SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – People have been cheering on the San Diego Padres for years.
“Geez, since I was in the first grade," Thomas Gardner, a longtime Padres fan, said. "I’d imagine. So, 30 plus, 40 plus years.”
As fans get their Padres gear for the 2023 season, there’s a chance for some change on the TV side of things for Padres fans. That’s because Diamond Sports Group, the parent company of Bally Sports, which broadcasts the Padres games and other teams, reportedly could be heading into bankruptcy.
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“If Diamond doesn’t pay under every single one of the broadcast agreements, that creates a termination right," Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said. "And our clubs will proceed to terminate those contracts."
“Honesty, it’s a little bit concerning at first to hear that potentially watching the Padres play wouldn’t be the same,” Sierra Yaegle, a Padres fan, said.
Manfred also said that the MLB is prepared to make sure the games are available to fans.
At a press conference in Arizona, the commissioner said in the event all of this happens, MLB would produce the games and work with cable providers to have an agreement to get the games on tv.
“We would also be seeking flexibility on the digital side so that when you look at MLB.TV, you’d go in and buy your out-of-market package like you’d always have," Manfred said. "But you would have the option to buy up into in-market games."
He said that would be something the fans had never had before.
Some say they would want to stick with the traditional way of watching games if this contract situation were to happen.
“I’ve already had to go from one provider to the next provider to watch the game, and sometimes, even with the current provider, it’s not even on that,” Gardner said. "So, I’ll have to go to another friend’s house that has that app if they even have it. It’s been inconvenient, to say the least."
Cutting the cord is something some Padres fans could get on board with if this were all to unfold.
“We stream almost everything we see," Virginia Delgado, a Padres fan, said. "Almost everything we see whether it’s Netflix, Amazon, whatever streaming service, Hulu. For us, it really wouldn’t affect us."
“To me, it sounds like we’re just moving locations, and it won’t really affect the viewing experience at all,” Yaegle said. "So, I think it should be fine in the long run."
