On Friday, Bally Sports Arizona locked the doors and shut it all down. Over the last several months, the regional sports network (RSN) lost the rights to its three Big Four pro sports teams.
Since the summer, the Phoenix Suns decided to leave Bally Sports Arizona for a deal with Gray Television. The Arizona Diamondbacks were dropped by the network, reverting their rights to the team and Major League Baseball. The Arizona Coyotes and the RSN mutually agreed to part ways, leading to the Coyotes signing a deal with Scripps Sports.
Bally Sports Arizona made it official with a terse tweet on Friday, saying it “is no longer providing coverage of your favorite local teams.”
— Bally Sports Arizona (@BALLYSPORTSAZ) October 13, 2023
It was a two-and-a-half-decade run for Bally Sports Arizona going back to its launch as Fox Sports Arizona. The Coyotes were the first of the three pro teams to play on the network, followed a year and a half later by the Diamondbacks in the team’s inaugural season in 1998. The Suns wouldn’t come to the RSN until 2003, and even then, it was only for the team’s home games.
The network’s shutdown means that the Phoenix market is RSN-free. It’s the largest market in the country without one. Phoenix will be a test case to see how much a market responds to not having an RSN. Will easier access for fans spike viewership? Will a specialized, team-specific direct-to-consumer (DTC) product, offered by the Suns but not the Coyotes (yet), prove to be a game-changer and the future of live local sports? Will ridiculous rights fees paid by RSNs to teams be more than offset by what teams are getting from companies like Gray and Scripps, along with DTC revenue?
If it’s a success in Phoenix, it wouldn’t be a surprise if more teams across the country follow suit and put RSNs in even more difficult positions going forward.
About Joe Lucia
I hate your favorite team. I also sort of hate most of my favorite teams.