On May 1, 2024, Comcast dropped the Bally Sports regional sports network when a temporary six-month agreement expired with a replacement or extension being agreed upon, immediately impacting fans of twelve baseball teams: Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers.
[This does impact Bally’s broadcasts of other professional sports, such as the NBA and NHL, but both those sports are in their playoffs and games are only shown nationally.]
This outcome has been discussed since Bally’s owner Diamond Sports Group declared bankruptcy in 2023, the initial impact was that the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres self-broadcast their games last season.
More interesting is Comcast’s statement that customers will automatically receive an $8-$10 credit for not broadcasting Bally’s in those markets.
What the fuck? I’m paying $8/month for occasionally watching local baseball (I’m not a Minnesota Twins fan despite living here for decades) and, I presume, a big chunk of customers never watch? A constant thorn for many is that cable providers don’t provide a la carte channel selection which appears to mean that the many subsidize the few. It’s why cord-cutters are so impacting the major networks, such as ESPN layoffs in recent years.
I don’t expect to be a cord-cutter any time soon – getting comparable streaming services for what my wife and I watch would inevitably be more expensive – but I also don’t believe the day is that far off.
