As of Monday night, Bally Sports South remains out on Comcast’s Xfinity cable service in Atlanta.
For Atlanta Braves fans, not having to watch their team get swept by the L.A. Dodgers over the weekend was of little comfort, considering there seems to be no thaw in the negotiations between the two companies, and fans who are Xfinity subscribers are looking at an extended period without Braves games unless they change providers.
Braves fans on Xfinity aren’t the only ones coping with the Bally dispute. Fans of the St. Louis Cardinals, Minnesota Twins, Houston Astros, and Kansas City Royals are among several MLB teams who are blacked out due to the dispute. Indiana Pacers fans can’t watch their team compete for an NBA Finals championship due to the blackout in their area.
The fifteen regional sports networks went dark last Wendesday after the expiration of Bally’s parent company Diamond Sports Group’s carriage deal. Both companies blamed each other for the impasse, and viewers in Atlanta and nationwide are fed up.
According to a Sportico report, Comcast wanted to move the RSNs to a higher-priced tier, while Diamond wanted to remain on the basic tier, $20 a month cheaper than the top “Ultimate TV” package.
Local Charter TV subscribers don’t have that problem, as Diamond struck a deal with them earlier this year. It also has secured deals with DirecTV and FuboTV. YouTube TV and Hulu Plus Live TV do not have deals with Diamond.
