Collapse of Regional Sports Networks (Diamond Sports Group files bankruptcy, Warner-Discovery looking to leave business, Xfinity drops Bally)

[IU Hawks fan]

Seattle is sort of unique here in that it isn't due to collapse of RSN, it's by choice.

Also fits the market. ROOT is owned by the Mariners, it's a Mariners channel -- though they had excellent Kraken coverage, still a Mariners channel.

Every other Seattle area based professional team was/is OTA. Sounders before the Apple deal. Storm. Reign, the select T-Birds games that are broadcast are OTA, also.

Seawolves are split OTA & ROOT.

So it was kind of weird from the start that Kraken went with ROOT/Mariners instead of local NBC/FOX affiliates where all the other area pro sports teams are.

Uhh, not really.

There's the Big 4 and everybody else. NFL is a different beast, of course. NHL team doing what the MLB team does is far more normal than following the foot steps of those lesser leagues.

 

[Headshot77]

Really happy it's $18/mo. The equivalent NESN product is $30/mo. I'm sure it'll go up once they get their view base up though.

Every team should have this.

 

[Kirk Van Houten]

https://x.com/Ourand_Puck/status/1785476037201064076

 

[AtlantaWhaler]

Local Comcast pulled Bally Sports yesterday. So now, the only way to watch LIVE Braves games is on DirecTV or something called Fubo. MLB still blacks out games and the Bally Sports app doesn't show the games live, just a replay the following day.

They were negotiating a new extension and they couldn't agree and they're blaming each other. I hate Comcast, but I think it's obvious it's the fault of the company that's declared bankruptcy.

Wonder if the Braves could just sue at this point and get out of their contract. This is ridiculous.

Think it's behind a paywall:

No more Braves games on Bally Sports for Comcast customers

 

[#37]

The email I got about 5 minutes ago:

Xfinity Entertainment Update


Bally Sports is no longer available

Unfortunately, our programming agreement with Diamond Sports Group has expired.
This means we no longer have the rights to carry their channels, including your
local Bally Sports network.

The loss of this channel will result in savings that we'll pass along to you,
and you'll see a monthly credit on your bill in the coming weeks. You don't need
to do anything to receive your credit; we'll automatically apply it to your
upcoming monthly bill statement.

We know that unexpected changes to your channel lineup can be frustrating. We've
been flexible with Diamond Sports Group, who is in bankruptcy proceedings, but
have been unable to reach an agreement that’s fair for our customers.

Great sports programming, including NBA, NHL, and MLB national coverage, is
still available with Xfinity. Just say "Sports" into your Xfinity Voice Remote
to explore your options.

We remain committed to bringing you the best in entertainment and will continue
to work to provide you with the most choices at the lowest cost.

Thank you for being an Xfinity customer.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Yeah, I've had Xfinity basically for 15 years now, and this is the first time I can remember getting an email from them like this.

 

[GKJ]

 

[rsteen]

I wonder how many viewers have gone to pirate streams because it's just too complex and expensive to see all your team's games legally. Even if the NHL fixes this, they may not come back.

 

[joelef]

I wonder how many viewers have gone to pirate streams because it's just too complex and expensive to see all your team's games legally. Even if the NHL fixes this, they may not come back.

They should be arrested for piracy.

 

[awfulwaffle]

I wonder how many viewers have gone to pirate streams because it's just too complex and expensive to see all your team's games legally. Even if the NHL fixes this, they may not come back.

It wasn't that difficult before. Most everyone has a cell phone, and is capable of downloading apps. Bally's had an app, so you could watch wherever you were.

Granted, this is limited for DVR and such, but to say it was too complex, just isn't true.

 

[LadyStanley]

VGK has streaming option for those in TV region, KnightTime+. Like $70/year.

(I managed to get OTA Tablo which will allow me to watch games live. But I can't seem to be able to record games.)

Fubo is very deceptive in that there's an additional $15/month cost for sports access (and they don't offer TBS/TNT).

 

[yada]

Local Comcast pulled Bally Sports yesterday. So now, the only way to watch LIVE Braves games is on DirecTV or something called Fubo. MLB still blacks out games and the Bally Sports app doesn't show the games live, just a replay the following day.

They were negotiating a new extension and they couldn't agree and they're blaming each other. I hate Comcast, but I think it's obvious it's the fault of the company that's declared bankruptcy.

Wonder if the Braves could just sue at this point and get out of their contract. This is ridiculous.

Think it's behind a paywall:

No more Braves games on Bally Sports for Comcast customers

MLB tv allows you to watch local games either 90 or 120 mins after games completion.

