Comcast has bumped regional sports network Root Sports Northwest up to its “Ultimate” tier, effectively raising the monthly price of accessing the channel to $18.50.
Comcast said it will issue $5 credits for six months to current local Xfinity “Popular” tier users who upgrade to Ultimate in order to access the RSN. Xfinity cable users who stick with the Popular package, meanwhile, will be receiving a credit to offset the regional sports networks fee that's been showing up on their bill every month.
Root Sports Northwest is 71% owned by Major League Baseball’s Seattle Mariners, who call the channel their local TV home along with the NHL’s Seattle Kraken and NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers. Warner Bros. Discovery, after recently divesting itself of two “AT&T SportsNet” RSNs, still owns a 29% interest in Root Sports Northwest.
“We are disappointed that Xfinity has moved Root Sports to the Ultimate package,“ the channel’s management said in a statement. “The timing is less than ideal as the Kraken and Trail Blazers are heading into the regular season, and we feel for the teams and their fans.“
If you are a Xfinity customer and no longer have access to ROOT SPORTS, it is because Xfinity has moved ROOT SPORTS to its Ultimate package. If you wish to continue to receive ROOT SPORTS, please contact Xfinity to change your subscription package. pic.twitter.com/IMio6dJOxBOctober 10, 2023
In keeping with pay TV industry trends, Comcast seems to be pushing back on minimum carriage stipulations demanded by programmers in carriage negotiations. With non-sports users cord-cutting their way out of the pay TV ecosystem in droves, Comcast wants to control consumer costs and stem erosion.
“We’re happy to continue offering Root Sports Northwest to our customers and making it available on a package that includes the most sports content,” Comcast said in a statement. “We’ll also be providing credits to our customers on our digital basic package who to do not receive the network.”
As perhaps they should have been doing all along, fans of the Mariners, Kraken and Trail Blazers will be paying much more of the RSN's freight.
As the Seattle Times noted, for new customers, the price of the Ultimate tier before significant taxes and fees will be $68.50, while the Popular package will run only $50.
It's unclear to us if that $68.50 also accounts for a new RSN fee, so the differential could end up being even greater.
Root Sports Northwest is also available on DirecTV Stream’s “Choice” tier, which will increase in price to $108.99 a month starting on Nov. 5. Virtual MVPD Fubo, which can be canceled at will without contracts, also carries the channel, with a monthly price of $74.99.
The Kraken opened their 2023-24 NHL season on Tuesday, but their game against the defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights was picked up nationally by ESPN.
