Attorneys for MLB (as well as representatives for the NHL and NBA) fired their latest salvos at Diamond Sports Group during a Wednesday hearing in the broadcasting company’s ongoing bankruptcy proceedings. Evan Drellich of the Athletic and Alden González of ESPN were among those to cover the developments.
The most recent source of frustration is Diamond’s stalled negotiations with Comcast (Xfinity). The sides didn’t reach agreement on a new contract before May 1, leading Comcast to pull Diamond’s Bally Sports channels off the air at the start of the month. That has left Xfinity subscribers without the ability to watch in-market games for the 12 teams carried by Diamond. (Diamond has reached agreements with each of Charter, DirecTV and Cox.)
That’s understandably irritating for both the impacted fans and the league itself. “We are coming into the middle of yet another season where Diamond is an undependable partner,” an attorney for MLB said in today’s hearing. “This is not a deal that Major League Baseball and its clubs have signed up for. … It’s been two full weeks since carriage has been dropped by Comcast, and there is not a word of when it might get picked up, and on what terms.”
MLB has not filed any formal objection with the court, and it’s not clear if they’re considering doing so. Yet the Diamond/Comcast dispute only adds to MLB’s longstanding questions about Diamond’s viability. DSG reached a restructuring/streaming deal with Amazon in an effort to sustain operations past 2024. MLB officials have made no secret of their skepticism about the long-term significance of that partnership.
Representatives for Diamond tried to assuage some of those concerns by telling the court they’re close to a naming rights deal that will change the Bally Sports moniker to a new brand for 2025 and beyond. An attorney for Diamond called the ongoing dispute with Xfinity “disappointing” but said the company “(remains) optimistic” the sides will be able to work an agreement.
The court still needs to formally approve Diamond’s restructuring plan to end the bankruptcy proceedings. The confirmation hearing is currently scheduled for June 18.
I was about to say this is all yada yada blah blah boo so teams don’t have to spend money on free agents until I saw that most people with comcast don’t have their local mlb coverage…
I feel for every fan that spends so much and doesn’t even get their in market games
“Doesn’t even get their in market games”..Comcast is playing games with “Root Sports” as well. Last year I got Mariners games with my current cable package no problem and this year no Mariners games unless I pay an additional $30 monthly fee, on top of what I was already paying. I’m already paying them $180/mo for television and internet and an extra $30/mo is ridiculous.
It’s all a great big rip off. Could go into detail on how much cable in general has robbed, not just subscribers, but 25y employees. not just jacking up subscriptions, but all of a sudden? Canning employees with huge amounts of seniority (wife several years ago), deciding they were no longer going to have any kind of pension system.. Thereby canceling the one a VERY big company prior to had in place for years, then refunding the monies paid via 401k over the years in seperate retirements. This is also another, huge public cable company commonly known by everyone.
Far as I’m concerned? these cale places can all go belly up for treating virtually anyone 9then) who had over 20y like dirt and dumping them.
Fingers itching to name them, but witholding..
Sounds like a familiar spectrum of crap, if you know what I mean.
I pay $225 a month for 1gig service, a landline phone and just about everything the TV offers outside of porn. Unfortunately, I can’t downgrade because the deal I have is such that they will first remove the “free” stuff they piled on that I don’t really need or watch or which should be free to begin with (four sets, boxes free, modem free, pay services that I never watch). I thought it was a good deal at first but I really got mad when I realized my disabled wife doesn’t even know how to find the HBO or Showtime channels because she doesn’t watch them either.
This situation hamstrung half the league in the offseason and will continue to do so. Robby the robot has no inclination though to go against his large market masters and do it on MLB.TV with no blackouts and do true revenue sharing.
Southwestern Bell did this… sold out to AT&T under the table bc they had tons of people coming up on early retirement. Almost all them lost their pensions and retirement after 20-27 years of working there. They then offered them a job back with the new company for $15h after making $30+h. Secretly Southwestern bell still owned the company just changed the name to At&t
Comcast played games with MASN as well. They made it an add on that costs an extra $20 per month. You would think they would try to compete more because Fubo started carrying MASN for cheaper than Comcast charged for the basic TV package before the upcharge.
