Fans of the Tampa Bay Rays and Miami Marlins will have to find another way to watch their favorite baseball teams.
Comcast/Xfinity shut down Bally Sports Sun (channel 402) and Bally Sports Florida (channel 401) Wednesday. The cable company posted a disclaimer on the channels saying it couldn’t reach a programming agreement with Bally’s parent company Diamond Sports.
Diamond Sports is working its way through bankruptcy. The sports brand televises games of 12 Major League teams, as well as some NHL and NBA teams.
Comcast/Xfinity and Diamond blamed each other for not being able to reach an agreement.
“Unfortunately, our programming agreement with Diamond Sports Group has expired. This means we no longer have the rights to carry their channels, including your local Bally Sports network,” Comcast wrote in an email to subscribers.
“We have been very flexible with Diamond Sports Group for months as they work through their bankruptcy proceedings, providing them with an extension on the Bally Sports Regional Networks last fall and a unilateral right to extend the term for another year, which they opted to not exercise,” Comcast said in another statement. “We’d like to continue carrying their networks, but they have declined multiple offers and now we no longer have the rights to this programming.”
Comcast said subscribers will receive a credit, between $8-$10, on their next bill.
Diamond blamed Comcast for a lack of willingness to negotiate.
“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,” Diamond Sports Group said in a statement.
“Comcast has refused to engage in substantive discussions despite Diamond offering terms similar to those reached with much larger distributors of ours.”
Diamond pointed out that it had reached agreement Tuesday with DIRECTTV. It also has agreements with Cox Communications and Charter Communications.
Diamond directed fans to go to the streaming television service Fubo or DIRECTTV to watch games.
The two cable channels show more than baseball. Thursday’s lineup on Bally Sports South would have included a show about trading cards, “Sports Stars of Tomorrow” an outdoors show, a Miami Dolphin update show and a hockey show.
Bally Sports Sun viewers will miss out on a replay of the Miami Heat – Boston Celtics playoff game, a fishing show, a hunting show and a show on sports betting.
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