Dallas Mavericks Could Go to Over-The-Air Channels After Bally Sports Deal is Up
Mavs owner mark Cuban told the Dallas Morning News that he would make the team available to watch and stream ‘for free right now’ if he could.
As cord cutting users scrambled to find new alternatives for watching their chosen NBA or NHL team last week, Bally Sports+ was in chaos. The streamer endured multiple crashes last week, leaving some fans whose team is broadcast on a Bally Sports channel with no way to stream their favorite squad’s game.
- Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban acknowledged Bally Sports+ outage in an interview with the Dallas Morning News.
- Cuban said all options are on the table for the team’s next local broadcasting partner, including over-the-air (OTA) broadcast channels.
- The Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz are two NBA teams that have already left regional sports networks (RSNs) in favor of OTA channels.
Are the Mavericks the Next Team to Leave Regional Sports Networks?
The Bally Sports+ outages from last week prevented some Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars fans from seeing their team play. though games were presented uninterrupted on Bally Sports Southwest. Mavs owner Mark Cuban spoke to the Dallas Morning News about the outage, and about the ongoing challenges of partnering with a broadcaster like Diamond Sports Group (Bally Sports Southwest’s parent company), who has been in bankruptcy protection since March but has yet to produce a debt restructuring plan.
“We obviously want as many Mavs fans to be able to watch our games,” Cuban said. “Nobody wants to limit distribution. If we could, we’d make the streams available for free and make the broadcast available for free right now, but we can’t, we have a contract.”
That contract runs through the end of the 2024-25 season, but it may not last that long. As part of the contract, the NBA is allowed to remove all 15 of the teams currently on Bally Sports channels if it doesn’t get full rights payments on time from Diamond Sports Group (DSG). Diamond has asked the NBA to take 20% less for its broadcast rights this season as it continues to sort out its obligations and debt reduction plans.
What Are the Options for the Mavericks if They Depart Bally Sports Southwest?
If the Mavs’ broadcast rights revert back to the team this season, there are several options available. The best way to ensure high distribution of the team is to make it available on broadcast channels; the Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz both pulled away from an RSN before the 2023 season in favor of a combination of games broadcast on OTA channels and also available on in-market streaming platforms.
The NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights have seen significantly higher ratings in their first season on the broadcast after leaving an RSN, and the Mavericks play in the fifth-largest TV market in the United States. A move to broadcast channels seems like the perfect play for this team, especially as its owner seems to value distribution more highly than milking the team’s broadcast rights for all they’re worth.
Once the 2024-25 season ends, however, things could change in a big way for the Mavs and every other NBA squad. The league may decide to sell its local broadcasting rights as one bundle to a streaming service, and Disney, Apple and Amazon have all reportedly expressed interest if DSG topples and is unable to offer games for the entirety of the 2023-24 season.
For now, all fans can do is watch and hope that Bally Sports+ doesn’t experience any more major outages in the next few months. If it does, users will be subjected to the anxieties of not knowing where they’ll be able to watch the Dallas Mavericks and other teams covered by the service, and owners will be forced to answer questions about their teams’ next broadcast partner once again.
Bally Sports+
Bally Sports+ is a direct-to-consumer streaming service that offers live games for those who want access to your local Bally Sports RSN without subscribing to a cable or satellite package.