In a world with multiplying streaming and live sports viewing options, somehow baseball fans feel increasingly frustrated with the constant hurdles they must jump just to watch their favorite team. Atlanta Braves fans are no different, and some news from late last night will make fans feel like they are Olympic 400m hurdles gold medalists.
Thanks to the recent failure by Comcast and Diamond Sports Group to reach an extension regarding broadcast rights, Bally Sports is being removed for Comcast/Xfinity cable consumers. That means Major League Baseball has a major cable provider completely going dark on the Bally Sports company that grows in difficulty to deal with. Braves fans won't be the only sports franchise feeling the effects, as several teams that across the four major sports will suffer the same fate with their Xfinity customers.
A carriage dispute between Comcast and Diamond Sports Group is impacting several Major League Baseball teams including the #Braves. As a result, Comcast customers are currently unable to watch our games. Customers using other cable providers or streaming services are not…
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) May 1, 2024
Comcast will not be casting Braves baseball
There is a bit of irony for a cable provider big enough to have a giant Xfinity building peering over Truist Park to now be removing the ability to watch Braves baseball to their customers. It's just the latest headache for companies that have tried to negotiate with a Diamond Sports company in the midst of bankruptcy.
The response from Diamond Sports can be seen in this X post/tweet from John Ourand. As you can see from reading, it seems to be more of the typical Diamond Sports jargon as they promise they are a customer-first company. The result is a sad day for baseball fans and Xfinity customers who get darkness when they attempt to watch their favorite team.
Well, this is going to be rather inconvenient. pic.twitter.com/nVB4cer8hb
— Grant McAuley (@grantmcauley) May 1, 2024
How to watch the Braves without Comcast
As of this moment the only providers/streaming services that carries Bally Sports are AT&T U-verse, Cox, DirecTV, DIRECTV STREAM, FuboTV, and Spectrum. Out-of-market fans can turn to MLB TV, but we realize that doesn't help many of you.
One of the best alternatives for Xfinity customers is going to come in the form of a FuboTV subscription. Right now FuboTV is offering a free trial for new customers with this link, and their monthly plan starts at $79.99 a month. They offer multiple local and regional channels that will allow fans to watch live sports, news, and most importantly Braves baseball at a much lower cost compared to other cable packages.
How does this change my viewing of future Braves baseball?
Before the season, we broke down all the options for watching Braves baseball in 2024. Now, with this latest news fans are probably eager for an alternative. Teams like the Arizona Diamondbacks were ahead of the curve in the offseason when they offered their fans a $99 yearly subscription to watch all of their games on DBACKS.TV that doesn't come with blackouts!
Maybe something like that is available down the road for Braves Country. It doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility for Liberty Media to launch its own version, although there hasn't been any official word released. Instead, Braves fans have to hurdle over another roadblock in their viewing experience and hold out hope that watching baseball games will one day be an easier task.