Sinclair bankruptcy

[VivaBomboRivera!]

Just announced 

https://www.wsj.com/articles/sinclair-sports-unit-files-bankruptcy-to-restructure-broadcast-deals-and-8-billion-debt-14677f8b

[Parfigliano]

Im guessing more then a few teams boatloads of TV money are going to get torpedoed.

[VivaBomboRivera!]

Outlook from The Athletic

[TaterTot]

So where will we watch the twins this year?

[Trov]

Just now, TaterTot said:

So where will we watch the twins this year?

There is still a lot of unknown for that.  There are many options.  One, Balley pays the teams but not their loans and keep showing games retaining rights.  Two, bankruptcy court does not allow the teams to back out of contracts when they are not paid and games are still shown by Balley.  Three, the Twins are able to back out of contract with Balley and sell their rights to highest bidder. Four, the Twins back out of contract and do not have anyone step up and MLB allows fans to stream on their app because there would be no blackout due to no local broadcast rights.  Manfred said that is the last option at this point, but did say they would do that at minimum.  I am sure it will require some level of subscription cost however.  

[chpettit19]

22 minutes ago, Trov said:

There is still a lot of unknown for that.  There are many options.  One, Balley pays the teams but not their loans and keep showing games retaining rights.  Two, bankruptcy court does not allow the teams to back out of contracts when they are not paid and games are still shown by Balley.  Three, the Twins are able to back out of contract with Balley and sell their rights to highest bidder. Four, the Twins back out of contract and do not have anyone step up and MLB allows fans to stream on their app because there would be no blackout due to no local broadcast rights.  Manfred said that is the last option at this point, but did say they would do that at minimum.  I am sure it will require some level of subscription cost however.  

27 minutes ago, TaterTot said:

So where will we watch the twins this year?

For what it's worth, Manfred said that if they miss payments the teams will terminate their contracts and MLB will produce and distribute the games themselves.

[AceWrigley]

1 hour ago, chpettit19 said:

For what it's worth, Manfred said that if they miss payments the teams will terminate their contracts and MLB will produce and distribute the games themselves.

Also, didn't they mention that games could be viewed for free, at least for awhile.

[Bodie]

2 hours ago, TaterTot said:

So where will we watch the twins this year?

From what I have read (and some of it seems contradictory) the Twins games will be available. At worst, they will be streamed "free" via the MLB app.  

I haven't seen if you'll still have to pay the normal fees for said MLB app, or if a/the free version/level to get the "free" Twins stream.  From my  (limited) reading on the subject it sounds like it would actually  be free, MLB app (or some version of it) included.  This would cover all teams with a regional Bally network.

As an added bonus there would be no regional blackouts in this scenario, and MLB has promised repeatedly (or has been repeatedly quoted) as saying that the local announcer  and commentators will be retained.

The preferred option is for MLB to "supervise" each of the networks through the season, but that depends on how the bankruptcy court handles the question of Bally's assets.

Long answer short, we will be able to get the Twins games this year (reportedly) for no additional costs.  Where (TV, internet, smoke signals or whatever) still is unknown and until the bankruptcy court starts making decisions, unknowable.

[Puckett34]

17 minutes ago, Bodie said:

From what I have read (and some of it seems contradictory) the Twins games will be available. At worst, they will be streamed "free" via the MLB app.  

I haven't seen if you'll still have to pay the normal fees for said MLB app, or if a/the free version/level to get the "free" Twins stream.  From my  (limited) reading on the subject it sounds like it would actually  be free, MLB app (or some version of it) included.  This would cover all teams with a regional Bally network.

As an added bonus there would be no regional blackouts in this scenario, and MLB has promised repeatedly (or has been repeatedly quoted) as saying that the local announcer  and commentators will be retained.

The preferred option is for MLB to "supervise" each of the networks through the season, but that depends on how the bankruptcy court handles the question of Bally's assets.

Long answer short, we will be able to get the Twins games this year (reportedly) for no additional costs.  Where (TV, internet, smoke signals or whatever) still is unknown and until the bankruptcy court starts making decisions, unknowable.

This is my layman's understanding of the situation as well.

[nicksaviking]

This is the chance baseball viewers have been waiting for. Knock on wood MLB takes this silver lining, puts a great product on the field, markets the hell out of the star players and the fans tune in like never before. No more Ballys, or FSNs or other kind of RSN crap with arcane broadcasting rules and hard to find broadcasts. If MLB doesn't want to take the reigns of broadcasting long term (though they should consider it), at least make this game attractive enough for Amazon or Hulu or someone to buy up everything, or at least everything not covered by teams with alternative broadcasting partners, and make an individual broadcaster a one-stop-shop, fees already included, destination for MLB games.

