You may be limited to certain online streaming options – or, listening to games here on WGIL – if you follow the St. Louis Cardinals in the Galesburg area.
An e-mail to customers of Comcast’s Xfinity cable sent Wednesday morning that the Bally Sports regional networks are no longer a part of their channel lineup.
“This means we no longer have the rights to carry their channels, including your local Bally Sports network,” said the e-mail.
Cardinals games are aired exclusively by Bally Sports Midwest, except in instances when they’re nationally televised by Fox Sports or ESPN.
Bally Sports is owned by Diamond Sports Group, a consortium of TV station owners Sinclair Broadcast Group and Allen Media Group. Bally has the naming rights to the network under a ten-year contract.
“We know that unexpected changes to your channel lineup can be frustrating,” said the e-mail to Xfinity customers. “We’ve been flexible with Diamond Sports Group, who is in bankruptcy proceedings, but have been unable to reach an agreement that’s fair for our customers.”
We have reached out to Bally Sports for further comment, but have not yet received a response.
According to a channel lineup list for Mediacom cable for Abingdon and other local areas, Bally Sports is also not available on that provider.
As for Xfinity customers, “The loss of this channel will result in savings that we’ll pass along to you, and you’ll see a monthly credit on your bill in the coming weeks,” said the e-mail.
WGIL News received this statement from Comcast: “We have been very flexible with Diamond Sports Group for months as they work through their bankruptcy proceedings, providing them with an extension on the Bally Sports Regional Networks last fall and a unilateral right to extend the term for another year, which they opted to not exercise. We’d like to continue carrying their networks, but they have declined multiple offers and now we no longer have the rights to this programming. We will proactively credit our customers for the costs associated with them – most will automatically receive $8 to 10 per month in credits.”
