While it’s the pay TV distributor that usually catches viewer heat when channels are pulled off programming grids amid licensing disputes, based on the fickle winds of the internet, it's the other way around for bankrupt regional sports networks operator Diamond Sports Group and its six-day-old impasse with Comcast.
All 18 remaining Bally Sports-branded channels that Diamond manages were pulled off Comcast on April 30, placing into dire jeopardy Diamond's attempt to emerge from a 15-month bankruptcy process intact. Diamond is reportedly reluctant to cede to Comcast’s demand that the Bally Sports channels be bumped to a more-expensive digital tier.
Also Read: Everything You Need To Know About the Bally Sports Bankruptcy
Among the Comcast franchise markets impacted are Atlanta, where Major League Baseball's National League East-contending Braves are on Bally Sports, as well as St. Louis, where Bally Sports serves as the regional sports network home of the avidly watched Cardinals.
And it’s not just baseball fans who have lost their local coverage of their teams on Comcast. Bally Sports Indiana, home of the WNBA’s Indiana Fever and its new star, Caitlin Clark, also went dark on the nation's No. 2 pay TV service as the team plays highly anticipated preseason games and approaches the start of its regular season on May 14.
Don't look for this dispute to lead to a mass exodus of Comcast’s video subscriber ranks (an exodus that tends to be pretty massive every quarter all on its own).
A quick perusal of the social internet finds that the majority of impacted sports fans side with Comcast, at least early on:
Comment from r/cordcutters
Comment from r/cordcutters
Why did @WeAreSinclair and @dpreschlack CEO of bankrupt Diamond Sports Group feel they were in a position to demand more money from @comcast? Need @tigers on @Xfinity #RestoreTheRoar 🐅May 6, 2024
Sinclair media/Diamond Sports is such a shitty company they are managing to make Comcast look like the good guys. That is a very impressive accomplishment. https://t.co/vpfxDaqrWkMay 1, 2024
Got fubo and I am keeping Comcast. I can only do this for a few months. I am hoping the judge dismantles diamond sports after that June 18 bankruptcy hearing. If everything stays the same I would likely give up fubo.May 6, 2024
