ProHockeyNews has covered the chaos in the regional sport networks (RSN) over the last year. 
On Tuesday night, 18 of the RSNs were blacked out at 11:59 PM. That included Game 5 of the opening round series of the Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Predators in Nashville.
The blackout was the result of a dispute between Diamond Sports Group, (DSG) and Bally Sports, which operates under DSG.
The 18 RSNs included Bally Sports Detroit, Bally Sports Florida, Bally Sports Great Lakes, Bally Sports Indiana, Bally Sports Kansas City, Bally Sports Midwest, Bally Sports New Orleans, Bally Sports North, Bally Sports Ohio, Bally Sports Oklahoma, Bally Sports San Diego, Bally Sports SoCal, Bally Sports South, Bally Sports Southeast, Bally Sports Southwest, Bally Sports Sun, Bally Sports West, and Bally Sports Wisconsin.
The source of the blackout was Comcast a cable provider. The contract between Comcast and DSG expired Tuesday night. leaving the RSNs without a carrier.
On Twitter/X, Bally Sports posted an announcement.
“Unfortunately, Comcast has rejected a proposed extension that would have kept our channels on the air and instead they pulled our signals while we continue to pursue a multi-year renewal agreement. As a result, Bally Sports broadcasts are unavailable to Comcast subscribers.”
Diamond Sports Group filed for bankruptcy in 2023, leaving teams in the NHL, NBA, and MLB without television revenue. Indeed, it has been reported baseball’s San Diego Padres were strapped for cash in September of last year, necessitating an emergency loan.
On Wednesday, DSG also had a statement, “Comcast has refused to engage in substantive discussions despite Diamond offering terms similar to those reached with much larger distributors of ours. We are a fans-first company and will continue to seek agreement with Comcast to restore broadcasts, and at this critical juncture for Diamond, we hope that Comcast will recognize the important and mutually beneficial role Diamond and RSNs play in the media ecosystem.”
Three other carriers have reached agreements with DSG including Cox, DirecTV, and Charter Communications.
Comcast was not without comment.
The obligatory we would “like to continue carrying [the RSNs],” but that DSG had “declined multiple offers” before the breakdown in the negotiations.
Comcast reaches an estimated 13.6 to 14.1 million subscribers.
Comcast has also made it known to its subscribers that it will issue refunds/credits to those customers who are affected by the blackout.
DirecTV does not carry Bally Sports in its basic packaging.
“DirecTV has always been a sports leader, and we continue to see significant opportunity for both our residential and commercial customers in local sports,” said Rob Thun, chief content officer for DirecTV, in a statement. “We want to ensure our customers receive more flexibility, choice and value, and this agreement provides them with those capabilities. Diamond’s regional sports networks remain a key component of our live sports offering, and we look forward to working with Diamond and the many popular MLB, NBA, NHL, and other teams it retains for years to come under this new agreement.”
The question is this, how long can these carriers continue to cover the costs of RSNs when so many subscribers are fleeing the broadcast model?
Comcast closed Q1 with an estimated 13.6 subscribers, but that is half a million less than their 2023 count.
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“We are pleased to extend our relationship with DirecTV to provide high quality local sports telecasts for passionate fans in the home markets of our team partners,” David Preschlack, CEO of Diamond, said in a statement. “This is a significant development for Diamond, and we highly value the relationship we have built with DirecTV and their customers over the course of many years. We remain focused on executing the steps necessary to reorganize Diamond with a structure that drives sustainable value for our stakeholders, including our distributors and league and team partners.”
The Padres traded Juan Soto and his bloated contract to the New York Yankees in the off season. The Yankees broadcast on YES, independent of the RSN system.
How far, and at what cost, are sports fans willing to go, to watch their teams on cable television?
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