Will Dish Now Add Bally Sports to Its Lineup?

By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –Follow on X.

TV Answer Man, now that Spectrum TV has signed a deal with Bally Sports, do you think that Dish will sign a deal with them? — Randy, Tampa.

Randy, Charter’s Spectrum TV, the nation’s largest cable operator, recently renewed its carriage agreement with Diamond Sports, the owner of the Bally Sports regional sports networks (RSNs). However, it’s unlikely that Dish will jump on the carriage bandwagon. The satcaster has been missing the Bally Sports regional sports networks since July 2019 (when they were known as the Fox Sports RSNs) due to a carriage dispute. The carriage row first occurred when Fox owned them, but they are now owned by Diamond Sports, a company created by yet another previous owner, Sinclair Broadcasting.

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Dish now does not carry any regional sports networks and company chief Charlie Ergen has repeatedly stated he does not think they are worth the money. (RSNs demand higher carriage fees than most channels.) So with Dish continuing to have financial issues, it’s even less likely now that the company will add Bally Sports.

Randy, hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe!

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