Bally Sports’ family of RSNs returns to Xfinity. f(Photo: David Berding/Getty Images)
Diamond Sports Group, which owns the Bally Sports brand’s family of regional sports networks, has reached an agreement with Comcast to end a streaming rights dispute and will bring MLB games back to Xfinity.
That means on Thursday, August 1, 15 of the Bally Sports RSNs will return to Xfinity.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
Twelve MLB teams currently use Bally Sports as their regional sports network, including the Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers.
Comcast and the Diamonds fought over broadcast rights on May 2, and Comcast has had those RSNs dark since then. The end of the fight left a big hole in MLB’s regional sports network numbers for three months, disrupting trends this season.
For Xfinity subscribers who watched games last season, changes since then have led to Comcast’s overall viewership numbers being revised downward.
The changes will come with increased costs, costs that will not change even if the dispute between Comcast and Diamond is resolved.
Starting August 1, Bally Sports RSNs will be included in the Xfinity Ultimate TV package above the basic plan, with the top plan costing between $68.50 and $80.00 per month depending on where you live in the U.S.
Additionally, Xfinity Ultimate TV customers will be able to stream Diamond’s RSN content by authenticating with their Xfinity credentials in the Bally Sports app.
Xfinity will also broadcast NBA and NHL games once the Diamondbacks emerge from Chapter 1 bankruptcy before each season.
“Striking a new distribution agreement with Comcast, our third-largest distributor, marks an important step in our restructuring efforts and we are pleased that fans will once again have access to their local teams’ broadcasts through Xfinity,” said Diamond Sports CEO David Pleschlak. “With distribution secure, we are now focused on finalizing our agreement with the NHL and resolving our continuing negotiations with the NBA. We know that time is of the essence with the basketball and hockey seasons rapidly approaching, and we intend to promptly file a restructuring plan with the Court once agreements with our team and league partners have been completed.”
“We appreciate Diamond Sports working with us to deliver a solution that reflects the changing video market for local sports and brings Bally Sports RSNs back to our Ultimate TV customers,” said Greg Rigdon, president of content acquisition at Comcast. “We look forward to these networks becoming available on August 1 so our customers can once again enjoy watching their favorite teams.”
With the Comcast dispute resolved, Diamond expects there will be a consolidation of major carriers to broadcast BallySports content. Diamond has already inked new distribution deals with Charter Communications, DirecTV, Cox Communications and Fubo.
