Disruptions in Local Sports Media: The Impact of Expiring Carriage Agreements on Comcast Subscribers

Comcast subscribers who are baseball fans have been impacted by recent changes in carriage agreements. The agreement between Comcast and Diamond Sports Group, which owns 18 regional sports networks, expired this week. As a result, Comcast customers in more than a dozen markets were unable to watch their local Major League Baseball teams on TV.

With the rise of streaming services, consumers now have more options and can choose to purchase only what they want instead of a whole bundle. This has disrupted the traditional local sports media business model where sports teams sold their rights to regional sports networks who then sold carriage rights to cable companies. Some fans have resorted to pirating games as a result of these changes.

However, some sports teams have started selling their rights to local broadcasting affiliates rather than regional sports networks. This allows fans to access games through cable or even with a basic antenna, providing free access to a broader audience. This shift towards local broadcasting affiliates is reminiscent of how sports were watched in the ’70s and ’80s.

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