Regional sports networks continue to struggle for distribution, but a direct-to-consumer escape hatch looks to be imminent.
Sinclair Broadcast Group CEO Chris Ripley said in an earnings call this week that the company is planning to distribute its RSNs — the former Fox-branded networks now known as Bally Sports — direct-to-consumer during the first half of next year. The Sinclair RSNs are currently in 35 million unduplicated homes, which Ripley said represent “less than half of the total subscribers possible” in the RSNs respective territories.
The direct-to-consumer option would exist alongside — rather than replace — the traditional cable bundle.
Meanwhile, NBCUniversal developed plans this year to distribute its NBC Sports Philadelphia RSN through Peacock, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Peacock option, which would only have been available to subscribers in the Philadelphia market, would have existed alongside the traditional bundle.
The plan fell through because NBCU executives believed it would have driven up the cost of Peacock in the Philadelphia market. Per the Journal, NBCU is now deciding between the Peacock option and selling the RSNs entirely.
One issue that does not seem to be a concern, at least for Sinclair, is obtaining the rights to distribute the networks over-the-top. Ripley said the company has agreements “for the vast majority of [its] teams” and is “in discussions with the leagues and the teams on enhancing some of those rights.” Streaming rights to NBA and NHL games, which are negotiated by the leagues rather than the individual teams, expire at the end of the current seasons.
[News from WSJ 5.6, Sinclair earnings transcript from The Motley Fool 5.5]
