Bally Sports and Comcast/Xfinity Finally Nearing a Deal
Comcast/Xfinity and Bally Sports are finally closing in on a deal to bring sports back to your TV, according to reports. That’s great news, because it’s been a long and baseball-less summer for many Major League Baseball fans who watch games on Xfinity/Comcast. On May 1, Bally Sports went dark on the cable service, meaning many fans were unable to watch their local MLB games. If a deal isn’t reached by this fall, it will mean NBA and NHL fans also wouldn’t be able to see their local teams on Comcast/Xfinity. So, how close is this deal?
Bally Sports and Xfinity/Comcast Are Finally Close to Bringing Sports Back to Your TV
If you have Xfinity/Comcast and head to the Bally Sports channel, you’ll get a screen that reads, “Bally Sports is no longer available,” along with some additional jargon. It’s super frustrating for sports fans who pay for Comcast/Xfinity mainly for sports coverage. Since early May, sports fans across the country have been holding out hope that one day, the two parties would come to an agreement and bring sports back to local TVs. This message has been up there since May 1, when the network first went dark.
Now, there seems to be some good news. According to ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez, Diamond Sports Group, which is the owner and operator of the Bally Sports regional sports networks (RSNs), says it’s making “substantial progress” on a new carriage deal with Comcast. Diamond has also asked for a brief delay to a scheduled confirmation plan hearing from Judge Christopher Lopez, which was going to take place next week. According to Gonzalez, Diamond attorney Brian Hermann said in court, “We believe that we have made substantial progress on resolving our issues with Comcast, and we have the intention of fully documenting and executing an agreement with Comcast to broadcast our RSNs in the very near term.” I like the sound of that.
Diamond has already made deals with Charter and DirecTV, and the network has said they were planning to make a similar agreement with Comcast. But, whatever Diamond pitched, Comcast wasn’t having, because the two parties couldn’t agree, and that means the network went dark. So, it’s great news that these two might finally play nice. I’ve gotten emails and messages from people all over the country who are heartbroken about losing their beloved Bally Sports and not being able to watch any of the MLB games. I’m in the same boat, as I have Detroit sports through Bally Sports. Let’s hope this happens. Contact me with your thoughts.
