Grizzlies games returning to Xfinity after Diamond Sports Group, Comcast reach new deal
Memphis Grizzlies fans and Xfinity customers received good news on Monday.
Comcast and Diamond Sports Group reached a distribution agreement that will allow Grizzlies games to return to Xfinity for the 2024-25 season. The deal goes into effect on Aug. 1, which is well ahead of when the Grizzlies' season will begin in October.
Access to Bally Sports and Grizzlies games will be included in Comcast's Xfinity Ultimate TV package.
"Entering a new carriage agreement with Comcast, our third largest distributor, is a critical step forward in our restructuring effort, and we are pleased that fans will again be able to access broadcasts of their local teams through Xfinity," Diamond CEO David Preschlack said in a news release.
The previous deal, which expired May 1, had no impact on Grizzlies games since the NBA season had already concluded. However, there were questions on if Diamond Sports Group, the parent company for Bally Sports, and Comcast would reach an agreement since many area baseball fans who are Xfinity customers haven't had access to games through Bally Sports.
The news in May came after previous instances that brought along questions about the future of Bally Sports. In January, Diamond Sports Group entered a Restructuring Support Agreement with its largest creditors in a plan to provide a framework for reorganization by clearing Diamond from bankruptcy and continuing its operations. Part of that plan included Amazon making an investment in Diamond to stream games on Prime Video for next season.
In March 2023, Bally Sports filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection — often called reorganization bankruptcy. This allowed Diamond to continue running its business with court approval to borrow money.
Damichael Cole is the Memphis Grizzlies beat writer for The Commercial Appeal. Contact Damichael at damichael.cole@commercialappeal.com. Follow Damichael on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DamichaelC.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Grizzlies games available on Xfinity after Comcast, DSG reach deal
