As Comcast-subscribing Braves fans seethe over another night without baseball, the other player in this saga, Bally Sports, fired back today.
In a newly launched website located on saveourlocalteams.com, Bally Sports states that Comcast, not Bally, is the reason why Braves fans who get their games on Comcast’s cable arm Xfinity, can’t see them. While acknowledging that the politics behind the blackout is confusing to irate sports fans, Bally blasted Comcast for spurning fans by pulling the channels offline while an agreement was being worked out.
“Bally Sports isn’t just a local sports network; it brings you, the fans, closer to your favorite local teams and talent, delivering shared memories, night after night,” said the company’s statement specifically on their battle with Comcast. “And it’s not just the fans who are directly impacted – the teams and leagues with whom we have built relationships for decades are hurt by this as well.”
Bally contends that Comcast’s aim is to put the regional sports networks on higher tiers which will force sports fans to pay more to see them. They claim that Comcast has not restarted negotiations with Bally nor have they reactivated the RSNs. Bally then asks readers to contact Comcast to “do right by the fans” and return Bally networks back to the lineup.
Comcast did not publicly comment on Bally’s statement. It has its own response to Bally on its website.