Summer technically starts on June 21. So we have a few more months to go for this one. Which also means that the MLB Lockout isn’t the entire reason why this service was pushed back. The other reason is likely content. According to the Kansas City Star, Sinclair has signed up five MLB teams for its new Bally Sports service – the Kansas City Royals, Tampa Bay Rays, Milwaukee Brewers, Miami Marlins, and Detroit Tigers. And this comes pretty soon after there was talk of the Chicago Cubs looking for a DTC (Direct-to-Consumer) streaming partner, and likely going with Sinclair. However 5 of 30 MLB franchises, is a pretty small number. Which will make it tough for Sinclair to justify the nearly $20/month price of its service.
Only way for cord-cutters to watch these teams
If you’re a fan of the the Kansas City Royals, Tampa Bay Rays, Milwaukee Brewers, Miami Marlins, and Detroit Tigers, then you’re only way to watch your team is with the new Bally Sports streaming service, or with DirecTV Stream – unless you did not cut the cord. This is because Sinclair removed its Bally Sports channels from YouTube TV, Hulu and FuboTV after their contracts ended. Remember, that Sinclair got these regional sports networks from Disney, after it bought Fox and had to divest the sports channels due to it already owning ESPN. So in a way, this is Disney’s fault. But Sinclair bought them in hopes of making its own streaming service around these sports networks. Which have less than half of the US teams across the major sports – NHL, NBA, MLB, and the NFL. And it’s going to be expensive, with reports showing around $20/month just for Sinclair to break even. So it likely won’t be a service that sticks around for very long, due to the lack of sports it’ll have.
