RANT Sports – Many fans of Major League Baseball, NBA basketball, and NHL hockey have been curious about the future of their home team broadcasts amidst the MLB, NBA, and NHL monitoring the tumultuous bankruptcy of Diamond Sports Group, the parent company of Bally’s Sports regional networks. Through a series of complex agreements, the new regional networks will be operated by FanDuel Sports and will partner with Amazon Prime Video.
What teams are involved?
As of today, the Tampa Bay Rays and Detroit Tigers have renewed their agreements with the company. They join the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, and St. Louis Cardinals. The Kansas City Royals remain the only team currently negotiating with the network about their future plans.
Here are the 16 FanDuel Sports Network affiliates and the teams whose broadcasting rights could be affected by the move:
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- FanDuel Sports Network Detroit: Detroit Tigers, Detroit Pistons, Detroit Red Wings
- FanDuel Sports Network Florida: Miami Marlins, Orlando Magic
- FanDuel Sports Network Great Lakes: Cleveland Guardians*
- FanDuel Sports Network Kansas City: Kansas City Royals
- FanDuel Sports Network Indiana: Indiana Pacers, Indiana Fever
- FanDuel Sports Network Midwest: St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Blues
- FanDuel Sports Network North: Minnesota Twins*, Minnesota Timberwolves, Minnesota Wild, Minnesota Lynx
- FanDuel Sports Network Ohio: Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Cavaliers, Columbus Blue Jackets
- FanDuel Sports Network Oklahoma: Oklahoma City Thunder
- FanDuel Sports Network SoCal: Los Angeles Clippers
- FanDuel Sports Network South: Atlanta Braves, Carolina Hurricanes, Nashville Predators, Atlanta Dream
- FanDuel Sports Network Southeast: Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Memphis Grizzlies, Nashville Predators, Atlanta Dream
- FanDuel Sports Network Southwest: Texas Rangers*, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Wings
- FanDuel Sports Network Sun: Miami Heat, Tampa Bay Rays, Tampa Bay Lightning
- FanDuel Sports Network West – LA Angeles, LA Kings
- FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin: Milwaukee Brewers*, Milwaukee Bucks
What the deal means to Amazon Prime Video and cord cutters
The agreement will enable Prime members and Prime Video subscribers across nearly two dozen regional sports markets to buy a standalone subscription to FanDuel Sports Network, formerly known as Bally Sports. This deal allows Amazon to integrate and offer the streaming version of FanDuel Sports Network, which streamers previously accessed as Bally Sports Plus. However, customers residing in regions without a local FanDuel Sports Network channel will not have the option to subscribe through Prime Video Channels. Nevertheless, they can still access live sports programming from the network by purchasing sports packages for out-of-market games, such as MLB.TV, NBA League Pass, and ESPN Plus.
“Collaborating with FanDuel provides a tremendous pathway for Diamond to elevate the fan experience and deepen the incremental value we provide for our team, league and distribution partners,” Diamond Sports Group CEO David Preschlack said in a statement. “This partnership reinforces opportunities to further strengthen the close connection our RSNs have with local fans, including enhancing our (direct-to-consumer) offering for a growing digital audience. In the meantime, having finalized agreements with the NBA, NHL and our key distributors, we remain focused on moving our business forward and driving value for our team partners and our stakeholders.”
Netflix Tyson vs Paul Fight was a winner for Netflix
The bout between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson was more akin to a television spectacle than a conventional boxing match, with Paul emerging victorious by split decision against an opponent 31 years his elder. While it may not have rivaled the iconic Ali versus Foreman bout, Netflix’s promotion of the event was noteworthy, effectively branding it as must-see entertainment for both casual viewers and the nearly 80,000 live spectators at the AT&T Stadium in the Dallas area.
The Women stole the show
While the undercard was mostly entertaining, it was the co-main event that captured attention, featuring Matchroom’s undisputed super lightweight world champion Katie Taylor (23-1, 6 KOs) defending her title against unified featherweight world champion Amanda “The Real Deal” Serrano (47-2-1, 31 KOs). It proved to be one of the year’s most thrilling fights, with both women going toe-to-toe for 10 rounds. Taylor’s three headbutts caused Serrano to bleed profusely, reminiscent of a scene from Rocky. Ultimately, Taylor emerged victorious in a split decision, amidst boos from many of the approximately 80,000 spectators at Cowboys Stadium in Dallas.
It was a worldwide success for Netflix
Netflix announced that the event drew an impressive 60 million households worldwide to watch the fight card live from Dallas. During the main event, viewership peaked at 65 million concurrent streams, competing with major traditional sports broadcasts. Additionally, with over 292 million subscribers globally, Netflix stands as the largest streaming platform and the most recognized.
The Paul versus Tyson bout highlights the increasing influence of streaming services in drawing substantial audiences for live sports events. The NFL’s partnership with Netflix, calls for a Christmas Day doubleheader this season, and don’t be surprised if other major leagues like the NBA, MLB and F1 to name a few don’t look to Netflix as real player in live event streaming.
Good production but there were some buffering issues
First let’s address the buffering issues, X blew up with fans having buffering issues at some point during the fight. I watched it on my phone and was lucky, I had now issues, but when over 60 million people are streaming one event at the same time worldwide there is going to be buffering issues and while it is no help to those who missed the fight that is something that Netflix can fix.
Regarding the broadcast team, it was exceptional, with Mauro Ranallo delivering excellent play-by-play commentary alongside Roy Jones Jr. and actress Rosie Perez as ringside analysts. Although initially skeptical about Perez, she proved to be a very solid analyst. The main desk in between bouts was managed by former CBS soccer anchor Kate Scott, who did a fantastic job of progressing the show smoothly while accommodating numerous guests throughout the evening.
