The Atlanta Braves and Gray Media, a television broadcast company that owns or operates 180 channels nationwide, have agreed to a multi-year deal that will see 15 games simulcast on Gray television stations in Atlanta and surrounding markets each season.
The announcement comes on the heels of the Braves’ new media rights agreement with the Diamond Sports Group owned FanDuel Sports Network, who will remain the team’s primary regional sports network. The deal is similar in nature to those that became commonplace in the NBA during Diamond’s bankruptcy proceedings, where franchises can simulcast a limited number of games each season on local over-the-air affiliates in its regional footprint.
According to the release, the simulcast games will expand the Braves’ reach to 15 million homes and span to markets as far as Memphis, Nashville, and Charlotte. The deal also gives Gray exclusive rights to broadcast 10 spring training games.
“We are thrilled to partner with Gray Media to offer our fans more opportunities to watch a simulcast of certain games and access our content all across the Southeast,” said Atlanta Braves President & CEO Derek Schiller in the announcement. “This partnership makes Braves baseball even more accessible, allowing fans throughout Braves Country the ability to watch in a way that best suits them, whether that is on cable, local TV, or streaming.”
With the Braves now able to simulcast a limited number of games it begs the question: do the other MLB franchises inked to deals with Diamond have similar carve-outs in their contracts to do the same? Diamond will broadcast six MLB teams other than the Braves next season. Those teams are the Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Rays.
If those teams are able to do the same thing, it’s a win for fans who will get more accessible access to games. It’ll be interesting to see whether other teams slated to air on Diamond’s RSNs next season will follow suit, or if the Braves were given a special exception.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.