The Angels’ broadcast situation has become a little clearer. Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register reports that the club has agreed to purchase a portion of Main Street Sports and launch its own TV network. Some final details are still being worked out, so it won’t be officially announced until next week.
The new network will also include the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and, though not yet named, will replace FanDuel Sports Network on cable and satellite providers in Southern California. Fans can also purchase streaming packages directly from the league. $99.99 for the Angels and $199.99 for the full league experience.
The Angels were one of nine MLB teams that signed a deal with Main Street Sports a few months ago. The company, which owns the FanDuel Sports Network channels, has been struggling financially for years as people switch from cable subscriptions to digital streaming. Main Street ended deals for all nine clubs earlier this year after missing some payments to some of them. In less than a month, six of them transitioned to MLB managing their broadcasts.
Atlanta, Tigers and Angels were the three teams left up in the air. Atlanta last month launched BravesVision, a team-owned company that will sell streaming rights to fans and secure future TV deals. The Tigers announced Detroit SportsNet earlier this week. MLB will likely be heavily involved in this, as the network will be “powered by MLB” and subscribers will be able to stream the Tigers through the MLB app. The network will televise the Tigers and the NHL’s Red Wings.
The Angels’ network appears to share some characteristics with Detroit SportsNet. Both feature one MLB club and one NHL team. Both appear to involve MLB handling the streaming aspect.
This appears to be a positive development for fans. For people watching television, nothing will really change. Even broadcasters are expected to keep their positions. For those looking to stream the club locally without blackouts, this is now possible. The impact on the club’s bottom line is less clear. Just a few years ago, the Angels were making $125 million a year through a deal with Main Street, then known as Diamond Sports Group. Opening up local streaming will make up for some of that, but not all.
RosterResource projects the Angels will have about $180 million in payroll this year, about $25 million less than last year. That doesn’t explain the facts Anthony Rendon By agreeing to defer most of his $38 million salary, the Halos saved about $30 million in the short term. Owner Arte Moreno recently spoke about the club’s financial situation and admitted uncertainty in the TV department was affecting spending. “Could we get back to $200 million? Probably,” Moreno said of the salary. “We need to fix the TV problem, we just need to improve the brand.”
Perhaps the new broadcast deal won’t have an immediate impact on the roster. The Angels still have to work out their cable and satellite issues. They’ll also probably want to get a feel for their new streaming setup for a bit before making any hasty decisions. There are still some notable unsigned free agents, including starting pitchers. Lucas Giolito and Jack Littell. The Halos could use some additional depth in their rotation, but it’s unclear whether they plan to pursue one of the two or another free agent.
Internally, the Angels will have a new leader on the business side. Chairman John Carpino will retire on April 6 and Executive Vice President Molly Jolly will take office as his successor. General Manager Perry Minassian remains the baseball team’s front office leader.
Photo credit: Kirby Lee, Imagn Images
