AT&T SportsNet being shut down
Feb 28, 2023 17:34:15 GMT -6
Post by CAwasinNJ on Feb 28, 2023 17:34:15 GMT -6
sports.yahoo.com/parent-company-of-att-sportsnet-says-its-discontinuing-regional-sports-networks-141239930.html
This is the channel that has the rights to Utah Jazz games (among other things.) I remember back when the deal to move the Jazz exclusively to what was then FSN was made. Pretty much all of us thought it was nuts. Last August there was some noise being made out of the Jazz offices about bringing them back to broadcast TV, though they said at the time that change wouldn't be until the 23-24 season. This might change that timetable. It isn't exactly clear from the article whether the teams affected could take back their rights before the March 31 deadline, but 3/31 does seem like the latest that AT&TSN will operate.
So where does that leave the Jazz starting in (at the latest) April? There are only 5 games in April and then the season ends. According to a KSL.com article, AT&TSN will finish out the season which doesn't make sense given the March 31 date in both that article and the Yahoo article. If that is true then there isn't much to speculate about. Since that doesn't feel right I'm going to speculate anyway.
I don't think that it's too much of an ask to put them on broadcast somewhere. As for where, the frontrunner would have to be KSL5 given the ever increasing collaboration between Bonneville and Ryan Smith. I can't see KSL preempting NBC programming, but it's very plausible that they could preempt CoziTV or ThisTV. If the April Jazz games need a home, that would be where I'd put my money.
This is the channel that has the rights to Utah Jazz games (among other things.) I remember back when the deal to move the Jazz exclusively to what was then FSN was made. Pretty much all of us thought it was nuts. Last August there was some noise being made out of the Jazz offices about bringing them back to broadcast TV, though they said at the time that change wouldn't be until the 23-24 season. This might change that timetable. It isn't exactly clear from the article whether the teams affected could take back their rights before the March 31 deadline, but 3/31 does seem like the latest that AT&TSN will operate.
So where does that leave the Jazz starting in (at the latest) April? There are only 5 games in April and then the season ends. According to a KSL.com article, AT&TSN will finish out the season which doesn't make sense given the March 31 date in both that article and the Yahoo article. If that is true then there isn't much to speculate about. Since that doesn't feel right I'm going to speculate anyway.
I don't think that it's too much of an ask to put them on broadcast somewhere. As for where, the frontrunner would have to be KSL5 given the ever increasing collaboration between Bonneville and Ryan Smith. I can't see KSL preempting NBC programming, but it's very plausible that they could preempt CoziTV or ThisTV. If the April Jazz games need a home, that would be where I'd put my money.