ATLANTA — The Atlanta Braves won't be available starting Wednesday on one of the largest carriers of their games amid a dispute between Comcast, which owns the Xfinity cable service, and the parent company of Bally Sports, the channel that broadcasts the Braves.
In a statement on X, the Braves account directed impacted fans to listen to Braves radio broadcasts on 680 The Fan's website. Those broadcasts are also available on the 680 The Fan app
"A carriage dispute between Comcast and Diamond Sports Group is impacting several Major League Baseball teams including the #Braves," the team's post said. "As a result, Comcast customers are currently unable to watch our games. Customers using other cable providers or streaming services are not impacted. Fans can listen to the game live on http://680thefan.com."
It's unclear how long the dispute may last.
A message appeared Wednesday morning for Xfinity customers on the channel for Bally Spots stating that Bally's owner, Diamond Sports, "is in bankruptcy proceedings, and we have offered them multiple options to continue carrying their networks."
"They have declined each one, and we no longer have the rights to continue carrying their content," the message stated. It added that customers will be offered monthly credits in lieu of carrying Bally Sports.
Diamond Sports, in a statement reported by Puck sports business reporter John Ourand, countered by saying it was "disappointing that Comcast rejected a proposed extension that would have kept our channels on the air and that Comcast indicated that it intends to pull the signals, preventing fans from watching their favorite local teams."
"Comcast has refused to engage in substantive discussions despite Diamond offering terms similar to those reached with much larger distributors of ours. We are a fans-first company and will continue to seek an agreement with Comcast to restore broadcasts, and at this critical juncture for Diamond, we hope that Comcast will recognize the important and mutually beneficial role Diamond and RSNs play in the media ecosystem," the statement said.
It takes the Braves off one of the major providers that carries Bally Sports. The channel is still available on DirecTV and can be streamed on the DirecTV service called DirecTV Stream. It's also available for streaming with Fubo TV. Bally Sports is not available on other streaming services including Hulu + Live TV and YouTube TV.
Other teams broadcast on Bally channels are in the same boat as the Braves -- on Tuesday night the Minnesota Twins issued a statement saying they were "disappointed by this massive disruption for our fans who simply want to watch our games." The team called it a "business negotiation between Comcast and Bally's" with which the Twins "have no role or voice in this matter."
Back in 2020, the Braves and Hawks stopped being available on Hulu's live TV streaming service when the predecessor to Bally, the Fox Sports regional networks, couldn't come to a deal with the streaming service.
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