You know what really grinds my gears? Apple TV+ games and now the new Roku games, instead of fox and ESPN playing these games, they take away less public games and more streaming service games so that desperate fans will pay $15 for a subscription they don’t need or use just for the game
Roku isn’t a paid service. You don’t even need a Roku device. Just download the app.
Apple+ you probably DO need to pay extra.
Like when people cant watch MLB games on Friday night because it is on Apple TV? MLB should not get off clear on this, they are just grabbing as much money as they can and dont care about the fans.
Buyer’s remorse will kick in with all contracts in effect during these hyper inflationary times (all strangely-timed after January, 2021).
Yes, that is strange. After the biggest global pandemic in 100yrs messed up the global economy. Seems like financial trouble hit everywhere, including MLB.
Do people still pay for cable??? You’re kidding right??? I have 5 kids and we have only ever had internet.
I loves me some Comcast! That said, I can afford to light cigars with $100 bills. Sorry.
Cable days done here. In my market, the only affordable option to following live game action is radio. And, I’m getting used to it.
@C YArds that was what I grew up with. Radio and the news paper. You’ll survive
If you listened to Padres games, you might not be able to do that… They’re on FM and their coverage is dependent on topography…
The executive who signed the deal, Mike Dee, soon left the Padres and went to Audacy to work as an executive.
Crooked deal has hamstrung the Padres.
We consider the day we cut the cable a red letter day. In my opinion Comcast customer service isn’t. I heard they hire disgruntled telemarketers as staff.
Still living at home? People who do this ain’t going to comment on their lifestyle. Only someone wishing what they don’t have
5 kids? You rich?
Yes, people still do that, though the number of people doing that has been plummeting the past several years. I cut the cord last year and have not looked back. Cable is dying.
The solution is moving the broadcasts over to mlb.tv and lift the blackout rules. But that would be too easy for all parties involved. Meanwhile, people are completely shut out from watching their local broadcasts. Shame on all parties involved in that mess.
And Jack up mlb.tv pricing to match what cable charges, I don’t think so. They will charge nearly 200 a month because MLB is a greedy, money pit scheme. For centuries the league has been all about money while abusing fans. The sport is going to die off because of the greed and abuse the league has done through the years. Attendance numbers are declining around the league and it has many owners nervous. But they are too half witted to turn things around and improve the fan base ability to afford games. Rather it’s by tickets or tv pricing, it’s outrageous. 12 dollar beers, 8 dollar hot dogs, and 90 dollar nose bleed seats, it’s outrageous
Attendance is up in MLB, not down. It’s always the same people that constantly complain about “greed” while not understanding basic economics always make up facts.
Yes, sir. Too many regular posters here speaking in absolutes based on false premises. Then when someone makes a fact-based rebuttal, they don’t respond.
It’s always the same people that constantly complain about “greed”
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Some of the complaints, maybe many of them, are like me complaining about seats at the Metropolitan Opera.
12 dollar beers, 8 dollar hot dogs, and 90 dollar nose bleed seats, it’s outrageous
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I generally attend the games at Yankee Stadium, so:
1-The $12 beer ($13 at YS) is a 24 oz imported beer. Given that the minimum in Manhattan is probably $8/bottle, the $13 is a pretty good bargain.
2-YS allows you to bring in food in clear bags, same with soda. I’m not generally a soda drinker, but I stop in at the $1 store across the street and bring in a bag of Cracker Jacks and a Coke.
3-And the fact that you think nose-bleed tickets cost $90 tells me that you do NOT actually attend games. I looked at Stubhub for this Friday’s games, and you can get two in section 227B for $71 each. And that’s Yankee Stadium on a Friday.
If you want a Monday game against the Mariners, you can get great seats in section 323 for $32 each.
@Joebrady hmmm, I wasn’t far off on beer prices and nose bleed section can be as high as 90 dollars on certain events or series. Food is not permitted is most stadiums and you might be a lucky fan who can bring in a bag of Doritos and a box of Ho-Hos to go with that Natty Ice beer that you are taking in.
