How to watch Detroit Tigers games on Bally Sports during Comcast Xfinity outage
The Detroit Tigers wrapped up another series victory on Wednesday at Comerica Park, beating the St. Louis Cardinals for the second straight time with right-hander Kenta Maeda on the mound.
MORE: Watch Detroit Tigers games with Bally Sports during Xfinity outage with Fubo
But fans with Xfinity as their cable provider who were looking to tune into the Bally Sports Detroit broadcast led by play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti on Wednesday afternoon were out of luck. That's because the channel is now under an area blackout because Diamond Sports and Comcast could not reach a new carrier agreement before midnight last night.
"We are disappointed in the stalled negotiation between Bally Sports Detroit and Comcast, and the inconvenience it may cause for Tigers fans," the Tigers said in a statement Wednesday to the Detroit Free Press. "Fans who subscribe to other cable companies are unaffected. Those who are impacted can continue to watch Tigers games on the Bally Sports+ app, DirecTV, Fubo, and MLB.tv. The Tigers have no voice in this matter but are hopeful the two sides will come to an agreement as soon as possible."
Here's what you need to know on how to watch this afternoon's Tigers vs. Cardinals game along with other local Detroit sports:
REQUIRED READING: Xfinity drops Bally Sports Detroit: How you can still watch Detroit Tigers games
Comcast Xfinity-Bally Sports outage
As aforementioned, Comcast and Diamond Sports Group were unable to come to an agreement by its deadline of Midnight on Wednesday for the TV network to continue carrying games. Bally Sports Detroit, along with the other Bally Sports regional channels, was removed from Xfinity as it doesn't have the rights to carry the network any longer.
“We have been very flexible with Diamond Sports Group for months as they work through their bankruptcy proceedings, providing them with an extension on the Bally Sports Regional Networks last fall and a unilateral right to extend the term for another year, which they opted to not exercise,” Comcast said in a statement. “We’d like to continue carrying their networks, but they have declined multiple offers and now we no longer have the rights to this programming. We will proactively credit our customers for the costs associated with them — most will automatically receive $8 to 10 per month in credits.”
Last year when a similar blackout happened between the MLB and Diamond Sports Group, Major League Baseball took control of the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondback's broadcasts after Diamond Sports was unable to "make its required payment to the club earlier this month" per USA Today. The league broadcasted produced these games themselves using MLB Network and its own entities. It remains unseen if the league will intervene once again after Wednesday's development. Major League baseball has not yet released a statement.
Here's a full list of MLB teams who are under the Bally Sports regional network who were affected by this Wednesday:
Detroit Tigers
Miami Marlins
Cleveland Guardians
Kansas City Royals
St. Louis Cardinals
Minnesota Twins
Cincinnati Reds
Los Angeles Angles
Atlanta Braves
Texas Rangers
Tampa Bay Rays
Milwaukee Brewers
How to watch Tigers baseball during Bally Sports, Comcast blackout?
TV channel: DirecTV
Streaming: Bally Sports+ app | Fubo (free trial) | MLB.tv (out of market)
There are several ways to still watch the Tigers, along with other local Detroit teams, during this blackout between Diamond Sports and Comcast. Games on Bally Sports Detroit will still be broadcast on DirecTV (channel 663).
As previously noted by the Detroit Free Press, Bally Sports Detroit is able to be streamed in-market on the Bally Sports+ app as it is one of few Diamond Sports regional channels that allows in-market streaming. You can also stream Tigers games on Fubo, which provides a free trial to select users, along with MLB.tv for out-of-market fans.
How to download Bally Sports app
As noted by the Tigers website, Bally Sports+ can be accessed through multiple ways. You can watch it on BallySports.com, Amazon Fire, Android TV, Apple TV, Roku, Samsung TV’s and mobile/tablet devices (iOS and Android).
Here's step-by-step instructions on how to download the Bally Sports+ app on an Apple/iOS device or tablet:
Open the App Store
Select Search and enter "Bally Sports"
Select the Bally Sports app
To begin downloading, select Get and enter the password for your Apple ID, if requested
Register account, subscribe, watch
Click here to view instructions on how to download BallySports + on other platforms.
Bally Sports bankruptcy update
Diamond Sports Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy back in March of 2023, which created the first wave of blackouts across MLB markets that had broadcasting rights with Bally Sports regional networks.
Since then, the situation has continued to develop as networks and other leagues that the Bally Sports regional networks serve — most notably the NBA and NHL — have experienced similar developments. Earlier this year, the NBA and DSG had its one-year agreement approved by a federal bankruptcy judge to allow the Bally Sports regional networks to broadcast the 2023-24 NBA season before returning the TV rights back to the NBA after this season.
As noted in an article from Barrett Sports Media on Wednesday, Xfinity dropping Bally Sports comes two weeks after "a bankruptcy judge had approved a disclosure statement with $450 million of debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing, $350 million of which is allocated to pay its first-lien debt holders." It also mentioned that Amazon — which already produces Thursday Night Football during the NFL season on Amazon Prime — is prepared to invest $100 million into Diamond Sports Group as part of the restructuring of DSG by becoming the primary streaming partner for the company. That has not been approved by the bankruptcy court.
Also noted in that same article, it mentioned that Diamond Sports Group came to terms on a multi-year carriage renewal with DirecTV on Monday afternoon.
Detroit Tigers schedule: TV, times, dates
Here's the Tigers schedule through Sunday, May 5. Click here to view the Tigers full 2024 schedule.
Wednesday, May 1: Tigers vs. St. Louis Cardinals | 1:10 p.m. ET | Bally Sports Detroit | Fubo (free trial)
Friday, May 3: Tigers at New York Yankees | 7:05 p.m. ET | Bally Sports Detroit | Fubo (free trial)
Saturday, May 4: Tigers at New York Yankees | 1:05 p.m. ET | Bally Sports Detroit | Fubo (free trial)
Sunday, May 5: Tigers at New York Yankees | 1:35 p.m. ET | Bally Sports Detroit | Fubo (free trial)
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Xfinity-Bally Sports outage: How to watch Tigers games during blackout
