TV contract dispute a ‘total nightmare’ for Dallas sports teams and their fans
The sales pitch that 2021 was going to be an immediate upgrade over 2020 was a con job.
We still can’t leave our attic without fear of killing the neighbor’s cat, and now if you don’t have the exact TV provider you can’t even watch Luka Doncic and the Mavericks, the Stars defend their Western Conference title, replays of the Tommy Tuberville Show and anything else carried by Fox Sports Southwest.
“Total nightmare,” a club vice president of one of the local teams told me.
The money you saved by cutting the cord is now the money you spend on those streaming services that no longer are the deal you loved.
In the middle of this fight is the cliched evil media company, its service providers, and the “cord cutters” who prefer YouTube TV, Hulu, Sling, or even the more traditional Dish, who just want to watch the Dallas Mavericks, Dallas Stars, Texas Rangers, etc.
There is no imminent resolution.
Fox Sports Southwest had no official comment on this subject. Its parent company, Sinclair Broadcast Group, did.
“Sinclair remains committed to reaching a fair agreement with both Hulu and YouTube TV to carry the FOX (regional sports networks),” Sinclair wrote in a statement. “At no time have we demanded exorbitant fees for these channels. Instead, we have consistently offered both pay TV providers extremely fair deals in line with what hundreds of other TV services have agreed to and continue to agree to.”
“However, despite high profile ad campaigns and website claims touting their live sports content, we have yet to see that same commitment from either provider to put consumers first. Unfortunately, at this point we have no choice but to conclude that neither Disney (which owns Hulu) nor Google (which owns YouTube) is willing to engage in good faith discussions or return the RSNs to their platforms.”
Representatives from Hulu and YouTube TV did not respond to a request for comment.
No one from the local franchises partnered with Fox Sports Southwest is itching to talk about this, which has not stopped fans from calling the teams demanding them to put the games back on their television.
“This isn’t the first time these issues have occurred,” Dallas Stars president Brad Alberts said Sunday. “At the same time they are unfortunate for our fan base, and we hope that Sinclair and the service providers can resolve their differences as soon as possible.”
That’s about all anyone from the Stars, Rangers or Mavs can do.
These teams signed local broadcast agreements with Fox Sports Southwest, and they have no power in what Sinclair wants to charge local service carriers like Dish or YouTube TV.
Fox Sports Southwest directs consumers to a website, www.getmyhometeams.com, for the best current way to watch the Stars and Mavs.
Sinclair owns Fox Sports Southwest and 16 other similar regional sports TV networks; Fox Sports Southwest is beholden to the negotiating between the parent company and the providers.
The contracts expired almost at the exact same time sports shut down last year because of COVID.
Officials from the local franchises had hoped that once the NBA season started, pressure would increase between Sinclair and Hulu, YouTube TV, etc., and a new contract would be agreed.
Of course, that’s not happening.
The service providers don’t want to pay the higher fees. Sinclair wants to charge the same price it does to its other carriers.
Unless you have AT&T, DirecTV, Spectrum, Grande Communications, Suddenlink, T-Mobile, and a small number of other regional providers, you are unable to access Fox Sports Southwest.
Fox Sports Southwest, and at least the Stars and Mavs, have quietly advised fans who prefer streaming to sign up for AT&T TV.
Sources said FC Dallas is likely to move back to KXTA-Channel 21 in 2021.
Nervously watching this all play out are the Texas Rangers, who also have a broadcast agreement with Fox Sports Southwest.
At a time when teams cannot open their venues to anything more than a fraction of total capacity in their respective stadiums, and they are losing millions as a result, they don’t want to give a fan base any more of a reason to permanently settle on different entertainment options.
But pro sports is now stuck in the shift of consumers who want to “cut the cord” and use streaming services rather than a standard cable model. The main element keeping cable intact is live sports.
According to Variety, in 2010 America had 105 million households with cable TV. It’s down to 82.9 million now; the figure is projected to drop to 72.2 million by 2023.
That figure is enough to keep the food on the table of the cable TV suits, but the trend is the trend.
At least initially, streaming alternatives were cheaper, and a way around the higher prices of cable TV. Consumers could save between $30 to $80, depending on their package.
Those savings are beginning to evaporate as consumers add Disney+, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Peacock, HBO Max, etc.
Now that Hulu and YouTube TV have added live sports to their menus, it was only a matter of time before the media companies that provide the games increased their fees, which will be passed on to the individual consumer.
There are only so many choices, and you either pick one of the few options, or you have learned to live without.
The teams won’t say it, but that is their nightmare.
This story was originally published January 18, 2021 at 6:15 PM.
