Cleveland Cavaliers fans on Wednesday night couldn’t access the Bally Sports Ohio broadcast from Madison Square Garden on Bally Sports+. That meant fans essentially missed the team’s 95-89 victory in its entirety. The app was down for users in several regions earlier in the week as well, leaving fans frustrated. On The Ken Carman Show with Anthony Lima Thursday, Carman said on the one hand it’s certainly reasonable for fans who pay $19.99 a month for the right to stream Cavs games to be outraged.
“When you don’t feel like you’re getting your money’s worth, you’re gonna be very upset,” he said on 92.3 The Fan in Cleveland. “So people were very upset with that.”
Ken Carman pointed out that February 29 is an important date for fans to keep an eye on, as it could be the finishing point for parent company Diamond Sports Group’s ongoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. Many fans who expressed displeasure in not accessing broadcasts theorized the potential for Bally Sports closing down in the near future as a result.
“It could be lights out by the time February 29 comes around,” Carman said. “So it was one thing that I think a lot of fans know about this and know about the uneasiness.”
“This is concerning for any fan out there, and when you hear about this, I think it goes, ‘Well how’s it affect my team?'” he added. “And when you can’t get on the app because the app’s having problems, I think people start freaking out about the future when they see that going, ‘Well you’ve taken my 20 dollars, the service need to be rendered regardless.'”
