MLB taking over broadcasts of Arizona Diamondbacks games - ESPN

A bankruptcy judge approved Diamond Sports Group's request to shed its contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks, prompting Major League Baseball to step in, beginning with the team's game against the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday afternoon.

Like it did upon taking over the San Diego Padres' broadcasts at the end of May, MLB will make D-backs games available blackout-free through its streaming service, MLB.TV, and will provide a linear cable option on different channels through Cox, DirecTV, Spectrum and Comcast Xfinity.

A spokesperson for Diamond Sports said its contract with the D-backs — a reported 20-year, $1.5 billion deal that began in 2015 — «had financial terms that were not aligned with its long-term plans.»

By lifting blackouts, MLB stated that the D-backs' reach can increase from 930,000 to 5.6 million homes in the team's home television territory. Local fans can pay $19.99 a month or $54.99 for the rest of the season to stream D-backs games; the next six games, through Sunday, will be provided for free through the team's official website and the MLB app.

MLB will use the same broadcasters, Steve Berthiaume and Bob Brenly, and are expected to deploy most of the same behind-the-scenes workers to maintain the team's broadcasts for the rest of this season.

«This decision provides us with an opportunity to partner with Major League Baseball to produce high-quality broadcasts of D-backs games on current platforms, expand access to include streaming options, and remove blackouts that have been a fan frustration point for years,» D-backs CEO Derrick Hall wrote in a statement. «We have enjoyed our partnership with Bally Sports Arizona and thank them for the longtime partnership. But we look forward to providing unprecedented