Commentary: Why Comcast Is Smart Not to Carry Bally Sports

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

TV Answer Man, why doesn’t Comcast put Bally Sports back on?! It seems to me that it’s pretty stupid because they must be losing subscribers over this! Why are they being so dumb? — Roger, Duluth, Minnesota.

Roger, I believe that Comcast is actually being smart in its decision not to carry the Bally Sports regional sports networks at this time.

Why do I say that?

Before I answer, a little background on the carriage controversy.

Comcast on May 1 lost the Bally Sports regional sports networks because the cable operator could not reach a new carriage agreement with their owner, Diamond Sports. The blackout has been a major blow for Diamond Sports which has been working on a bankruptcy reorganization plan for 15 months. Since the Comcast dispute began, MLB, the NBA and NHL have all voiced concern that Diamond Sports will not emerge from bankruptcy as a profitable unit.

This might prompt some to say that Diamond Sports is the one being ‘dumb.’ The RSN company clearly needs Comcast’s subscribers to show the leagues that it can be both profitable and a reliable distributor of their games. (Comcast carries 14 Bally Sports channels representing nearly two dozen teams.)

But Diamond Sports is taking a logical stand here. It has rejected Comcast’s demand to move the channels to a more expensive programming package because that would mean fewer subscribers would have access to them. And it would mean reduced carriage fees for Diamond Sports because it’s paid by how many subscribers have access to its programming. Diamond’s execs are afraid that if they concede, every TV provider will want the same deal, which will reduce the company’s revenue and hurt its profitability plan.

So, Diamond Sports is actually playing it smart. At least for now.

However, so is Comcast.

The cable operator has lost several million subscribers over the last several years. The biggest reason: High prices. Consumers are tired of watching their monthly TV bills rise at least once a year. And the biggest reason why Comcast and other TV providers raise their prices so often is the escalating cost of paying the channels to carry them. And there’s no category with higher carriage prices than sports channels, national or regional.

Comcast knows that it will lose even more customers if it doesn’t do something to lower the carriage fees for the sports channels. And that’s why it recently forced three regional sports networks (MASN, Root Sports and SportsNet Pittsburgh) to agree to move their channels to higher programming tiers and it wants to do the same with Bally Sports. If the cable op can continue reducing sports fees, it might be able to trim those monthly TV bills, or at least trim the annual increases.

So, that’s smart and logical. What would be dumb would be to continue paying higher fees for sports, shifting the costs to the subscriber, and then watching them cancel in droves.

But what do you think? Jot your comments down in our Comments section below.

Happy viewing, everyone!

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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