Fans Left in the Dark as Nashville Predators Blackout Leaves Viewers Frustrated

Nashville Predators fans were left disappointed when their Bally Sports South feed of Game 5 of the NHL playoffs series against the Vancouver Canucks was suddenly cut off at 11 p.m. CT on Tuesday night. The reason behind this blackout can be attributed to Comcast, as Diamond Sports Group, the network’s owner, and Comcast were unable to extend their rights deal by the deadline.

Despite offering terms similar to those agreed upon with larger distributors, Comcast failed to engage in substantive discussions with Diamond Sports Group. This left Comcast customers unable to watch their favorite local teams, including the Predators. Fans who missed out on the game had alternative options such as tuning into TBS for coverage or accessing the game through services like Fubo, DirectTV streaming, and Bally Sports+.

In January, Amazon announced plans to acquire a minority stake in Diamond Sports Group as part of a restructuring agreement to help the regional sports network emerge from bankruptcy. However, this development did not prevent the blackout of Tuesday night’s game. The situation left fans frustrated as they were unable to watch the Predators play.

Paul Skrbina, a sports enterprise reporter covering the Predators, Titans, Nashville SC, and local sports for The Tennessean provided insights on this issue. He advised fans that while they may have been disappointed by missing out on watching their favorite team play live during Game 5 of the NHL playoffs series against Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday night; there are still other ways for them to catch up with what happened during that matchup later on through various news sources and social media platforms where he is active @paulskrbina and reach him via email at pskrbina@tennessean.com