DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. — Since the start of the Major League Baseball season, customers of Comcast‘s Xfinity MVPD service have been blocked from being able to view any sports networks under the Bally Sports brand. It’s tied to the ongoing bankruptcy of its parent, Sinclair Inc. subsidiary Diamond Sports Group.
Now, Altice USA-owned Optimum has pulled the plug on Bally Sports, too, as a contract between it and DSG expired with no new deal in place.
This means that any Bally Sports network offered to Optimum subscribers is no longer available — a potential headache for an array of Major League Baseball teams in the MVPD’s services areas.
While Optimum’s footprint is large in the New York Metropolitan Area, where YES Network and MSG are the dominant sports channels offered to viewers, it is the nation’s fourth-largest cable TV service provider.
As such, Optimum customers from Ohio to Oklahoma and in 15 other states are impacted by the lack of a contract renewal. In particular, customers formerly under SuddenLink and those who were Morris Broadband customers prior to their integration into Optimum are at a loss. For instance, in Hendersonville, N.C., Optimum customers will no longer have access to Bally Sports South and Bally Sports Southeast, respectively. For Atlanta Braves fans, this has an immediate impact as the two network serve as their principal television networks.
An Optimum spokesperson confirmed the absence of the following networks to its customers across the U.S.:
- Bally Sports Arizona
- Bally Sports Extra
- Bally Sports Great Lakes
- Bally Sports Kansas City
- Bally Sports Midwest
- Bally Sports New Orleans
- Bally Sports Ohio
- Bally Sports Oklahoma
- Bally Sports South
- Bally Sports Southeast
- Bally Sports Southwest
- Bally Sports West
In a statement, Optimum said on Monday (7/1), “Despite our best efforts and continued flexibility to reach a fair and reasonable agreement, Diamond Sports Group continues to seek unsustainable demands that would raise our customers’ TV bills and, as a result, Bally Sports Networks has been removed from Optimum TV lineups. We do not believe it is fair for Diamond Sports Group to ask customers to pay high rates for their channels when they are still negotiating content rights with various sports leagues and do not yet know what content will be available to their viewers.
Optimum added that it is “anti-consumer” of Diamond Sports Group “to request excessive fees while they are in active bankruptcy proceedings and content rights negotiations.”
Optimum says it remains open to negotiations with Diamond Sports Group to return their content to Optimum TV lineups. “We are working directly with customers to ensure they have access to these offerings to continue watching and customers should call us to discuss their options,” it notes.
For those who seek access to Bally Sports networks, Optimum is directing their customers to a direct-to-consumer app, Bally Sports+, which is available for $19.99 per month for in-market games for select teams.
Additionally, it notes that many Major League Baseball games are available on other channels and streaming services, including FOX, FS1, ESPN, TBS, Fubo TV, Apple TV+, The Roku Channel and Prime Video.
