Baseball fans who are Comcast subscribers have recently experienced changes in their ability to watch games on television as a result of expired carriage agreements. The agreement between Comcast and Diamond Sports Group, which owns 18 regional sports networks, has ended. Due to this, Comcast customers in more than a dozen markets were unable to watch their local Major League Baseball teams on TV.
The traditional business model for local sports media involved sports teams selling their rights to regional sports networks, who then sold carriage rights to cable companies. However, with the rise of streaming services, consumers now have more options and can choose only what they want instead of a whole bundle. Some fans have resorted to pirating games as a result of these changes.
Recently, some sports teams have started selling their rights to local broadcasting affiliates rather than regional sports networks. This allows fans to access games through cable or even with a basic antenna, providing free access to a broader audience. This shift towards local broadcasting affiliates is reminiscent of how sports were watched in the ’70s and ’80s.
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