The Detroit News’s Tony Paul confirmed that Bally Sports Detroit has signed an extension to continue broadcasting Red Wings and Tigers games:
The Ilitches might be cutting the cord on the idea of starting their own Regional Sports Network.
The Ilitch-owned Detroit Tigers and Red Wings have re-upped on a multi-year agreement with Bally Sports Detroit to continue broadcasting the team’s games, Olympia Entertainment confirmed Wednesday.
“We are pleased, as momentum builds for the Tigers and Red Wings, that our long-time broadcast partners at Bally Sports Detroit will continue to produce exciting game broadcasts, unique insider access for our fans, and inspiring stories about the impactful work our athletes are doing in the community throughout Detroit and the state of Michigan,” Olympia Entertainment said in a statement to The Detroit News.
The length and financial terms of the agreement were not released.
The Tigers’ financial benefit had been estimated to be worth more than $50 million a year under the old TV deal. Market trends would indicate a new deal would be more lucrative. The Kansas City Royals reportedly re-upped with Sinclair Broadcasting, which owns the Bally Sports-branded RSNs, for $52 million a year. Detroit is the nation’s 14th-largest market, Kansas City is 32nd.
The Red Wings’ annual payout is much less than the Tigers’.
It would be nice to be able to watch it but I have no access using Roku, YTTV ,etc