Bally Sports appears to be inching closer to a solution that would allow Texas Rangers fans to watch games they are currently barred from watching locally.
Bally’s parent company, Sinclair Broadcasting, announced in a quarterly report this week that the company is pushing ahead with a soft-launch of its streaming package, called Bally Sports +. The debut of the package would be in the second quarter of 2022.
The price point for the streaming package would be $ 189.99 per year, or $ 19.99 per month.
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Thestreamable.com provided the details of the quarterly report and the potential for a soft launch in the second quarter. The Dallas Morning News reported the soft launch could start as early as June, with a full launch in September.
Locally, Bally Sports is available primarily on DirecTV and Spectrum. The only over-the-top streaming service that Bally’s Sports offers is DirecTV Stream. Other providers, such as YouTube TV, Sling TV, Hulu, and fuboTV, are not carrying Bally Sports due to rights fees disagreements wth Sinclair.
The streaming service is intended for local use. For instance, someone with a Bally Sports + package that lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area would be able to watch the Texas Rangers, the Dallas Mavericks and the Dallas Stars, along with whatever other programming the network shows. It is not intended to be a workaround for current out-of-market digital plans like MLB Extra Innings or NBA League Pass.
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There’s another sticking point, especially for Rangers fans. Sinclair’s quarterly report noted that they have the streaming rights to 16 NBA teams and 12 NHL teams. The Dallas Morning News reported that Sinclair has the rights to both the Mavericks and Stars, along with the WNBA’s Dallas Wings, as part of a renegotiated deal.
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The Rangers, however, are not one of the five MLB teams that has a streaming rights deal with Sinclair, a hiccup that would need to be rectified.
“The Rangers are continuing to work with Sinclair and Major League Baseball on short-term and long-term options on digital distribution rights,” John Blake, Rangers executive vice president of public affairs, said in an e-mail to the News. “At present, nothing is finalized, and we have no further information at this time.”
For those Rangers fans without Bally Sports Southwest at the moment, there appears to be a little hope — assuming you’re willing to cover the cost.
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