Thanks for letting us fans know that you attend games and such. Which surprises me that you can afford that with Yonkers tax and a decaying city
Can’t happen, at least yet. The reason for the blackouts is that teams still have and want local control over their broadcasts and the $$ that go with it. Teams were making cable deals well before MLB.TV came into existence. And that is one massive issue with all teams moving to MLB.TV for their broadcasts, how to divide the money.
They dare attempt to negotiate with the Comcast monopoly? Dasvidaniya comrade Diamond Sports Group.
There was an idea floated to allow local broadcasts on mlb.tv with an increased fee that goes to the local network.
I’d gladly do that because the only reason I have cable is for Angels games.
Which is really sad.
Halos- Imagine because mlb would probably screw it up. My point, is look at how local pbs and say masterpiece app in general operate. both want your money, supposedly to survive and for content. If u send money to the local pbs affiliate? you will get access to some content, probably not close to what it is you may have been looking for and don’t even try looking for an opt out to stop paying on the local site.. It ain’t there. Masterpiece app has pretty much anything broadcast for years, costs no more really and can find a stop subscription/donation area if want to.
Main thing? Hap hazard. no coordination and supposed to be same, but nothing seems to work well between them. I really don’t see how mlb would do any better.
You’re not alone JJ. Sad because the team is hard to watch. Trying really hard to take a break from following this team so closely as I did 1986-1991.
Perfect time to cut for me. Hard to justify the cost to watch the Angels
JJ, This also why I’ve checked out from crashing the pearly gates…
The only other time I’ve been as disappointed in this team is when they let Nolan Ryan walk
JJ, Washington throwing Guillorme under the bus is the most flagrant example of the Angels ineptitude. I can’t recall the last time I saw an Angels manager throw a player under the bus like that. Didn’t take long for the frustration boil over.
MLB will screw you just as bad. I recently tried to watch a ‘free’ game on MLB, but it was blacked out 350 miles from the venue. Same with a MLB free game of the day!
They change the game (looking at you extra innings), all in the name of trying to appeal to the younger generation, and then pull this crap.
Baseball is doing a poor job appealing to younger folks. There aren’t enough bat flips, bomb celebrations, high scoring or shortened game times to draw them in if they can’t get viewing on TV/digital streaming figured out.
With the Bally debacle, my neighborhood bar has been showing discus golf and continuous reruns of “The Price Is Right” during Tigers game…and nobody seems to mind.
Michigander here. I pay $20 a month for the Bally sports app to watch Detroit. That said I use streaming sites for half the games because the app blows. No surprise there.
Try streaming it with a different device. I live in Michigan as well and use the app. I have never had many issues with it but all my Fire sticks are less than 2 years old. Recently upgraded my oldest one with a brand new one and wow, what a difference. Works like a charm.
Yeah, my LG 4K flatscreen is 8 years old and all I get from these “modern” apps is nonstop buffering. I guess you have to keep buying new devices every two years for any of this stuff to work in the first place…
Let’s just say what it is…. Diamond sports group is crushing baseball. Not only has their poor business practices limited access to fans nationwide, but the product they produce is significantly worse than every other outlet in the market. ESPN, Apple, mlb tv etc all do much better presentations of the game. Go look at football, both college and pro. Fox, nbc, cbs, etc all to excellent jobs (compared to baseball) of building hype and just putting out a better overall broadcast of the game. DSG has been one of the biggest negative impacts to the game, if not the biggest.
Espn is/has been mainly awful because the only announcers worth their salt for 25y they have had (maybe longer) have been jon Miller and John Kruk. Everyone else and I mean everyone prefers to talk about what a player did the week before, his “routines”. Things they have no clue about.
Miller and krukie were the only who would come into the booth, give an honest game and not spend 2-3 hours schmoozing.
ESPN would be better off taking 1 announcer from each team playing, pairing them together than the awful casts they have employed over the years.
