Bally Sports Update

[Anybodyhome]

https://whatsondisneyplus.com/bally-sports-wants-to-strike-deals-with-hululive-tv-to-save-the-channel/

Earlier this year, the Diamond Sports Group, filed for bankruptcy, as it tried to restructure in order to provide coverage of 40 major sports teams in the US to cable customers.  Diamond owes money to both the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League, and is due to make a rights payment to them this week, and the existing distribution deal is up for renewal in the next few months.   It also has lots of deals with Major Baseball League teams, which due to the bankruptcy, has resulted in a new deal being made with MLB.TV since Diamond Sports couldn’t pay the teams as required.

Many of the major networks are adjusting their plans for sports broadcasting, as the cable linear system breaks down, the days of sports content being paid for by every viewer, regardless of whether they watched it or not, are coming to an end.  Customers want cheaper entertainment and more choices, so are less likely to want to pay for expensive packages they don’t want.

Diamond is asking for a longer rights deal than it currently has, which runs year to year, and to pay less for those rights.  According to a new report from the Wall Street Journal, Bally Sports is hoping to strike a new deal with YouTube TV and Hulu+Live TV to get the sports channels onto their live-streaming services.

Both YouTube TV and Hulu+Live TV have previously carried the Bally Sports RSN channels, but in 2020, stepped away, when Sinclair wanted over $300 million from these channels and was told they weren’t worth the cost.  Bally Sports wants to sign this new deal in order to get enough money together to secure the rights to the NHL and NBA.     The company is hoping it will be able to offer its own streaming service BallySports+ on YouTube TV and Hulu+Live TV for $19.99 a month to increase revenue.

Diamond Sports is also in negotiations with Comcast to extend their carriage deal, but also isn’t happy signing long-term contracts given the current legal situation.    However, it has recently been able to sign a year extension with DirecTV.   Should Bally Sports not pay the NBA teams on time, the NBA is already making plans to launch content directly through the NBA app and other networks.

Just this week, there has been a two-day mediation meeting between Diamond Sports, Sinclair, its creditors and representatives of the NBA, MLB and NHL, to come to an agreement on how to move forward.  After these meetings, no agreement was made and negotiations continue, but with over $8 billion of debt stemming from the purchase of the channels from Disney, it’s been trying to extend its bankruptcy deals to try to work its way out of the situation.   Some creditors are considering just winding down the company, while others are hoping they can renegotiate their deals to get them out of this situation.

And with other streaming services and broadcasters looking to acquire sports rights, things may get a little more tricky for Diamond Sports. With the bankruptcy still hanging over Diamond Sports, this makes it much more risky for both the clubs that sign deals to distribute their games and for networks to pay out for channels which might not even have the content they are paying for.

With Disney getting ready to launch its new full direct-to-consumer ESPN streaming platform in the next few years, and with its own ESPN channels and ESPN+ app, will Disney want to add Bally Sports onto Hulu+Live TV, plus will Disney want to spend more money out right now on sports rights that it hasn’t had for years, when it’s trying to reduce costs and complete the purchase of Comcast’s stake in Hulu?

Ultimately, we are seeing how the companies are trying to readjust to a change in consumer habits, but do you think Bally Sports will survive?

----------------------------------------------------------

But we can already get the Bally Sports South app for $19.99 per month, so what difference does it make if Hulu+Live adds it, while also charging $19.99 per month?

 

[Harbingers]

58 minutes ago, Anybodyhome said:

https://whatsondisneyplus.com/bally-sports-wants-to-strike-deals-with-hululive-tv-to-save-the-channel/

Earlier this year, the Diamond Sports Group, filed for bankruptcy, as it tried to restructure in order to provide coverage of 40 major sports teams in the US to cable customers.  Diamond owes money to both the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League, and is due to make a rights payment to them this week, and the existing distribution deal is up for renewal in the next few months.   It also has lots of deals with Major Baseball League teams, which due to the bankruptcy, has resulted in a new deal being made with MLB.TV since Diamond Sports couldn’t pay the teams as required.

Many of the major networks are adjusting their plans for sports broadcasting, as the cable linear system breaks down, the days of sports content being paid for by every viewer, regardless of whether they watched it or not, are coming to an end.  Customers want cheaper entertainment and more choices, so are less likely to want to pay for expensive packages they don’t want.

Diamond is asking for a longer rights deal than it currently has, which runs year to year, and to pay less for those rights.  According to a new report from the Wall Street Journal, Bally Sports is hoping to strike a new deal with YouTube TV and Hulu+Live TV to get the sports channels onto their live-streaming services.

Both YouTube TV and Hulu+Live TV have previously carried the Bally Sports RSN channels, but in 2020, stepped away, when Sinclair wanted over $300 million from these channels and was told they weren’t worth the cost.  Bally Sports wants to sign this new deal in order to get enough money together to secure the rights to the NHL and NBA.     The company is hoping it will be able to offer its own streaming service BallySports+ on YouTube TV and Hulu+Live TV for $19.99 a month to increase revenue.

