While 15 different Bally Sports regional sports channels, including Bally Sports North, were abruptly dropped from Comcast subscriptions Tuesday night, parent company Diamond Sports Group announced an extension to its deal with DirecTV. Probably not the news Comcast customers cared to hear.
“We are pleased to announce that we have just reached a multi-year distribution agreement with DirecTV to continue the carriage of Bally Sports,” BallySportsHelp posted on Twitter.
“Combined with the recently announced multi-year renewals with Charter and Cox Communications, customers will have continued access to live, local MLB, NBA and NHL games and team related content.”
We are pleased to announce that we have just reached a multi-year distribution agreement with DirecTV to continue the carriage of Bally Sports. Combined with the recently announced multi-year renewals with Charter and Cox Communications, customers will have continued access to…
— FanDuel Sports Network Help (@FanDuelSN_Help) May 1, 2024
Comcast customers, meanwhile, were officially in the dark, greeted with a “Bally Sports is no longer available” loading screen. That included Twins fans who were hoping to catch Wednesday afternoon’s game against the Chicago White Sox.
Not the ideal time for any Twins fans to be unable to watch their team, which beat the White Sox Wednesday for their 10th straight victory — their longest streak since 2008.
The Twins issued a statement about the situation on Wednesday, voicing their “disappointment” in the situation, but said they have “no voice in this matter.”
“The Twins are disappointed by this massive disruption for our fans who simply want to watch our games,” the team said. “This situation is a business negotiation between Comcast and Bally. The Twins have no role or voice in this matter. We are hopeful the two parties are able to come to an agreement as soon as possible.”
Timberwolves, Lynx and Wild fans are also impacted by the Comcast blackout, but they can still catch games on the Bally Sports+ app, which costs $19.99 a month. Twins games, however, are not included in this service.
Options for Twins fans to watch Bally Sports North are now even more limited. Charter, DirecTV and Fubo are the remaining options that continue to carry the network.