[chpettit19]

4 hours ago, AceWrigley said:

Also, didn't they mention that games could be viewed for free, at least for awhile.

I don't remember the exact details of it all, but I do believe if they take over they're going to show the games free, and without blackout restrictions for some amount of time. Which they should.

[Major League Ready]

2 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

This is the chance baseball viewers have been waiting for. Knock on wood MLB takes this silver lining, puts a great product on the field, markets the hell out of the star players and the fans tune in like never before. No more Ballys, or FSNs or other kind of RSN crap with arcane broadcasting rules and hard to find broadcasts. If MLB doesn't want to take the reigns of broadcasting long term (though they should consider it), at least make this game attractive enough for Amazon or Hulu or someone to buy up everything, or at least everything not covered by teams with alternative broadcasting partners, and make an individual broadcaster a one-stop-shop, fees already included, destination for MLB games.

Well said.   This is an opportunity to get from under a model that is outdated and take full advantage of new platforms while getting rid of the black-out rules.

[flpmagikat]

This is weirdly(and sadly) the thing that has me most excited about watching baseball in years!

[USAFChief]

22 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

This is the chance baseball viewers have been waiting for. Knock on wood MLB takes this silver lining, puts a great product on the field, markets the hell out of the star players and the fans tune in like never before. No more Ballys, or FSNs or other kind of RSN crap with arcane broadcasting rules and hard to find broadcasts. If MLB doesn't want to take the reigns of broadcasting long term (though they should consider it), at least make this game attractive enough for Amazon or Hulu or someone to buy up everything, or at least everything not covered by teams with alternative broadcasting partners, and make an individual broadcaster a one-stop-shop, fees already included, destination for MLB games.

I don't want any flipping streaming service as the only option. Things were just fine when we had a sensible cable or satellite delivery system. 

 

All the cord cutters are 100 percent responsible for the current mess. Happy?

[nicksaviking]

12 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

I don't want any flipping streaming service as the only option. Things were just fine when we had a sensible cable or satellite delivery system. 

 

All the cord cutters are 100 percent responsible for the current mess. Happy?

No. I didn't want to cord cut either. Everyone said how much cheaper and easier it would be and it was a big fat lie. I held out longer than most, but the cable bill was expensive compared to the two original streaming services the wife thought we needed, and it's too late now, you can't go back once you cut. But really, cable and satellite stopped being sensible over a decade ago. Streaming wouldn't have caught on if they all hadn't started jacking up their prices to unaffordable levels.

In the end, I've got a wife and kids who help decide what services we get, so it's going to be a hell of a lot better for people with families to watch on a service that you can realistically sell the wife and kids on as opposed to something nobody else gives a damn about, like Bally's or FSN.

Satellite and cable are on their last legs though. It might have been more convenient, but it's nearly done. So MLB better not be making broadcast decisions based on what is now a niche market in it's waning years that will be crushingly devastating for the sport in the future. 

[NotAboutWinning]

Change is the only constant… embrace it or spend a lot of time and energy being frustrated.

[VivaBomboRivera!]

As someone for whom streaming is the only option, I can say that it is quite painless, and blissfully commercial-free.

[Brock Beauchamp]

8 hours ago, USAFChief said:

I don't want any flipping streaming service as the only option. Things were just fine when we had a sensible cable or satellite delivery system. 

All the cord cutters are 100 percent responsible for the current mess. Happy?

Actually, yes. I have no interest in spending literally $100 a month for a product I use to watch baseball and literally NOTHING else. 

[Byrdman]

Literally the best thing to happen to baseball.  Just get rid of blackouts and make it easy for people to stream the games.  I am so happy for this and we can finally get rid of direct TV.  The family had it for football and baseball.  Pretty crazy they lose both in the same year, it is good bye ugly satellite.  Now i can watch baseball everywhere again on my phone, home and work etc.

[TaterTot]

Hopefully they give us some news about where to watch this season soon-opening day is rapidly approaching.

[Twodogs]

8 minutes ago, TaterTot said:

Hopefully they give us some news about where to watch this season soon-opening day is rapidly approaching.

Victory sports one.

