2024 Braves Coverage

[RoddyFreeman]

With Sinclair Broadcast Group having announced that Bally Sports will be shutting down, the Braves could be left with play-by-play only on an AM with a highly directional nighttime signal and an FM translator.

That said, Bally does have a deal to keep 13 NBA teams on through the current season at reduced licensing fees in return for the league getting back the TV rights subsequent to that. A similar deal with the NHL is rumored to be in the works. But so far, there's no sign of a deal with Major League Baseball.

I suppose it's possible that someone will step in and buy Bally Sports. Somehow, I can't imagine the Braves not being on local TV. But as of now, 680AM and its 93.7 translator are the extent of Braves play-by-play coverage for the 2024 season.

 

[TheBigA]

This article says the shut down will be after the MLB 2024 season:

MSN

Lawyers from Diamond Sports Group and Sinclair Broadcasting both pointed to the possibility of DSG shutting down after the 2024 MLB season.

Sinclair Says Bally Sports Plans to Shutdown | Cord Cutters News

Today Bally Sports had a major court hearing related to the next steps of its bankruptcy. Now according to David Selign, outside counsel for Sinclair, the staff at Sinclair expect Bally Sports to shut down after the end of the 2024 MLB season but Diamond Sports Group objected to that idea. “To...

cordcuttersnews.com

There are four MLB teams who left DSG in 2023, and they've negotiated alternate deals with local broadcast TV and other streaming options. So while the Braves don't have to decide for another year, there are options besides the radio.

Keep in mind that DSG is suing Sinclair, so that situation is in flux.

 

[gdstout]

I expect the Braves to have a regional sports network going that will be on cable/satellite/streaming with a DTC option.

 

[secondchoice]

If you live north of Canton WLJA 101.1 has had Braves games for decades except on Sunday, then the games are on WPGY's 93.7 and 98.1 and 1580 if it's daytime.

 

[jabba17]

Most of the growth in sports coverage has been with streaming services, which is why the Mouse wants to make ESPN over into a streaming service.

I wonder if one of the also-rans in cable sports coverage (CBS/Paramount, NBCUniversal/Comcast, etc.) could pick it up.

Warners is spinning up a Bleacher Report channel as an add-on for HBO Max, CW is wanting to grow their live sports coverage as being more "stream-proof" (they picked up the Raycom ACC third-tier football and basketball package), and Scripps is doing the same with the ION "network". Maybe we could see Braves games on Channel 17 again, or maybe Channel 14.

 

[TheBigA]

I wonder if one of the also-rans in cable sports coverage (CBS/Paramount, NBCUniversal/Comcast, etc.) could pick it up.

Those are national services. The national MLB rights are already owned by ESPN, Fox and TBS.

RSNs are by definition regional.

 

[BoboKnight]

The Braves won’t be without TV coverage.

Gray Television on their Q3 conference call talked about their footprint of stations being conducive to carrying local sports. They specifically called out having non big 4 affiliates in every TV market in Georgia (and I believe South Carolina).

I could easily see them picking up the Braves and using Peachtree TV as the flagship station (with some non-primetime games on CBS-46).

 

[BoboKnight]

Those are national services. The national MLB rights are already owned by ESPN, Fox and TBS.

RSNs are by definition regional.

There’s talk about MLB bundling all the local TV rights and selling them to a national streamer. That or over the air broadcasts are the 2 most likely scenarios in my opinion. The RSN model is dead (or in hospice).

 

[TheBigA]

There’s talk about MLB bundling all the local TV rights and selling them to a national streamer. That or over the air broadcasts are the 2 most likely scenarios in my opinion. The RSN model is dead (or in hospice).

There currently is a national streaming package at MLB.com. You can buy all teams, or an out of market single team.

The RSN model is only dead if the rights fee is too high. That was discussed at the bankruptcy.

 

[BoboKnight]

There currently is a national streaming package at MLB.com. You can buy all teams, or an out of market single team.

Yes. But there are currently also local rights. By bundling all the local rights, they would essentially go away and the national streamer would air the vast majority of the games (Fox, ESPN, Apple, and Peacock would retain the small number of games they currently have rights to. This would be similar to the MLS and Apple contract.

 

[TheBigA]

Yes. But there are currently also local rights. By bundling all the local rights, they would essentially go away

I buy the national stream from MLB. What I get are the local games, hosted by the local announcers.

If you're saying all local rights will go away, that means less money for MLB and the teams. Because now they get paid by multiple groups for basically the same games. If they make it all one, they only get paid that one time. In the case of the local rights, the local team owns access to those local games and has control over the announcers. If its all national, the local owners get cut out of the process. I can't see them agreeing to that.

 

[jabba17]

Those are national services. The national MLB rights are already owned by ESPN, Fox and TBS.

RSNs are by definition regional.

It doesn't mean that CBS/Paramount or NBCU couldn't spin up their own RSNs, especially as cable companies have channels opening up with the demise of Bally. Heck, ESPN could do it too (although that might trigger antitrust concerns, which is what led the Mouse to sell off the Fox RSNs to begin with). And you can do anything with streaming (what Warners is doing with Bleacher Report, and eventually ESPN), including a reverse-blackout (whiteout?) where games are only available in certain geographies to keep other teams happy and prevent a redux of the Braves' and Cubs' national fanship of the 70s-90s.

