YouTube TV doesn’t carry Bally Sports and it is unlikely to anytime soon. While there are a number of channels unavailable through YouTube TV, the situation is a little different with Bally Sports, due to YouTube TV’s history with Fox RSNs and Sinclair Broadcast Group.
Bally Sports launched on March 31 and replaced Fox Sports regional networks across the country. That is, 19 of 21 previously branded Fox Sports RSNs owned by Sinclair. As for the two remaining RSNs, Fox Sports Carolina was absorbed by Bally Sports South while Fox Sports Tennessee was folded into Bally Sports Southeast as part of the rebrand.
At $64.99 per month, YouTube TV is not necessarily a cheap option for live TV streaming. However, the service does come with a number of premium features helping to add to the value. This is in addition to a channel lineup that’s routinely expanded over time. While plenty of channels have been added, some have been removed as well.
Will YouTube TV carry Bally Sports?
There are no indications that YouTube TV will carry Bally Sports. While YouTube TV did previously carry a number of Fox Sports RSNs, they were dropped by the live tv streaming service in 2020. In total, 19 RSNs were removed from the channel lineup along with YES Network. They were dropped as a result of YouTube TV and Sinclair unable to agree carriage terms when the previous deal came to an end.
Since then, the same Fox Sports RSNs have been rebranded as Bally Sports. However, besides the rebrand, not much has changed. These are still the same channels and bound by the same agreements that were in place before. Or, in YouTube TV’s case, the lack of an agreement in place before.
While the Bally rebranding has reinvigorated interest in the RSNs, there is nothing to suggest YouTube TV plans to add the same channels back again. If that was likely to be a possibility, then it is more likely a deal would have been done before, avoiding the channels being removed in the first place. In fact, many consumers have been reaching out to YouTube TV to see if Bally Sports will be added to the channel lineup. Although YouTube TV’s consistent response doesn’t completely rule out the possibility of the channels returning, the replies do make it clear that there are currently no plans to add Bally Sports in the future.
Due to all this, it seems highly unlikely that Bally Sports will be available on YouTube TV anytime soon. It is not that YouTube TV doesn’t want to carry them or Sinclair doesn’t want YouTube TV to carry them, it is simply a result of the two sides not reaching a deal that they are both happy with. That said, this is a much bigger issue than just YouTube TV.
More than a YouTube TV problem
Although YouTube TV’s dropping of the Fox Sports RSNs in 2020 affected a lot of subscribers, it is not the only live TV streaming service to fail to agree a new deal with Sinclair. Around the same time as YouTube TV dropped the channels, Hulu Live TV removed many of the very same regional sports networks, affecting millions of more subscribers, and further reducing the options for streaming local live sports.
Sling TV also dropped Fox RSNs owned by Sinclair back in 2019 and this was then followed by fuboTV dropping them at the beginning of 2020. The fact that so many services have all dropped the same channels, and due to the very same issue, only further goes to suggest YouTube TV is unlikely to add Bally Sports.
As of right now, AT&T TV is really the only main live TV streaming service that carries Bally Sports. Furthermore, there are no guarantees that will always be the case. When AT&T TV’s current deal with Sinclair expires, the channels might also be removed, unless the two are able to agree new terms.
Bally Sports on YouTube TV summary
There are currently no suggestions that YouTube TV will add Bally Sports to its channel lineup. Bally Sports is simply a rebranding of various Fox Sports RSNs, all of which were dropped by YouTube TV back in 2020. As these channels were removed due to failed negotiations with Sinclair, there’s no reason to suggest YouTube TV and Sinclair will suddenly agree a new deal.
However, this is not an issue that only affects YouTube TV. Over the last couple of years, almost all of the main live TV streaming services have dropped the same channels, also due to existing agreements coming to an end. Prior to the rebrand, AT&T TV was the only service to carry Fox Sports RSNs and the situation remains the same now that the channels are Bally Sports.
Read more: How YouTube TV’s Sports Plus Compares to fuboTV’s Sports Plus
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