 

🤣

[USAFChief]

1 hour ago, Byrdman said:

Literally the best thing to happen to baseball.  Just get rid of blackouts and make it easy for people to stream the games.  I am so happy for this and we can finally get rid of direct TV.  The family had it for football and baseball.  Pretty crazy they lose both in the same year, it is good bye ugly satellite.  Now i can watch baseball everywhere again on my phone, home and work etc.

You're going to be disappointed.

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

7 minutes ago, USAFChief said:

You're going to be disappointed.

Disappointed when he ends up not watching, or disappointed when he does watch? 🙂

[USAFChief]

9 minutes ago, Hosken Bombo Disco said:

Disappointed when he ends up not watching, or disappointed when he does watch? 🙂

Yes.

[Steve Lein]

22 hours ago, USAFChief said:

I don't want any flipping streaming service as the only option. Things were just fine when we had a sensible cable or satellite delivery system. 

 

All the cord cutters are 100 percent responsible for the current mess. Happy?

But they haven't been sensible for at least a decade at this point...

When I "cut the cord," my cable bill was like $250, and I literally watched, at most, 5 channels of their 200+ (because that was the package you needed to get FSN). Basically the only thing I was paying for was to watch Twins games, and that's ludicrous.

My bill for the month now is over $100 lower than it used to be, and I'm fine with that tradeoff to not watch games on my TV. (Advice: Find the betting websites on your phone instead, they're free...)

[Puckett34]

23 hours ago, USAFChief said:

I don't want any flipping streaming service as the only option. Things were just fine when we had a sensible cable or satellite delivery system. 

 

All the cord cutters are 100 percent responsible for the current mess. Happy?

As a cord cutter, yes I am happy.  I am able to pick and choose the programming I actually utilize without 50-100+ channels of bloat programming that I don't use.

Now I'm not locked in to any two year contract and can go from month to month on anything I want.

OH! And my bill is cheaper too.  So yes, I am happy and the ala cart programming works great for my family.

[CRF]

I would love to be a cord cutter, but I honestly don't have the slightest way how to go about it. I need all the help I can get. Step by step instructions. I'm lost when it comes to this stuff. I currently have Spectrum...and sure, I know they're gouging me. My bill is around $225 per month for land line phone, internet, and tv. My wife and I are both in our mid/upper 60's and each have a boat-load of health issues...we feel we need a land line phone. We do have cell phones, but use Consumer Cellular...we don't live on cell phones like most people do these days. Just basic talk and text, that's it, and not much of either one. We also need home internet service. Lastly, we need tv service. Yep, there are 100+ worthless channels that we don't ever watch, but to get the few we do watch...including the Twins, we have to take a particular tier. I know there are options for local channels with a converter, and we do have a couple of those for use. That doesn't solve the national channels that we want, or the Twins games. I feel like we're kinda stuck between a rock and a hard place, with no real good options. Spectrum is the only cable game in town in our area. I'd love some suggestions as to what to do. 

[Squirrel]

I still use cable. It's part of my assessments, so, I don't have a choice. However, my building gets a group rate, so, it's way less expensive than if I were a single user.

[August J Gloop]

It makes literally zero sense to me how any fan of baseball wouldn't prefer the mlb.tv experience (in the halcyon no blackouts future we imagine here) to cable. It's like an 1/8 of the price for a season, you can get it on any screen you want and it's got rich data detail right on the broadcast. 

I'm hoping that the rsn failure triggers Apple to do the same thing they've got for MLS. That seems like a very reasonable price and availability.

[Trov]

For all the people thinking they will get to watch games for free or cheap for extended period of time, I highly doubt that will happen.  It may be free for a period to see how things shake out, but if streaming is their only option, unless they also have ads in between innings, teams will be losing out on a lot of money.  So the only way to make up that money is by making the viewers watch it.  Right now for a single team it is $130 for the season.  With blackouts currently in place, only fans living outside the blackout area would be purchasing that for the team they want.  

Maybe, with removing the blackout areas because more people would pay for single team, they would not raise the prices much, but remember, if the only way to watch your team is to pay what they set it at, there is no reason to doubt the price will go up and up.  You will have no choice but to watch at their price.  Many on here expect it be cheap, I think it will be very expensive.  Sure, if you only paid for cable for Twins games then sure it will be cheaper, but remember you will be paying minimum 130 a year for just the games.  When you break it down per game it is not bad price, less than a dollar a game. 

I still think the price will shoot up once MLB has all the rights.