The impending death of Bally Sports

[oblong]

51 minutes ago, Motor City Sonics said:

Three years ago when sports gambling was first legal, I used to bet OVER on NHL games that were 5.5 on goal totals.     I did very well doing that actually, but only bet $10 at a time and would always cash out when it went over $50 and start over again.  I probably won about $400 during that season, but I must have not been the only one doing that because 5.5 was a pretty rare number after that.     I bet $50 on an NFL playoff 5-leg parlay and won and I think I won about $200 or so on that one, but that's the end of it for me.    It takes enjoyment out of the game.  I am trying to unwind while I watch, not get MORE stressed out. 

My friend did the very same thing.  I believe it was the 2022 playoffs. He was puzzled that they were not catching on. He bets $100 a day, usually over 2-3 bets. 

[papalawrence]

14 hours ago, Shinzaki said:

I occasionally watch hockey on ESPN+.  Teams that aren't originating their streams via Fan duel are so much less irritating to watch.  The constant interruptions during the Wings games to update the betting odds are annoying no matter how cute Daniela is

You're in luck, as Detroit terminated their contract with Fan Duel. They are an orphan

Tigers cancel their contract with FanDuel Sports | Bless You Boys https://share.google/yzpBaHU4qBo4rJWvh

 

Edited January 9 by papalawrence

[chasfh]

Awesome! Barring some last minute deal with Draft Kings YouTube channel or something, we should be free and clear of annoyingly constant gambling odds for at least one year. 

[RedRamage]

2 hours ago, chasfh said:

Awesome! Barring some last minute deal with Draft Kings YouTube channel or something, we should be free and clear of annoyingly constant gambling odds for at least one year. 

Not so fast...

Quote

We’ve seen this show before, of course. FanDuel’s parent group, Main Street Sports, was formerly the Diamond Sports Group. As Diamond went through bankruptcy from 2023-2025, teams terminated their deals with the now defunct Bally Sports under Diamond, but ultimately renegotiated those deals.

With Main Street Sports now under threat of going into bankruptcy as well, the termination of contracts is ultimately the nine teams away of avoiding getting caught up in those proceedings.

Now hopefully this doesn't happen, but I wouldn't be shocked at all if the Tigers go back if things solidify for Fan Duel.

I pointed out earlier that the big issue with MLB doing the broadcast is that teams get a percentage of money brought in by subscribers rather than a set sum. A set sum is going to be more attractive to most owners... especially if your an owner who might not be fielding a fantastic team.

[chasfh]

19 hours ago, RedRamage said:

Not so fast...

Now hopefully this doesn't happen, but I wouldn't be shocked at all if the Tigers go back if things solidify for Fan Duel.

I pointed out earlier that the big issue with MLB doing the broadcast is that teams get a percentage of money brought in by subscribers rather than a set sum. A set sum is going to be more attractive to most owners... especially if your an owner who might not be fielding a fantastic team.

Darn it. This makes so much sense. I hope your scenario doesn’t happen, but I can envision it happening.

[gehringer_2]

20 hours ago, RedRamage said:

Not so fast...

Now hopefully this doesn't happen, but I wouldn't be shocked at all if the Tigers go back if things solidify for Fan Duel.

I pointed out earlier that the big issue with MLB doing the broadcast is that teams get a percentage of money brought in by subscribers rather than a set sum. A set sum is going to be more attractive to most owners... especially if your an owner who might not be fielding a fantastic team.

And that is the same risk a team faces if they want to set up on their own - i.e. they can't guarantee how much advertising and subscription revenue is going to be. Still, you would think that for an organization like ilitch's, that is already steeped in entertainment expertise, at some point they'd rather take it on themselves than keep negotiating give backs to the black hole of failure Fox/Bally/Diamond/Fanduel has been.

Edited January 10 by gehringer_2

[oblong]

 

[gehringer_2]

FWIW: this from the freep today:

Quote

Despite the "business-as-usual" setup between Main Street and its NBA and NHL partners, Friend reports that Main Street missed its Feb. 1 payment to those teams, including the Pistons and Red Wings. Friend also reports the Red Wings, who like the Tigers are owned by Ilitch Sports and Entertainment, are expected to move to MLB Media along with the Tigers.

MLB media getting into the hockey biz?

[oblong]

19 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

FWIW: this from the freep today:

MLB media getting into the hockey biz?

I don’t know the current arrangement but tbeir original MLB advanced media group and its later entities ran a lot of NHL and nascar and other things. NHL network was run out of MLB studios. Maybe it still is?  I haven’t paid attention lately but their web and streaming services had a wide net. 

