Padres News: Friars Games Set To Broadcast For Free Amidst Diamond Sports Bankruptcy

Padres matches about to become much more available.

For those fans of the San Diego Padres that love the team but haven't been able to find the time or funds to be able watch their stars live, their games are set to be streamed for free by the MLB very soon.

Diamond Sports Group has owned the rights to airing Friars games for some time but are now preparing to file for bankruptcy. Along with four other MLB teams, the LLC will end their partnership with San Diego's franchise. This news was first provided by Josh Kosman of The New York Post.

MLB plans to broadcast games of roughly a half-dozen teams for free, per @nypost, as their RSN provider — Diamond Sports — prepares for bankruptcy.

Teams reportedly include:
▪️ Arizona Diamondbacks
▪️ Cincinnati Reds
▪️ Cleveland Guardians
▪️ San Diego Padres pic.twitter.com/x06KEdkr3k

— Front Office Sports (@FOS) March 13, 2023

"Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred will have the league take over the local broadcasts of the money-losing teams and stream them for free in their respective local markets as he negotiates with their cable companies for lower contracts, a source with knowledge of the discussions said."

(

Per The New York Post

)

It will be interesting to see what this means for other cable providers and channels moving forward in the sports world. We have already seen streaming services surpass them greatly in the past few years and other businesses such as movie theaters have seen a large drop in profits during this time. 

Diamond Sports, which goes by the name of Bally Sports on cable, also airs a number of NBA and NHL teams' games and look to provide their focus there. Both of those leagues have shorter seasons than the MLB so they probably hope to make more money in a smaller amount of time with those squads.

However, filing for bankruptcy is no small move. This could be the first domino to fall in cable services surrounding the MLB. Fortunately for our fanbase, they will get to watch the Gaslamp Guys for free for the time-being.