Many Braves fans could not watch their favorite team beat the Seattle Mariners on TV today, thanks to a dispute between the official TV home of the team, Bally Sports South, and Comcast, which under the Xfinity brand name, is the local carrier of Bally Sports South.
The network as well as Bally Sports Southeast, was off the air since early morning today, with only a disclaimer from Comcast on the channels stating that “Bally Sports is no longer av
ailable.”
Due to the expiration of the contract between the two parties and the inability to reach an agreement by midnight Tuesday, the RSNs have been pulled from the air on Comcast in Atlanta and other markets nationwide. Like Braves fans, fans of the Detroit Tigers, Miami Marlins, L.A. Dodgers, and other MLB teams where Bally is on Xfinity were left fuming at an Xfinity outage disclaimer on their TVs instead of their respective ball games.
This seriously sucks just in time for the Braves Dodgers series and what’s more concerning is it doesn’t seem like it will be a quick fix with Bally Sports in bankruptcy 😭 #ForTheA pic.twitter.com/nFXPQbPmt2
— Alison Mastrangelo (@AlisonWSB) May 1, 2024
Comcast states on its website…
“The owner of Bally Sports, Diamond Sports Group, is in bankruptcy proceedings and we have offered them multiple options to continue carrying their networks. They have declined each one, and we no longer have rights to continue carrying their content.” Comcast adds that they “worked very hard” to get Diamond to “come to a fair agreement” but was rebuffed. Comcast says that Xfinity customers will be credited on their bill for the outage. 
Diamond, which has been under bankruptcy protection since last year, said in a statement, “It’s disappointing that Comcast rejected a proposed extension that would have kept our channels on the air and that Comcast indicated that it intends to pull the signals, preventing fans from watching their favorite local teams.”
The Braves themselves posted this message on social media…
A carriage dispute between Comcast and Diamond Sports Group is impacting several Major League Baseball teams including the #Braves. As a result, Comcast customers are currently unable to watch our games. Customers using other cable providers or streaming services are not…
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 1, 2024
Braves fans on social media and sports talk radio criticized both Bally and Comcast. Braves games have generally been hard to find on Atlanta television, as few TV streaming companies like YouTube TV and Hulu Live TV provided the Bally networks locally and Comcast was one of the few that carried the Atlanta home of the Braves, Hawks, and for a time, Atlanta United. DirecTV, FuboTV, and Spectrum are the only streaming and cable operators carrying Bally networks.
As of 9:25 pm 5/1, no agreements have been reached between the two parties.
Social media credit: Alison Mastrangelo, Atlanta Braves, X
Image credits: Comcast, Bally Sports