Diamond Sports is also in negotiations with Comcast to extend their carriage deal, but also isn’t happy signing long-term contracts given the current legal situation.    However, it has recently been able to sign a year extension with DirecTV.   Should Bally Sports not pay the NBA teams on time, the NBA is already making plans to launch content directly through the NBA app and other networks.

Just this week, there has been a two-day mediation meeting between Diamond Sports, Sinclair, its creditors and representatives of the NBA, MLB and NHL, to come to an agreement on how to move forward.  After these meetings, no agreement was made and negotiations continue, but with over $8 billion of debt stemming from the purchase of the channels from Disney, it’s been trying to extend its bankruptcy deals to try to work its way out of the situation.   Some creditors are considering just winding down the company, while others are hoping they can renegotiate their deals to get them out of this situation.

And with other streaming services and broadcasters looking to acquire sports rights, things may get a little more tricky for Diamond Sports. With the bankruptcy still hanging over Diamond Sports, this makes it much more risky for both the clubs that sign deals to distribute their games and for networks to pay out for channels which might not even have the content they are paying for.

With Disney getting ready to launch its new full direct-to-consumer ESPN streaming platform in the next few years, and with its own ESPN channels and ESPN+ app, will Disney want to add Bally Sports onto Hulu+Live TV, plus will Disney want to spend more money out right now on sports rights that it hasn’t had for years, when it’s trying to reduce costs and complete the purchase of Comcast’s stake in Hulu?

Ultimately, we are seeing how the companies are trying to readjust to a change in consumer habits, but do you think Bally Sports will survive?

----------------------------------------------------------

But we can already get the Bally Sports South app for $19.99 per month, so what difference does it make if Hulu+Live adds it, while also charging $19.99 per month?

 

Doesn’t make much sense.  I assume just to get their branding on it and maybe increase how many people the option comes in front of. 

[djp14]

4 hours ago, Anybodyhome said:

The company is hoping it will be able to offer its own streaming service BallySports+ on YouTube TV and Hulu+Live TV for $19.99 a month to increase revenue

That's a pretty hefty price for a YouTube TV add-on. Good luck with that.

 

[Anybodyhome]

1 hour ago, djp14 said:

That's a pretty hefty price for a YouTube TV add-on. Good luck with that.

 

That's the same price as the Bally Sports stand-alone app. So what if it's attached to Hulu or YouTube? The price is the same. I don't understand how this is any better for the end-user.

Edited October 4, 2023 by Anybodyhome

[USDepartmentOfSavagery]

I plan on VPNing YouTubeTV in Europe so if they had Bally sports as an add on, it would be dope. 

[Harbingers]

40 minutes ago, USDepartmentOfSavagery said:

I plan on VPNing YouTubeTV in Europe so if they had Bally sports as an add on, it would be dope. 

 

1 hour ago, Anybodyhome said:

That's the same price as the Bally Sports stand-alone app. So what if it's attached to Hulu or YouTube? The price is the same. I don't understand how this is any better for the end-user.

Could be this. Get rid of the euro “pirate’s” that don’t have any way else to watch. 

[Rocky Davis]

arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr mateys!

[USDepartmentOfSavagery]

7 hours ago, Rocky Davis said:

arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr mateys!

Pirates life for me 

[Harbingers]

43 minutes ago, USDepartmentOfSavagery said:

Pirates life for me 

[djp14]

17 hours ago, Anybodyhome said:

That's the same price as the Bally Sports stand-alone app. So what if it's attached to Hulu or YouTube? The price is the same. I don't understand how this is any better for the end-user.

That's kinda my point.

If people were hesitant to pay $19.99/month for the stand alone app (and they were), they're not going to pay $19.99 for a YT add-on.

[lightsout]

The greed of the services since cord cutting went from what us poors did to have entertainment options without dishing out on premium cable packages is just astounding.

Sinclair really fuged us all over. That's the first and only takeaway for me in all this. Money grab by all parties since then.

League needs to step in and look out for fans. And since the league is all about bottom line ultimately, that ain't happening

 

[backINblack28]

all of the streaming services are operating in the red and only the companies like apple/prime can truly afford to sustain because of how much they have going on otherwise. sinclair thought they could get a monopoly on these local sports broadcasts but somehow thought people would pay 4x as much for apple plus to watch two local teams and that's it. i hope they continue to crash and burn. not a sustainable model and right now it's killing fans ability to see their teams

[Anybodyhome]

Isn't there an NHL version of NFL's Sunday Ticket on one of the streaming platforms?

[Harbingers]

8 minutes ago, Anybodyhome said:

Isn't there an NHL version of NFL's Sunday Ticket on one of the streaming platforms?

There was NHL Center Ice but I think that went the way of the dodo bird in the streaming realm after ESPN+ took over. 

Edited October 11, 2023 by Harbingers