Ten media questions about how to watch Heat, Panthers, UM and latest on DirecTV, Amazon
Ten media questions amid several recent changes in the cable, satellite and streaming frontiers:
▪ Will you be able to watch Bally Sports Sun’s coverage of Heat games on Amazon this season?
It’s looking likely, but not definite. The New York Post reported this week that a deal is near for Prime Video Channels to carry games of 13 NBA teams (including the Heat) and several MLB teams (including the Marlins).
There’s cautious optimism that the deal will be done before the start of NBA season, but that’s not definite.
The cost likely would be about $20 per month to watch your favorite team’s games, with league blackout rules remaining in place. Amazon is expected to carry Bally Sports Sun’s Heat pre-game and postgame coverage as well.
▪ If you have Comcast, what’s the change with Heat coverage?
The Comcast/Diamond contract dispute, which left the Bally regionals dark in Comcast homes from May 1 through July 31, ended with Comcast receiving permission to put the Bally networks on its Ultimate TV package for the first time.
Heat fans who want the Bally networks will end up paying about $20 more per month than they had in the past for the Bally regionals.
▪ How else can you get Bally Sun’s Heat coverage, besides Comcast?
Through the Bally App, through DirecTV or fuboTV, and through Breezeline, Hotwire, U-Verse and Blustream Fiber. And, of course, through Prime Video Channels if Diamond (the parent company of the Bally regionals) and Amazon finalize a deal.
▪ So what TV providers don’t have Bally Sports Sun or Florida?
YouTube TV and Hulu Live TV.
▪Who won’t have access to Panthers games now that they’re moving to WSFL Channel 39?
For the moment, DirecTV streaming customers and YouTube TV subscribers do not get Channel 39.
▪How can you watch UM’s home opener against visiting Florida A&M at 6 p.m. Saturday?
Aside from WQAM 560, the game is available only on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX); for that, you need a pay TV provider that carries ACC Network.
You can then access ACCNX on ESPN.com/watch or the ESPN app using your pay TV provider credentials.
▪ Speaking of that, when’s the next key moment in that dispute?
Monday. History suggests there could be a settlement within hours of the Jets-49ers “Monday Night Football” opener on ESPN and ABC. That happened last year when ESPN went dark on Charter Communications from Aug. 31 until just before the first Monday night game on Sept. 11.
But if there’s no agreement on Monday, this could drag on for weeks.
DirecTV chief financial officer Ray Carpenter made some ominous comments this week when asked why DirecTV won’t simply capitulate to ESPN’s demands once “Monday Night Football” returns.
“This is not just a run-of-the-mill dispute for us,” he answered. “We didn’t go into this thinking, ‘Hey, let’s see how much of this we can leverage before Monday Night Football rolls around and then make a deal. We’re prepared to take this as long as it needs to.”
DirecTV wants to put sports networks on a “skinny bundle” that would require only subscribers who want those channels to pay for them. Disney wants more widespread access for ESPN and its other networks.
In a poorly-timed move, DirecTV announced this week that it’s raising prices by $2 to $10 per month for many of its satellite and streaming customers.
▪ If you get DirecTV but want to be able to watch ESPN’s or ABC’s college football games this weekend, what are your options to get live TV, besides getting an antenna for ABC programming?
YouTube TV and Hulu Live TV offer monthly subscriptions and both carry ESPN as well as ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. And fuboTV is another option.
▪ What local station will simulcast Amazon’s coverage of the Dolphins-Bills game on Thursday night?
CBS 4 in Miami-Fort Lauderdale.
▪ What’s the change with the first Sunday of the NFL season compared with past seasons?
Unlike Week 1 in recent years, only Fox will get a doubleheader Sunday. In past year, both Fox and CBS got doubleheaders on Week 1.
Fox will carry Cleveland-Dallas as the late game, in most of the country, in Tom Brady’s debut as Fox’s new lead analyst alongside Kevin Burkhardt.
Much of Florida (but not Miami-Fort Lauderdale) will get the Tampa Bay-Washington game at 4:25 p.m. instead.
This story was originally published September 6, 2024 at 5:03 PM.