 

[Spydey629]

VGK has streaming option for those in TV region, KnightTime+. Like $70/year.

(I managed to get OTA Tablo which will allow me to watch games live. But I can't seem to be able to record games.)

Fubo is very deceptive in that there's an additional $15/month cost for sports access (and they don't offer TBS/TNT).

I switched to Fubo a couple months ago. My bill comes out to $100. I took advantage of the special Max offered right before March Madness, getting that for $65 for a year.

All possible because Verizon sent an offer to jump to their 5G internet for $45/month for three years.

Dropped Comcast like a bad habit, saving roughly $90/month. No complaints. My only debate now would be to switch to YouTubeTV & SNP360 so I can cancel the Max subscription.

 

[AtlantaWhaler]

MLB tv allows you to watch local games either 90 or 120 mins after games completion.

Yeah, as big a Braves fan as I am, I'm not planning on staying up to start a baseball game at 1:00 AM every night. Watching a replay the following day doesn't pique my interest either.

 

[PCSPounder]

Seattle is sort of unique here in that it isn't due to collapse of RSN, it's by choice.

Also fits the market. ROOT is owned by the Mariners, it's a Mariners channel -- though they had excellent Kraken coverage, still a Mariners channel.

Every other Seattle area based professional team was/is OTA. Sounders before the Apple deal. Storm. Reign, the select T-Birds games that are broadcast are OTA, also.

Seawolves are split OTA & ROOT.

So it was kind of weird from the start that Kraken went with ROOT/Mariners instead of local NBC/FOX affiliates where all the other area pro sports teams are.

This was partly in anticipation of the collapse of ROOT.

Others have mentioned the premium tier ROOT ended up on this last season. It obviously gave notice to the Kraken, but the Blazers viewership went down 49% this year primarily due to the same issue, so they are known to be leaving ROOT. It’s well known around here that ROOT’s move had to do with their current issues.

What people missed here: the Kraken games that are OTA in Seattle will also be OTA in Spokane… and Portland. Which… I was stunned when that was announced and I’m still stunned. I’m taking it personally, if you wanted to know. Which brings up the next curiosity, because TEGNA owns these stations (plus the NBC affiliate in Boise), and they have basically owned Northwest TV broadcasting for decades. They out-resource and out-rate everyone else by a considerable amount. So it behooves the Blazers to be on that network… but will TEGNA (or even just KGW in Portland) carry 70 Kraken games AND the Blazers? That doesn’t seem likely.

 

[Reaser]

This was partly in anticipation of the collapse of ROOT.

Others have mentioned the premium tier ROOT ended up on this last season. It obviously gave notice to the Kraken, but the Blazers viewership went down 49% this year primarily due to the same issue, so they are known to be leaving ROOT. It’s well known around here that ROOT’s move had to do with their current issues.

What people missed here: the Kraken games that are OTA in Seattle will also be OTA in Spokane… and Portland. Which… I was stunned when that was announced and I’m still stunned. I’m taking it personally, if you wanted to know. Which brings up the next curiosity, because TEGNA owns these stations (plus the NBC affiliate in Boise), and they have basically owned Northwest TV broadcasting for decades. They out-resource and out-rate everyone else by a considerable amount. So it behooves the Blazers to be on that network… but will TEGNA (or even just KGW in Portland) carry 70 Kraken games AND the Blazers? That doesn’t seem likely.

I'm from just outside Seattle. I'm familiar. Mariners took over full control of ROOT, control their own destiny. They started cutting costs since 71% became 100% on them. They were paying the Kraken an est. $20M a season, that deal was originally announced as 5-years (obviously only made it through year 3.) Kraken local ratings/viewership wasn't good, even before the move to the higher tier -- that move really didn't change much for Kraken viewership. Now the Kraken get more reach and the M's don't have to pay est. $20M a year. Savings.

Putting aside comcast moving ROOT to a higher tier, the other thing is that ROOT has a good reach, for the Mariners. Their terrority is more than it is for the Kraken. It's not the same, Kraken were blacked out on ROOT in places where it's VGK territory.

"Anticipation of the collapse of ROOT" ... would be odd for the Mariners to assume the last 29% to own 100% of it then immediately shut it down. Particularly with pre-existing deals with comcast. When they first purchased controlling stake of Root Sports NW it was extension to be on the channel until I believe it was 2030 (no idea if there's a potential out-clause.) Which would be another five seasons after this. It's why the Mariners ownership talks about what they "can't" do rather than putting games OTA, DTC, etc.. because of ROOT's preexisting deal with comcast.

Yes, Blazers deal ends after next season.

I don't think anyone missed the OTA reach aspect? it was part of every article.

