Reds games return to Comcast’s Xfinity cable customers in Lawrenceburg and other Southeastern Indiana communities Thursday, Aug. 1, after the resolution of a three-month dispute between the nation’s No. 2 pay TV provider and Diamond Sports Group, which operates the 17 Bally Sports regional networks.
But Comcast customers will pay more for access to Bally Sports.
Reds games are moving to the Ultimate TV tier, which includes a RSN (regional sports network) fee that Xfinity describes as “an itemized charge based on Xfinity’s costs of providing RSNs like Bally Sports.” Ultimate TV level costs $20 more per month than the cable company’s basic package, Sports Illustrated reported.
However, a Comcast spokesperson told The Athletic it will offer a free three-month trial for the Ultimate TV package that will last through the end of the MLB regular season on Sept. 29, according to Sports Illustrated.
Reds fans in parts of Indiana and the Midwest lost the Reds May 1 when Comcast pulled the plug on Bally Sports after the regional sports network turned down “multiple options to continue carrying their networks,” according to Comcast’s message to subscribers.
Under the agreement, subscribers to Comcast’s Xfinity Ultimate TV package in Bally Sports markets will gain access to live, local MLB, NBA and NHL games and pre- and post-game shows on Diamond’s regional sports network channels effective Thursday, the companies jointly announced.
Xfinity Ultimate TV customers also will be able to stream Diamond’s RSN content by authenticating their Xfinity credentials on the Bally Sports app, the announcement said.
“We are pleased that fans will again be able to access broadcasts of their local teams through Xfinity,” said David Preschlack, CEO of Diamond Sports, which had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2023 after revenue losses due to viewers cutting the cable cord and switching to streaming services. Diamond Sports was formed after Sinclair Broadcast Group paid $9.6 billion for the Fox Sports Networks regional channels in 2019.
Preschlack said in the release that “entering a new carriage agreement with Comcast, our third largest distributor, is a critical step forward in our restructuring effort.”
Financial terms of the agreement with Comcast were not disclosed.
In addition to the Reds, Bally Sports holds rights to the St. Louis Cardinals, Detroit Tigers, Miami Marlins, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins, Milwaukee Brewers, Atlanta Braves, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels; NHL’s Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues, Minnesota Wild, Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks, Nashville Predators, Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning; and NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers, Indianapolis Pacers, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, Memphis Grizzlies, Minnesota Timberwolves, Los Angeles Clippers, New Orleans Pelicans, Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks.
“We appreciate Diamond Sports working with us to reach a solution that returns the Bally Sports RSNs to our Ultimate TV customers in a way that reflects the changing video marketplace for local sports,” said Greg Rigdon, Comcast president of content acquisition, in the announcement.
Comcast has Xfinity systems through much of Indiana, with offices in Indianapolis, Bloomington, Columbus, Elkhart, Richmond, Muncie, Kokomo, Lafayette and other towns. The dominant cable systems in Greater Cincinnati, Southwestern Ohio and Northern Kentucky are Charter’s Spectrum Cable and altafiber (formerly Cincinnati Bell).
Diamond Sports next will focus on “finalizing an agreement with the NHL and resolving our ongoing negotiations with the NBA” for Bally sports, Preschlack said.
“We are mindful that time is of the essence with basketball and hockey seasons fast approaching, and once agreements with our team and league partners are complete, we intend to move expeditiously to present a plan of reorganization to the Court,” he said.
In January, Amazon announced a $115 million investment in the Diamond Sports Group to help extricate the Bally regional sports networks from bankruptcy.
The cash infusion from Amazon would pay off Diamond’s largest creditors and allow Diamond “to emerge from bankruptcy and continue operations and prevents a total collapse of the regional sports network system where the NBA, NHL and MLB would have to step in to take over production and distribution of most of their teams,” according to the Associated Press.
Bally Sports Ohio is not part of the Diamond bankruptcy proceedings because the Reds took an equity stake in the regional sports network (then called Fox Sports Ohio) as part of a 15-year deal running through the 2032 season, according to the Sports Business Journal. The report says the Reds are paid $60 million annually by Diamond.
Dropping cable TV and satellite services in favor of streaming has sent subscriber and advertising revenues into a downward spiral for Bally Sports and all cable TV operators. Cable and satellite subscription services have lost nearly 25 million customers — or about 25% of its customers — in five years, according Charter Communications executives when its Spectrum cable systems national dropped Disney and ESPN channels for 10 days last September.
