Comcast vs. Bally Sports: Why Doesn’t MLB TV Show the Games Without Blackouts?

TV Answer Man, why doesn’t Major League Baseball step in and fix the Comcast blackout of Bally Sports and show the games on MLB TV without blackouts? This is what they did for the Padres last year! Why can’t they just fix this?!! — Merle, Atlanta.

Merle, Comcast yesterday lost the Bally Sports regional sports networks (RSNs) when the two sides could not reach a new carriage agreement. The blackout means that Comcast subscribers in more than a dozen markets such as Atlanta, Miami and Minnesota are unable to watch their hometown MLB, NBA or NHL teams. (Diamond Sports, the owner of the Bally Sports RSNs, has the regional broadcast rights to roughly three dozen different pro teams.)

While it’s true that Major League Baseball last year offered both the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks in market without blackouts on MLB TV, there’s a big difference between that situation and this one.

Last year, Diamond Sports terminated its contracts to broadcast the games of those two teams. Consequently, MLB, or its teams, were under no legal obligations regarding Diamond Sports in those two cases and therefore could show the two teams on MLB TV.

However, this year, Diamond Sports still has a contract with MLB to broadcast the teams now blacked out on Comcast. This is why their games are still on such TV providers as Fubo, DIRECTV Stream, DIRECTV, Cox, and Charter’s Spectrum TV. If MLB tried to show the Comcast blacked out games on MLB TV, it would be in violation of its contract with Diamond Sports. The contract says Diamond Sports has the exclusive regional rights to the games. If MLB TV offered them in market without blackouts, it would violate the exclusive nature of the deal.

This undoubtedly seems unfair to Comcast subscribers who now must hope that a settlement is imminent or switch to a provider that still carries Bally Sports. But it’s the contract and Major League Baseball certainly doesn’t want to violate it with Diamond Sports still working on its bankruptcy reorganization plan. It’s also without a doubt that the bankruptcy court would not look favorably upon MLB doing anything illegal to thwart those efforts.

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

The TV Answer Man is veteran journalist Phillip Swann who has covered the TV technology scene for more than three decades. He will report on the latest news and answer your questions regarding new devices and services that are changing the way you watch television. See the bio for Phillip Swann here.

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