Will Bally Sports and Comcast/Xfinity Strike a Deal?
Major League Baseball fans who watch games on Xfinity/Comcast woke up to some disturbing news on Wednesday morning (May 1), as Bally Sports went dark on the cable service. So, will Bally Sports and Comcast/Xfinity strike a deal this summer? If not, fans also won’t be able to watch their favorite NBA and NHL regular season games when those season start up.
Bally Sports and Comcast/Xfinity: Will They Strike a Deal?
Fans who turned on their TVs on Wednesday saw a message from Xfinity/Comcast that read, “Bally Sports is no longer available.” The statement continued, “The owner of Bally Sports is in bankruptcy proceedings, and we have offered them multiple options to continue carrying their networks. They have declined each one, and we no longer have the rights to continue carrying their content.”
Diamond Sports, which operates Bally Sports, broadcasts nearly half of all MLB, NHL and NBA games. They’re currently in bankruptcy restructuring, and that restructuring depends on renewed deals with three major cable partners, which make up 80% of their revenue. One of those cable partners is Comcast/Xfinity. “It’s disappointing that Comcast rejected a proposed extension that would have kept our channels on the air and that Comcast indicated that it intends to pull the signals, preventing fans from watching their favorite local teams,” Diamond said in a statement.
So, will they ever come to an agreement? Diamond, in a statement, said it hopes to continue negotiations with Comcast. Comcast, in turn, said it’s been “very flexible” with Diamond Sports during its bankruptcy, but that Diamond wasn’t taking any of their offers. “We’d like to continue carrying their networks, but they have declined multiple offers,” Comcast said in a statement. I have to think these two will come to an agreement this summer, before the NBA and NHL kick in. Meanwhile, just this week, Bally Sports announced a contract extension with DirecTV, so that’s an option for those looking to watch the games.
So, what if you want to watch MLB games right now? What’s frustrating is that even if you purchase an MLB.tv subscription, there are blackout restrictions, so you can’t watch games in your local market until the game is over. So, even if you purchase a subscription, if you live in the area of your favorite team, you can’t watch them live. But, you can watch via DirecTV, the Bally Sports+ app (in market) and Fubo. Let me know your thoughts.
