Bally Sports microphone – Courtesy: Shutterstock – Image by Conor P. Fitzgerald
The regional sports networks in Florida are changing their names. They still have the broadcast rights to two of the three main South Florida teams that they have owned for years, so it looks like they will come out of this uncertain time.
Diamond Sports, the owner of 16 Bally regional networks, including Bally Sports Florida and Bally Sports Sun, signed a commercial sponsorship agreement with FanDuel on Friday. According to U.S. market share, FanDuel is the country’s top sportsbook operator.
Bally Sports Florida will now be known as FanDuel Sports Network Florida, and Bally Sports Sun will now be known as FanDuel Sports Network Sun, as of Monday. Comcast, DirecTV, and other cable and satellite companies will continue to carry their channel numbers. The FanDuel name will be adopted by all 16 Bally networks around the country.
At a court hearing on Friday, MLB outside counsel James Bromley also stated that Diamond intends to retain the Marlins’ rights, following a number of MLB teams terminating their affiliation with Bally and relocating their games.
This implies that Bally Sports Florida (or FanDuel Sports Network Florida) will probably still broadcast Marlins games. Whether the Marlins’ yearly rights fee would decrease from the roughly $50 million it earned from Diamond Sports the previous season was not immediately apparent.
At the beginning of the year, it was unclear if the Florida networks would keep the rights to the Heat, Marlins, and Panthers after Diamond filed for bankruptcy.
As part of a global NBA/Bally agreement with a dozen teams, the Heat chose to remain with Diamond Sports, while the Panthers ultimately decided to move their games to WSFL-Channel 39. Bally Sports Sun (soon to be FanDuel Sports Network Sun) will continue to broadcast Heat games.
And based on the MLB lawyer’s remarks, it seems likely that the Marlins will stick with Bally.
Amazon is no longer a possible investor, according to Diamond, but talks are still ongoing over an agreement that would let Amazon Prime Video broadcast games of clubs like the Heat and Marlins that air on the Bally networks.
If an agreement is reached, Amazon will broadcast the Heat and Marlins games via Bally/FanDuel at a price that is probably comparable to the Bally app, which on Monday will be rebranded as the FanDuel Sports Network app.
Heat and Marlins games will be accessible via the Bally/FanDuel app or the FanDuel networks, which are carried by the majority of major cable operators (YouTube being an exception), regardless of whether an agreement with Amazon is achieved.
The transfer will happen immediately for Bally Sports app customers who have selected automatic updates; if not, they will be reminded to upgrade their app. Subscriptions bought through Bally Sports will continue to be active, and login credentials will not change.
Fans can either sign up directly for FanDuel Sports Network or continue to authenticate through their pay TV provider. Subscriptions for monthly, annual, and season passes are still offered at the same cost as before.
Stories that matter are our priority. At Florida Insider, we make sure that the information we provide our readers is accurate, easy-to-read, and informative. Whether you are interested in business, education, government, history, sports, real estate, nature or travel: we have something for everyone. Follow along for the best stories in the Sunshine State.
Born and raised in South Florida, Krystal is a recent graduate from the University of Miami with professional writing experience at the collegiate and national news outlet levels. She’s a foodie who loves all things travel, the beach, & visiting new places throughout Florida.