Where To Watch Chicago Cubs Vs Milwaukee Brewers
The Great Blackout: Unpacking the Complexities of Watching Cubs vs.
Brewers in the Modern Media Landscape Background: A Rivalry in the Shadows The Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers share one of Major League Baseball’s most underrated rivalries, fueled by geographic proximity and divisional stakes.
Yet, for fans, the battle isn’t just on the field it’s also in the labyrinth of modern sports broadcasting.
With the rise of regional sports networks (RSNs), streaming fragmentation, and blackout restrictions, watching a Cubs-Brewers game has become an exercise in frustration.
This investigative piece dissects the systemic barriers fans face, the corporate interests at play, and the broader implications for sports media consumption.
Thesis Statement Despite technological advancements, accessing Cubs-Brewers games remains needlessly complicated due to restrictive blackout policies, RSN monopolies, and the lack of a consumer-friendly streaming model issues that reflect deeper problems in sports media economics.
The Blackout Conundrum: A Legacy of Greed At the heart of the issue are MLB’s blackout rules, designed to protect local broadcasters but now widely viewed as archaic.
Even in 2024, fans in Iowa a state with no MLB team are blacked out from teams, including the Cubs and Brewers, on MLB.
TV (Fischer,, 2023).
Research by the (2022) found that blackouts reduce fan engagement, with 42% of respondents pirating games due to accessibility issues.
The Brewers’ primary broadcaster, Bally Sports Wisconsin, and the Cubs’ Marquee Sports Network operate under exclusive contracts, forcing fans into costly cable packages.
Cord-cutters face a maze: Marquee is only available on DirecTV Stream and fuboTV, while Bally Sports’ bankruptcy has left streaming access unstable (Ourand,, 2023).
The Streaming Paradox: More Options, More Problems While MLB offers alternatives like MLB.
TV and ESPN+, blackouts persist.
A Brewers fan in Chicago can’t stream the game locally without a VPN a violation of MLB.
TV’s terms.
Meanwhile, ESPN+ only airs select out-of-market games, leaving fans in limbo.
The league’s patchwork system, as notes, prioritizes short-term RSN revenue over long-term fan accessibility (Badenhausen, 2023).
Even when available, costs add up: - Cable Subscription: $80+/month (including RSN fees).
- Standalone Streaming: $20–$30/month (e.
g., fuboTV) + MLB.
TV ($149/year).
- VPN Workarounds: Technically feasible but legally murky.
Corporate Interests vs.
Fan Experience RSNs argue exclusivity ensures profitability, but critics counter that the model is collapsing.
Diamond Sports Group (Bally’s parent company) filed for bankruptcy in 2023, exposing RSNs’ unsustainable reliance on cable bundles (Mullen,, 2023).
Meanwhile, MLB’s reluctance to embrace direct-to-consumer streaming unlike the NBA or NFL leaves fans behind.
Some progress has emerged: Apple TV+’s Friday Night Games and Peacock’s Sunday exclusives offer glimpses of a new model.
Yet, these are one-offs, not systemic fixes.
Broader Implications: The Future of Sports Fandom The Cubs-Brewers dilemma mirrors a league-wide crisis.
A (2023) found that 58% of fans under 35 prefer streaming, yet MLB’s infrastructure lags.
Without reform, piracy and fan alienation will grow.
The league must choose: prioritize RSNs clinging to a dying cable model or invest in an affordable, unified streaming platform.
Conclusion: A Call for Transparency The struggle to watch Cubs vs.
Brewers isn’t just about baseball it’s about equity in sports media.
Blackouts and fragmentation alienate casual fans, while corporate inflexibility stifles innovation.
As RSNs crumble, MLB has an opportunity to rebuild its media strategy around accessibility.
Until then, fans remain caught in the crossfire of a system that values profits over passion.
- Fischer, B.
(2023).
MLB’s Blackout Problem Isn’t Going Away.
.
- Ourand, J.
(2023).
Bally Sports’ Bankruptcy and the Future of RSNs.
.
- Badenhausen, K.
(2023).
Why MLB’s Streaming Strategy Is Failing Fans.
.
- University of Michigan Sports Economics Group.
(2022).
- Nielsen.
(2023)