SAN DIEGO – Bally Sports is officially out as the broadcaster of San Diego Padres baseball. As confirmed by Diamond Sports Group (Bally Sports’ parent company), the contract between the two sides has been breached after DSG missed partnership payments to the ball club last week. Of course, DSG has been under heavy scrutiny all season as the company approaches bankruptcy.
Major League Baseball will now step-in and collaborate with the Padres to ensure all games are available for viewing through both cable and online streaming options. In the short-term, today’s game against the Miami Marlins – and all remaining games up until June 5 – will be available on MLB.tv for free. In last night’s Bally Sports blackout, the public was robbed of seeing the Friars’ five-run ninth inning en route to victory in Miami.
The Padres’ new broadcast partnership with MLB (direct-to-consumer without local blackouts) begins on Wednesday, May 31 for Game 2 against the Marlins. Probable starters for the midweek contest are lefties Black Snell (1-6) and Braxton Garrett (1-2). First pitch is scheduled for 3:40 p.m. PT.
For the record, Bally Sports’ final Padres broadcast was the 10-7 slugfest loss at Yankee Stadium last Sunday. Going forward, announcers Don Orsillo, Mark Grand and Bob Scanlan will resume their duties as the team’s television broadcasters.
Here is the updated list of cable providers and correlating channels to watch San Diego Padres baseball, starting on May 31.
- COX: Yuriview Channel 4
- DIRECTV: Channel 694-3
- AT&T U-verse: Channel 781
- Spectrum: Channel 305
