How Bally Sports+ Is a Game-Changer for Sports Streaming
There’s finally a way for streaming-only viewers to watch the home team.
As customers look for alternatives to traditional cable and satellite TV packages, getting access to local sports live game broadcasts has been a thorny issue for many cord-cutting sports fans.
Regional sports networks (RSNs) such as Bally Sports have typically not been available to customers outside of cable and satellite TV services. Carriage fees for RSNs are relatively high, and pay TV providers are reluctant to pass these charges on to their customers, especially those that don’t even watch these channels. The result has been a lot of fans not getting to watch their local MLB, NHL or NBA teams’ games.
Bally Sports+, a new standalone subscription streaming service launching September 26, will give millions of previously shut-out fans access to their home teams. The cost is $19.99 per month or $189.99 per year with a seven-day free trial.
Viewers who have been keeping their cable or satellite TV service only because it offered the home teams’ games now have an alternative.
Subscribers will only be able to access the Bally Sports Network in their regional market. For example, a subscriber within the Bally Sports Wisconsin footprint cannot watch out-of-market NBA or NHL games offered by Bally Sports Southeast.
Bally Sports+ is currently available in the Bally Sports Detroit, Bally Sports Florida, Bally Sports Kansas City, Bally Sports Sun and Bally Sports Wisconsin markets, with the remaining RSNs coming onboard in September.
Presently, MLB games are only offered through Bally Sports+ in Detroit, Florida, Kansas City, Wisconsin and Sun regions, with the expectation that more or all markets will have MLB games offered beginning with the 2023 season.
