Posted in: Amazon Studios, Sports, TV | Tagged: amazon, Diamond Sports, MHL, MLB, nba, prime video, Sinclair Broadcasting

Amazon Buying Stake In Diamond Sports – But Don't Celebrate Quite Yet

Prime Video could be the new home for your favorite MLB, NHL & NBA team soon, with Amazon buying a stake in Diamond Sports.

Published Wed, 17 Jan 2024 15:07:08 -0600

by Jeremy Konrad

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Amazon has announced that it will be buying a stake in Diamond Sports, which controls the broadcast rights to more than half the teams in MLB, NHL, and the NBA. Many markets Regional Sports Networks, or RSNs, have been affected by the bankruptcy case from Diamond Sports and their parent company, Sinclair Broadcasting. This is a complicated mess that I will admit I do not fully understand, but this Amazon stake will allow Sinclair to pay a $495 million cash payment to finish its bankruptcy. A lot more on this complicated matter can be found here, but even reading it now, my eyes went crossed, and the only thing that matters to you and me is where we can watch our damn teams.

Amazon Saves Regional Sports Networks?

Many of the teams for those three leagues air their games on regional Bally's Sports networks, which is where Amazon comes in. They will now enter into an agreement that will provide access to Diamond's Bally's channels through Prime Video as a separate purchase for access to their region's games, as well as pre-and post-game shows. This solves a huge problem for cord-cutters, there was not really a way to stream your team games without cable. As an example, I live in Cleveland and love my Guardians baseball. I do not have cable, and the Bally's channel their games air on is not available on any of the streaming services except for Direct TV for some reason. That included not being on the Bally's app itself. If I could just go on Prime Video and pay, let's say $10 a month for baseball, I would stop saying such terrible things about Amazon.

Rumors though have said that at least three MLB teams – the Rangers, Brewers, and of course, my Guardians – might not be included in this. Why they wouldn't be is, again, too complicated. But hopefully, they figure it out for your teams, and mine will get their head out of their ass and join in. Grab that Amazon money and run!

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