MLB Announces Plans to Air San Diego Padres Games

Major League Baseball announced that it was taking over the production and distribution of local-market San Diego Padres games after Diamond Sports Group declined to provide funds to pay the team to televise the games on Bally Sports San Diego.

The first telecast under the regime will air Wednesday, when the Padres play the Miami Marlins.

Games will continue to be available to subscribers of cable MSOs Cox Communications and Charter Communications, satellite-TV provider DirecTV, AT&T U-Verse TV and streaming service Fubo on new channels marked “San Diego Padres.”

The games will also be available via streaming on MLB.TV. MLB.TV is offering fans a free seven-day trial, after which the streaming service will cost $19.99 a month or $74.99 for the rest of the season. Only viewers in the Padres’ home market can take advantage of the offer.

Padres games on MLB.com, as is the case with other teams, had previously been blacked out in the local market. MLB said that under the new system, the games will be available to 2 million additional homes in the Padres’ home territory, an 189% increase in reach for the team.

By offering a direct-to-consumer streaming option on MLB.TV in Padres territory for the first time, MLB is lifting the blackout for Padres games previously distributed on Bally Sports San Diego, MLB said.

Major League Baseball brags about being the first professional sports league to live-stream a regular-season game back in 2002. Since then, its geographic restrictions have frustrated fans unable to watch their favorite teams online. Being forced by a crisis to open the streaming floodgates could accelerate the move of sports to streaming, even as broadcasters circle to bring local games to over-the-air TV.

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“We have been preparing for this groundbreaking moment,” Padres CEO Erik Greupner said in a statement. “The Padres are excited to be the first team to partner with Major League Baseball to offer a direct-to-consumer streaming option through MLB.TV without blackouts while preserving our in-market distribution through traditional cable and satellite television providers.  Our fans will now have unprecedented access to Padres games through both digital and traditional platforms throughout San Diego and beyond.”

Even before Diamond Sports Group, a subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group, appeared headed for bankruptcy, MLB has been putting together plans to broadcast teams local games on its own.

“As Commissioner [Rob] Manfred previously stated, Major League Baseball is ready to produce and distribute Padres games to fans throughout Padres territory,” said Noah Garden, MLB chief revenue officer, said.  “While we’re disappointed that Diamond Sports Group failed to live up to their contractual agreement with the Club, we are taking this opportunity to reimagine the distribution model, remove blackouts on local games, improve the telecast, and expand the reach of Padres games by more than 2 million homes.”

Don Orsillo, Mark Grant, and Bob Scanlan will remain the key broadcasters for Padres games.