Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, is offering a $50 subsidy to Dallas area fans so they can subscribe to DIRECTV Stream which carries Bally Sports Northwest, his team’s TV home.
The 19 Bally regional sports networks (RSNs), including Bally Sports Northwest, are not available on Dish or several other live streaming services such as Hulu Live, FuboTV, Sling TV and YouTube, frustrating fans across the nation.
But DIRECTV Stream, the live streaming service owned by DIRECTV, does carry Bally Sports starting with its $84.99 a month Choice plan. Cuban’s $50 subsidy would bring the price of the Choice plan to $35 a month.
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“DIRECTV Stream is already the streaming service that gives fans across the country the most access to watch their hometown teams,” Vince Torres, DIRECTV’s chief marketing officer, said in a statement. “Knowing that, and given our long-standing relationship with the Mavs, collaborating with Mark Cuban on an opportunity that gives passionate Mavs fans a chance to see their favorite team play on our platform and creates more exposure for DIRECTV STREAM, is a no-brainer.”
Cuban’s program will offer the $50 subsidy to the first 10,000 people (in select Dallas market zip codes) who sign up for a DIRECTV Stream Choice package or above. They will receive the $50 credit for each month of maintained service up to five months.
The Mavericks owner first made the offer to Club Maverick members, a group of season ticket holders who are eligible for exclusive benefits. But it’s now available to all Mavericks fans. The program expires on December 28, 2021. To learn how to enroll, click here.
The Bally Sports nets have the local TV rights to dozens of NBA, NHL and MLB teams. However, the streamers and Dish have said Sinclair Broadcasting, which owns the RSNs, are asking for excessive carriage fees to carry them.
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It’s unclear if Cuban’s plan is being considered by teams in other markets, but the Mavericks’ owner (and Shark Tank TV panelist) is famous for offering innovative, but not always copied, solutions to thorny problems.
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Are there really that many people that would pay $85.00 a month to watch sports. I know many are addicted to sports, but at some point enough is enough.
Why stop at 10,000? I’m sure there are more than that who don’t want to pay $85 a month to watch the Mav’s. Come on Mark. Pony up the offer for everyone who would switch to Directv stream. Better yet, drop the regional TV rights to zero and split the advertising revenue with the pay TV distributors.