The Charter Spectrum-Disney distribution battle is just days old, but some consumers — and even top-ranked tennis pros — are resorting to piracy to keep up on sports. 

Daniil Medvedev, the world’s third-ranked men’s player, acknowledged he’s turned to perhaps illegal websites to keep up with the tennis major in which he’s taking part.

“I guess in a lot of hotels, they have Spectrum, so I cannot watch it on TV anymore,” said Medvedev, who defeated No. 8 Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals on Wednesday afternoon. “I don’t know if it’s legal or illegal, but I have to find a way because I cannot watch it on TV — so I got [the] internet, and probably pirate websites or something, [and] I watched tennis there. I have no other choice.”

There has been no significant progress in talks between Charter and ESPN parent Disney since 19 Disney channels — including ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPNU — went dark on the country’s second-largest cable carrier on Aug. 31. 

ESPN has since started a heavy promotional offensive to encourage consumers to seek alternate providers, while Charter is pursuing a redefinition of what has been the traditional cable bundle. The network has also quietly started giving secure online logins to tournament action to U.S. Open players, including Medvedev, and some media.

“The consumer wants simplicity, aggregation, and the most bang for their buck. This dispute is putting tension around some of those issues,” said Brian Roberts, CEO of Comcast, the country’s largest cable carrier. “I hope they work it out … Each company is dealing with their version of this transformational moment.”

Charter, meanwhile, has also been hit with a class-action lawsuit in Florida from subscribers as the dispute continues.

Despite the ongoing blackout of ESPN networks for 14.7 million subscribers, the network’s Sept. 3 coverage of Florida State-LSU drew an average of 9.5 million viewers, its best Labor Day Sunday college football game since 2016.

The crumbling edifice of regional sports network business is about to lose another pillar.

The Denver-based AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain, which airs MLB’s Colorado Rockies, is reportedly set to shut down. Full-time employees are due to stop work on Oct. 6, and the network will fully shutter around the end of the year.

The decision isn’t exactly surprising. Network owner Warner Bros. Discovery Sports has long sought to exit the RSN business, has already sold what will become SportsNet Pittsburgh, and is potentially close to a similar deal in Houston for AT&T SportsNet Southwest.

But the development leaves significant questions, both locally and for the industry at large. 

The Rockies must decide what to do for 2024 and beyond, and their leading choices are to align with MLB to produce and distribute games — similar to what the league is now doing in Arizona and San Diego — or sign with the Stan Kroenke-owned Altitude, which already airs the NBA’s Nuggets, NHL’s Avalanche, and NLL’s Mammoth. 

The latter option, however, will bring a distribution issue: Altitude has been dark on Denver-area Comcast systems since 2019 amid a bitter carriage dispute.

In a wider sense, the AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain situation adds to the ongoing bankruptcy drama surrounding Bally Sports and parent company Diamond Sports Group.

Pittsburgh Deal Done

WBD Sports did find some closure in Pittsburgh with its expected sale of that regional network to Fenway Sports Group, parent of the NHL’s Penguins, MLB’s Boston Red Sox, and Premier League’s Liverpool, among other assets. FSG’s NESN will manage the daily operations of SportsNet Pittsburgh, with the acquisition and rebranding effective Oct. 2.

“Our top priority is to continue to deliver Penguins hockey, creative content tailored to our fans, and other exciting sports coverage of the region,” said Kevin Acklin, the Penguins’ president of business operations.

MLB’s Pittsburgh Pirates will also face a decision not unlike the Rockies’ about whether to stick with SportsNet Pittsburgh or go with the league-operated model.

Live sports will be a crucial part of Max’s evolution as a streaming service.

Warner Bros. Discovery will offer game broadcasts for no additional charge when it launches the Max sports tier this fall, coinciding with the MLB playoffs, according to Bloomberg. 

WBD has traditionally put its package of games on cable channels like TBS and TNT.

Max currently costs $10 per month with ads and $16 without ads, and the new report claims customers will have to start paying extra for the sports content during the big spring events of March Madness, the NBA and NHL playoffs.

Last month, WBD CEO David Zaslav said the company had digital rights for all its sports deals — but a source told FOS at the time that it was still discussing game simulcasts on Max with WBD.

As of now, there are no indications that any sports content will be exclusively available on Max. It is also unclear how much the sports tier will cost, or whether it could simply be a part of the higher-priced, ad-free Max subscription.