Are Mavericks Fans Closer to Local Streaming Solution?

Bally's Sports, long unavailable to many Mavs fans, is planning a soft launch of a streaming service that could solve that problem

Bally’s Sports appears to be inching closer to a solution that would allow Dallas Mavericks fans to watch Luka Doncic and his teammates in games they're unable to watch otherwise.

Bally’s parent company, Sinclair Broadcasting, announced in a quarterly report this week that the company is pushing ahead with a soft-launch of its streaming package, called Bally’s Sports+. The debut of the package would be in the second quarter of 2022.

The price point for the streaming package would be $189.99 per year, or $19.99 per month.

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Luka Doncic

Luka Doncic

Luka Doncic

Thestreamable.com provided the details of the quarterly report and the potential for a soft launch in the second quarter. The Dallas Morning News reported the soft launch could start as early as June, with a full launch in September.

Locally, Bally’s Sports is available primarily on DirecTV and Spectrum. The only streaming service that offers Bally’s Sports is DirecTV Stream.

Other providers, such as YouTube TV, Sling TV, Hulu, and fuboTV, aren’t carrying Bally’s Sports due to rights fees disagreements.

The streaming service is intended for local use. For instance, someone with a Bally’s Sports+ package that lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth area would be able to watch the Texas Rangers, the Dallas Mavericks and the Dallas Stars, along with whatever other programming the network shows.

It is not intended to be a workaround for current out-of-market digital plans like MLB Extra Innings or NBA League Pass.

Jalen Brunson and Jason Kidd

Jalen Brunson

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Dorian Finney-Smith and Chris Paul

Sinclair has the streaming rights for 16 NBA teams, and that includes the Mavericks. After the Mavs, we the Stars and the WNBA’s Dallas Wings renegotiated their TV deals with Sinclair. That means Mavs games could be available to streaming subscribers as early as next preseason, assuming the soft launch goes to plan. Any games the Mavs play the remainder of this postseason will be on national television.

Texas Rangers fans could still have some trouble. Sinclair has the streaming rights to five Major League Baseball teams, and the Rangers are not one of them. They would need to come to an agreement before the streaming service could include their games.

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You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard

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