MLB says league will ensure baseball fans don’t miss out on their team if Bally Sports goes off-air
MLB boss insists league will ‘step in’ to ensure baseball fans don’t miss out on seeing their team if Bally Sports goes off the air… with the TV giant’s future in doubt for days before the start of the season
Major League Baseball has a plan to ensure fans can still watch their home teams even though Dimond Networks, which owns Bally Sports, is on the brink of bankruptcy.
Bally Sports owns the local broadcast rights to 42 professional sports teams, including 14 MLB teams, and the start of the season is just days away.
The Atlanta Braves, Arizona Diamondbacks, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers all have its broadcast rights owned by Bally Sports.
AT&T SportsNet, which owns the broadcast rights to the Pittsburgh Pirates, warned teams that it could file for Chapter 7 liquidation.
Bally Sports’ parent company Diamond Networks is filing for bankruptcy, but Major League Baseball says it has a plan to make sure fans can watch the local teams.
Diamond networks have the rights to 42 professional teams: 14 in baseball, 16 in the NBA and 12 in the NHL.
“While the situation is unfortunate, it’s been something we’ve been aware of and planning for contingencies for quite some time,” MLB chief revenue officer Noah Garden said. Front Office Sports.
‘If any of the RSNs can no longer produce local games, we will be in a position to step in to produce and distribute those games with linear and direct-to-consumer options.
“With our experience operating the MLB Network since 2009 and broadcasting games for more than 20 years, MLB Media has the capabilities, technology, experience and relationships to centrally produce and distribute games.”
Garden also mentioned that the expectation is for baseball coverage prices to remain the same, while stating that the plan is to keep things as consistent as possible when it comes to commentary teams, even if the league must take over. of the transmission.
He also commented on how the situation will affect local blackouts that have long been obedient among fans.
“With the big changes in fan spending habits, there are a lot of fans who can’t see their favorite team play in their home market,” Garden said.
“The current model is not sustainable in the long term and there is no single option available to bring the games to all fans.”
MLB stated that, if necessary, they would take over the broadcast of games to the necessary markets.