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A dispute between Comcast Xfinity and Bally Sports North means that many Minnesota Twins fans aren’t able to watch television broadcasts of the team’s games.
Comcast has removed the regional sports network from its channel lineup — replacing it with a blue-purple screen headlined “Bally Sports is no longer available.”
The two companies issued dueling statements about who was responsible for the situation, which happened as the owner of Bally Sports, Diamond Sports, is going through bankruptcy.
Meanwhile, the Minnesota Twins issued a statement saying the team is “disappointed by this massive disruption for our fans who simply want to watch our games.”
“This situation is a business negotiation between Comcast and Bally’s. The Twins have no role or voice in this matter. We are hopeful the two parties are able to come to an agreement as soon as possible,” the statement from the Twins said.
Comcast issued a statement saying it had been “very flexible” with Diamond Sports as it goes through bankruptcy. Comcast said Diamond opted to not exercise an option to extend their agreement for another year.
“We’d like to continue carrying their networks, but they have declined multiple offers and now we no longer have the rights to this programming,” Comcast said, adding that it will credit customers who’ve lost access to Bally Sports North — in most cases $8 to $10 a month.
Diamond Sports issued a statement saying it was Comcast that rejected a proposed extension.
“Comcast has refused to engage in substantive discussions despite Diamond offering terms similar to those reached with much larger distributors of ours. We are a fans-first company and will continue to seek an agreement with Comcast to restore broadcasts,” the company said.
It said fans can still access Bally Sports North in other ways, including subscriptions to Fubo or DirecTV.
Minnesota Timberwolves games had been shown on Bally Sports North throughout the season, but the team will play on national TV as it begins the second round of the NBA playoffs on Saturday in Denver. That game is set to be broadcast on TNT.