Regardless, Kraken local viewership has been pretty poor, even before comcast moving Root to a higher tier, and the first thing to come out after the M's assumed the remaining 29% was that "they'll want to cut costs at Root." Kraken want reach, Root wants to cut costs, win/win.

Blazers are a different story, expiring contract soon anyway so takes care of itself. Plus, they produce their own games. As far as viewership, which has tanked, partly ROOT, partly the team is horrible and best/most popular player, Lillard is gone. More into that 49% drop than what channel they're on -- speaking of channel, they got relegated to the 2nd alternate "here" when the M's, Kraken (1st alternate) and Blazers all had games scheduled at the same time.

So like I said -re: the "uhh, not really" who must be from Seattle also?- it was odd from the start the Kraken went to the Mariners channel -- RSN "here" and I'm actually "here," isn't the same as in other places. It's the Mariners network (they even stopped showing HS state championship games.) It's not like Chicago with the Bulls/White Sox/Blackhawks partnering with SMG for a new network. It's the Mariners network -- since in-market reach was plummenting anyway (cord cutters, Root has lost over 2 million HH's in the last decade, wasn't just trending down at the time the Kraken did the deal to be on Root, it was at a peak subscriber loss time.) Obviously the Kraken took the $, rather than the reach. And after 3-years regretted that since local ratings/viewership for the Kraken are not good.

 

[yada]

Yeah, as big a Braves fan as I am, I'm not planning on staying up to start a baseball game at 1:00 AM every night. Watching a replay the following day doesn't pique my interest either.

If you would rather miss the game be my guest.

Personally im waiting to watch the game. 90 mins or the next day isnt a terrible wait especially compared to nba or nhl where you have to wait 3 days from completion.

 

[AtlantaWhaler]

If you would rather miss the game be my guest.

Personally im waiting to watch the game. 90 mins or the next day isnt a terrible wait especially compared to nba or nhl where you have to wait 3 days from completion.

Absolutely. No plans on 2 hours of sleep every night so I can watch a baseball game. That’s miserable. And certainly not spending $20 a month to watch a game a day after it was played.

Have fun with that.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

90-minute delays only make sense in a world where social media doesn't exist. Oh, people can't go on this site, Twitter, Facebook, reddit, etc unless they want the score spoiled? Or check local news or ESPN?

Nah, hard pass.

 

[AtlantaWhaler]

According to a Bloomberg report, FanDuel is eyeing a multiyear naming rights deal with Diamond Sports Group to bring the gaming brand to 18 regional pay-TV networks. As part of the deal, FanDuel will reportedly acquire a stake in Diamond while also providing the subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group with programming for the 18 channels.

Report: FanDuel to ink naming rights deal with Diamond Sports

Diamond Sports Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after missing a $140 million payment.

sbcamericas.com

 

[patnyrnyg]

90-minute delays only make sense in a world where social media doesn't exist. Oh, people can't go on this site, Twitter, Facebook, reddit, etc unless they want the score spoiled? Or check local news or ESPN?

Nah, hard pass.

I do it all the time. Just avoid twitter, facebook. only read texts from my wife. Not hard.

 

[varsaku]

I do it all the time. Just avoid twitter, facebook. only read texts from my wife. Not hard.

I too start games 30 mins late from the beginning, so i can skip commercials and intermission. i usually end up catching up to the live feed around 3rd period. 90 mins isn't too bad.

 

[Golden_Jet]

90-minute delays only make sense in a world where social media doesn't exist. Oh, people can't go on this site, Twitter, Facebook, reddit, etc unless they want the score spoiled? Or check local news or ESPN?

Nah, hard pass.

I record as well and start game 45 minutes late, skip every commercial, and I catch up to live just as game is ending. Works out perfect, same with all sports games, start a bit late.

Zero interest in watching the commercials.

 

[varsaku]

I record as well and start game 45 minutes late, skip every commercial, and I catch up to live just as game is ending. Works out perfect, same with all sports games, start a bit late.

Zero interest in watching the commercials.

That is usually a huge time saver for me with NFL games when i do that.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

I too start games 30 mins late from the beginning, so i can skip commercials and intermission. i usually end up catching up to the live feed around 3rd period. 90 mins isn't too bad.

I record as well and start game 45 minutes late, skip every commercial, and I catch up to live just as game is ending. Works out perfect, same with all sports games, start a bit late.

Zero interest in watching the commercials.

That's all well and good, but the fact is that's not remotely acceptable for most of the general viewing audience. And even for fans that like in effect taped delay live broadcasts to skip the ads as you both described, that's an option available for folks that join mid-broadcast and choose the start from beginning option already.