Commentary: Bally Sports Should Accept Comcast’s Offer – Now!

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

Commentary
Comcast now has been without the Bally Sports regional sports networks for six weeks and there has been little indication of movement in the negotiations until last week with reports that the cable op and Diamond Sports, the owner of the RSNs, are talking again.

Comcast wants Diamond Sports to permit it to move Bally Sports to a more expensive programming package and it says here that the RSN company would be wise to accept that demand. Sooner than later.

Yes, the move to a higher programming tier would mean a reduction in carriage fees for Diamond Sports. (Channels are paid based on how many subscribers have access to their programming. Moving to a more expensive package would reduce the number of subscribers and therefore the fees.) But Diamond Sports really has no choice. Comcast, which has forced other RSNs to move to higher tiers in the past year, has shown that it will not budge from its position. If Diamond Sports wants to be on Comcast, it will eventually have to accept the move to the higher tier.

And Diamond Sports not only wants to be on Comcast, it desperately needs to be on Comcast. The company is struggling to emerge from bankruptcy (filed in March 2023) and the professional sports leagues are clamoring for help from the bankruptcy judge who is expected to rule on the company’s reorganization plan in the coming weeks. If Diamond Sports cannot demonstrate it has the resources and distribution the leagues want — and it can’t without Comcast — the leagues will urge the judge to reject the plan and liquidate the company.

Diamond Sports may not like the deal, but it has no choice but to accept. A reduction in fees is better than no fees. And having Comcast carrying the Bally Sports channels again will help appease the leagues whose fans now can’t watch their hometown MLB teams in several markets.

Be smart, Diamond Sports. Say yes.

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.

Have a question about new TV technologies? Send it to The TV Answer Man at swann@tvanswerman.com Please include your first name and hometown in your message.