broadcasts free for non-subscribers on its direct-to-consumer streaming service. WCIU, which broadcasts over the air on Channel 26.1, also is available on streaming services Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV, neither of which carries Marquee.

Weigel effectively is throwing its hat in the ring for teams looking for a place to air games. The Blackhawks, Bulls and White Sox are exploring their options for broadcast partners, including over-the-air possibilities, as they approach the end of their contract with NBC Sports Chicago in October.

Pro teams across the country have turned to over-the-air stations to carry games amid the struggles of regional sports networks, namely Diamond Sports Group’s Bally Sports-branded channels. In fact, Weigel announced last month that it had created a network of broadcast channels to air 10 Bucks games that originally were slated for Bally Sports Wisconsin.

Weigel already is part of the local sports-broadcasting scene, carrying Red Stars, Sky, Wolves and high school football and basketball games. It hasn’t aired the Cubs since Sept. 16, 2019, when WCIU picked up a game against the Reds that had to move from ABC 7 because of a conflict with the show ‘‘Bachelor In Paradise.’’