Marquee Sports Network signs a deal with the Chicago Bears

With the Cubs’ season over, Marquee Sports Network has been looking for programming to fill the offseason.

Tuesday, the network announced a partnership with the Chicago Bears. This will include a weekly show called “Bear Essentials,” and the network will also have exclusive rights to re-air all Bears games.

The network says “Bear Essential” will usually run Tuesday evenings (but see below) 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 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.

That’s a good way to rebroadcast an NFL game, probably taking out a lot of the dead time in between plays and sticking to action.

Beginning this Wednesday, October 14, “Bear Essentials” will air at 7 p.m. CT immediately following “The Stadium.” The Chicago Bears vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers game from last Thursday night, which had a fantastic finish, will re-air immediately following “Bear Essentials” at 7:30 p.m CT.

“The opportunity to build on our Chicago Cubs foundation with the addition of unique Bears content and weekly game carriage is tremendous,” Mike McCarthy, General Manager of Marquee Sports Network, said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to partner with the iconic Chicago Bears organization and serve Chicago sports fans more original content.”

“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,” Scott Hagel, Chicago Bears Senior Vice President, Marketing & Communications, also said in the network’s statement.

The Bears are having a pretty good year so far, with a 4-1 record. Their next game is Sunday, October 18, against the Carolina Panthers.