Another battle looms for Atlanta Braves TV rights

The Atlanta Braves were caught in the middle of a surprise decision regarding their television broadcasts.

According to The Athletic’s Evan Drellich, Diamond Sports Group (DSG), owner of regional sports channels Bally Sports, said in bankruptcy court that it only plans to continue broadcasting the Braves and no other MLB teams.

The remaining 11 teams with DSG, eight of which are still under contract, would have to either negotiate a new contract with DSG or find a new carrier.

No reason was reported as to why the Braves were chosen over the other teams.

MLB attorney Jim Bromley said the league was caught off guard by the decision. This is the first time they have heard of this plan.

“We don’t have any information about what’s being done,” Bromley said. “We haven’t had a chance to review and now we’re in court being asked to comment.”

The Cleveland Guardians, Texas Rangers and Minnesota Twins continued games with Bally Sports under a one-year deal through 2024.

Other teams under contract, besides the Braves, are the Los Angeles Angels, Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals and the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres previously broadcast games on Bally Sports. They have since moved to an MLB-run broadcast.

In theory, they should continue to broadcast these teams because they are under contract. However, Drellich added this because Diamond Sports Group is in bankruptcy court and can “assume or reject” contracts in the process.

This is a continuation of a broadcast mess that has made it difficult for Braves fans to watch games. Xfinity/Comcast dropped Bally Sports channels over the summer due to a contract dispute with DSG. The TV provider got rid of the channels from May 1st to August 1st. Bally Sports channels are also not available on YouTube TV or Hulu.

Broadcast rights on local RSN are also causing power outages for local MLB TV streamers. The Diamondbacks and Padres are the exception after migrating to MLB-run broadcasts.

For those hoping the Braves break free from RSN, it doesn’t look great. They remain on Bally Sports for 2025 – at least for now. This excludes any changes in response to this decision.

DSG filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2023 to settle more than $8 billion in debt. The debt comes from its owners, Sinclair Broadcast Group, which purchased regional sports networks from Disney following its 2019 acquisition of Twenty-First Century Fox.

Bally Sports South and Bally Sports Southeast were previously operated under Fox Sports South and Fox Sports Southeast, named when they were owned by Fox Sports Networks (FSN).

Bally Sports also broadcasts broadcasts of NBA teams, including the Atlanta Hawks, and the NHL.