[Edman85]

Further complicated by the fact that the Red Wings and Tigers schedules overlap, or April in the D was a scam.

[oblong]

A friend in the industry tells me that the Detroit incarnation hasn’t paid their truck fees all month and that Channel 20 is something that the Ilitches have had their eye on for awhile. 

[gehringer_2]

37 minutes ago, oblong said:

A friend in the industry tells me that the Detroit incarnation hasn’t paid their truck fees all month and that Channel 20 is something that the Ilitches have had their eye on for awhile. 

I am not putting an antenna back up on my house. OTOH, I'll be thrilled to dump DirectTV if I can get the Tigers somewhere else.

Edited yesterday at 03:49 AM by gehringer_2

[Shades of Deivi Cruz]

9 hours ago, gehringer_2 said:

I am not putting an antenna back up on my house. OTOH, I'll be thrilled to dump DirectTV if I can get the Tigers somewhere else.

I actually just set my parents up with DirecTV at the end of last season, because Buckeye cable they had been using had dropped Fanduel Detroit. I shudder at the thought of trying to move them to another service, since they are finally comfortable using it.

[roarintiger1]

Whatever source is going to carry the Tiger games, it has to be fan friendly.  But my guess is that it won't be.

[oblong]

Tigers do well in ratings so I think they'll do right, if they can.  

[chasfh]

I’m seeing they may be trying to avoid mlb.tv by going to an independent streaming service. I hope it’s not because Baby Doc is doing everything he can specifically to keep that sweet, sweet gambling money rolling in, because mlb.tv (so far) don’t play that. 

[Edman85]

Somebody got confused about this yesterday and told me Fanduel was going bankrupt. I got my hopes up ever so briefly. 

[casimir]

9 hours ago, Shades of Deivi Cruz said:

I actually just set my parents up with DirecTV at the end of last season, because Buckeye cable they had been using had dropped Fanduel Detroit. I shudder at the thought of trying to move them to another service, since they are finally comfortable using it.

Well if that’s not enough, you’ll likely have to explain the options to me, too.

[IdahoBert]

My mlb.tv subscription is good through May 6 allegedly. I hope I don’t get screwed on this. 

[CMRivdogs]

Waiting to see if my TMobile deal will be around again this Spring. It won't help those in the Detroit Market, but with the exception of the O's and the Nat's its good here.

[lordstanley]

I'm hoping the Tigers put their games on a station that charges money but presents a scrambled flickering screen that you can fix if you become adept at fiddling with the horizontal-vertical knobs. Maybe air some soft-core nudity when the Tigers and Red Wings have the day off.  Like IT-tv and ON-tv around 1980. 

Edited 21 hours ago by lordstanley

[Edman85]

18 hours ago, IdahoBert said:

My mlb.tv subscription is good through May 6 allegedly. I hope I don’t get screwed on this. 

You won't. This only affects in market folks.

Basically, it will either be another local channel in syndication for a bit or a non-blacked out local streaming subscription tacked onto MLB.TV. Out of market is the same.

Edited 3 hours ago by Edman85

[Edman85]

What you do need to watch out for...

ESPN games are random nights, but are exclusive so won't be on MLB.TV (or they may be with a cable subscription with ESPN).

Peacock has a bunch of games. Those won't be on MLB.TV. The first round of the playoffs is also on Peacock.

There are still Friday Apple games. Probably 4-6 Tigers games there.

I don't think Fox or TBS regular season games are exclusive.

[Screwball]

On 2/2/2026 at 10:47 PM, gehringer_2 said:

I am not putting an antenna back up on my house. OTOH, I'll be thrilled to dump DirectTV if I can get the Tigers somewhere else.

To the bold - beware. That will be one of the most frustrating and irritating thing you will ever go through. I canceled last year. I was one of the most awful experiences I ever had with a company. They don't want you to leave, so the BS starts, and seemingly never ends. When you are finally done, you will get mailings for months trying to get you back. And phone calls. 

[Shades of Deivi Cruz]

33 minutes ago, Screwball said:

To the bold - beware. That will be one of the most frustrating and irritating thing you will ever go through. I canceled last year. I was one of the most awful experiences I ever had with a company. They don't want you to leave, so the BS starts, and seemingly never ends. When you are finally done, you will get mailings for months trying to get you back. And phone calls. 

I did not have that experience at all. I was a customer for something like 20 years, mostly due to Sunday Ticket. When I cut with them last year, I found it quite easy.  Strangely, I had way more trouble trying to get my parents setup with them. LOL!