And there's no reason a national network couldn't split coverage by TV market like the big boys do with CFB and the NFL already. Think outside the box.

The Braves won’t be without TV coverage.

Gray Television on their Q3 conference call talked about their footprint of stations being conducive to carrying local sports. They specifically called out having non big 4 affiliates in every TV market in Georgia (and I believe South Carolina).

I could easily see them picking up the Braves and using Peachtree TV as the flagship station (with some non-primetime games on CBS-46).

Exactly. Gray (which now owns Raycom) is already doing this sort of with the ACC and the CW. Next year will be different with Cal-Berkeley, Stanford, and SMU joining the ACC, but I guarantee you there's not much interest in ACC games west of the Mississippi this year.

 

[TheBigA]

It doesn't mean that CBS/Paramount or NBCU couldn't spin up their own RSNs,

Except that NBC already owns an RSN out west, and they're getting out of the business.

CBS owned the CBS Sports Network, and shut it down several years ago.

This isn't an area where traditional media companies are looking to expand.

 

[jabba17]

Except that NBC already owns an RSN out west, and they're getting out of the business.

CBS owned the CBS Sports Network, and shut it down several years ago.

This isn't an area where traditional media companies are looking to expand.

Depends on the company. In addition to WB ramping Bleacher Report back up, both Gray and the CW are adding more sports.

Peachtree Sports Network Launches Statewide on Gray Television Stations

ATLANTA, Sept. 25, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Peachtree Sports Network, Gray Television’s newest sports broadcast channel, will launch Sunday, October 1st...

www.globenewswire.com

The CW Continues To Add Live Sports To Its Programming. Hereâs Why

With Nexstar's acquisition of The CW finalized, the network has been adding sports, to its program lineup, such as LIV golf, ACC games and NASCAR's Xfinity Series.

www.forbes.com

 

[salemjedi54]

Except that NBC already owns an RSN out west, and they're getting out of the business.

CBS owned the CBS Sports Network, and shut it down several years ago.

This isn't an area where traditional media companies are looking to expand.

the CBS Sports Network is still on the air. I watched SHSU play Liberty on the network. Conference USA has a midweek football game of the week on CBSSN.

 

[ThePowerCow]

Gray owns a lot of stations around the southeast. Be cool if those stations carried the games on a subchannel.

 

[CaliRadioFan]

MLB may want to part ways with Bally's sooner than later, rather than face another season of maybe payments or worming their way out of another team contract days or even hours before another payment deadline. Grey is circling like a vulture , wanting to get the Braves back on Ch 17, perhaps even rebrand Peachtree as at least a regional SuperStation. Forget the sports filler crap. Live games, a few good daytime shows and reruns, maybe even few movies here and there.

 

[TheBigA]

MLB may want to part ways with Bally's sooner than later

The problem is that the Bally's deals were made with the individual teams. The MLB said last year that all games will be available in some way, either through its own platform or some other deal. The way a lot of teams are handling this is they're starting their own RSNs or partnering with other entities.

Forget the sports filler crap. Live games, a few good daytime shows and reruns, maybe even few movies here and there.

Keep in mind those poker shows serve a very important role for these RSNs, providing content during times when there are no games. Even ESPN has to run sports filler shows.

 

[TheBigA]

Gray owns a lot of stations around the southeast. Be cool if those stations carried the games on a subchannel.

The subchannel likely wouldn't make enough to cover the rights fees

 

[jabba17]

MLB may want to part ways with Bally's sooner than later, rather than face another season of maybe payments or worming their way out of another team contract days or even hours before another payment deadline. Grey is circling like a vulture , wanting to get the Braves back on Ch 17, perhaps even rebrand Peachtree as at least a regional SuperStation. Forget the sports filler crap. Live games, a few good daytime shows and reruns, maybe even few movies here and there.

That would be interesting if Gray tried to recreate the old WTCG/WTBS on Channel 17. Sports + cheap old cartoons and kids shows + cheap movies + cheap syndicated programming. Made Ted Turner a rich(er) man with little downside risk like what befell the original Channel 36, which spent a relative fortune on programming and went broke.

However, WPCH Channel 17 is now a CW affiliate, as are many other Gray stations. I highly doubt Gray would turn that down to air (almost) 162 Braves games, most of which are in primetime. This Ptree Sports Network intrigues me; it was originally intended for high school and minor league sports--what's to stop Gray from spinning up an OTA RSN on Channel 17.2 and other stations' HD subchannels, and also getting cablecos to carry it as well?

FWIW:

List of stations owned or operated by Gray Television - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

This image shows what geographies are owned by the local MLB teams.

Major League Baseball blackout policy - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The Braves have all of Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, and the western half of North Carolina. Gray has stations in most of the major markets in these states (the big omissions from a cursory review are Chattanooga and Asheville).

Gray has network affiliates on subchannels and LPTV channels in many of these markets, including some major network (ABC/CBS/NBC/Fox) affiliates.