Just another example of the business law maxim: everybody loses in bankruptcy.
What was the first game on TV you remember watching?
’68 World Series
A random Phillies @ Cubs game on WGN in the late 80s.
I actually saw my 1st game in person at 6, before ever seeing one on TV. It was a game between the Colt .45s and St Louis Cardinals. I’ve been hooked on the sport ever since. But, watched ’64 series on TV.
Saturday afternoon national telecast in 1967. Tigers v White Sox. Denny McLain was the winning pitcher. I was barely 11 years old. I still remember Curt Gowdy’s voice from that era…
Takes two to tango. This is as much an Xfinity issue as a Bally/Diamond issue. Comcast/Xfinity has been losing customers left and right, at least 6 million in lost customers over the past 4 years due to cord cutting. Why do you think MLB is trying to make deals with Roku and other streaming services for games? Because that is where TV is going. Cable is dying. But Bally/Diamond is on the brink so Xfinity is trying to leverage that for a better deal but Bally/Diamond can’t afford that. So Xfinity dropped them and is holding firm for now hoping it doesn’t lose customers over this. They want you to be mad at Bally and not them. They are running ads all over the place asking you to call Bally and complain. But you should be mad at them just as much as Bally.
Find it a little humorous that MLB is frustrated by the Diamond Bankruptcy proceedings. On one level, I am sure they have some genuine concern that a large block of fans can’t access their local teams. But on another level, MLB wants Diamond to die and hurry up and get it over with because they want to take over the local broadcasts of these teams.
That’s what I think it is. It’ll take a while to consolidate 30 teams, some with multiple outlets, but I think that MLB is going to want a monopoly on all broadcast rights. It should create higher selling leverage. It looks like they want to follow the NFL model.
Pls put some day games on ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX during the weekends. They have golf, UFL, nascar, f1, rodeos but no damn baseball. Does anyone watch the UFL? Name a single F1 driver. How the hell do you let them take your prime time?
Not as many fans, but also not as much cost for the rights to those events. They charge less for ads, but make money all the same.
Greedy Corporations, it’s never, ever enough$$
That’s the way stockholders like it.
People forget that MLB finished second in the bid for Fox Sports Regionals when ESPN was forced to sell them for anti-trust issues with Disney purchasing almost all of their content.
The real crux here is MLB would have had the bid won… but DSG (Sinclair) went out and leveraged everything to get some more cash on hand for the bid — to make their bid 2 billion over MLBs — and won.
Of course they didn’t really have the cash to do this, and that doesn’t even count the fact that RSNs — with or without their shenanigans — aren’t remotely close to being worth as much as they paid (they never were). They paid double — if not well more — than that and they’ll never ever see those numbers again.
I think those facts alone piss off MLB (and to some degree the NHL and NBA) off as much as anything. To me, MLB needs to make the case that DSG is materially injuring MLB. That would likely get drug out far longer than this bankruptcy debacle.
Thing is, folks are right. It won’t necisaarly get better if MLB get those rights back. But it IS in MLBs best interest to make sure fans have access to their games. They’ll make it available to everyone.
Oh the shock and horror for Rob Manfred and his media cronies when he realizes they’ve lost at least two generations of fans to tic tok.
Rumor has it that free HD streams are unaffected by these corporate quarrels and still carry all games live and in color.
Anything to do with watching my Brewers on Bally Sports? No Brewers games, no TDS cable!
I do hope the Braves find another outlet when that horrendously bad deal they have finally ends in 2027, I believe. That is, of course, if Diamond still exists by then.
When do we start talking about the looming Direct TV bankruptcy? One less option, coming soon.
Reject the plan. Bankruptcy for companies has become rife with bad faith “restructuring” that screws business partners & lets the company and insiders off scot free. Covert to Ch. 7, kill the monstrosity that is DSG, and release MLB (and the teams) to find something new, post-2024.
All this leverage and all of a sudden discus golf is a more popular draw at sports bars than MLB?
Not to worry, they have “The Price Is Right” reruns on the smaller screens.
Guess who’s winning over younger viewers!