TV Talk: SportsNet Pittsburgh, Comcast agree on new deal with a tier change
The new year began without a new retransmission dispute – those often happen as one year slips into the next — and now there’s a deal that will keep SportsNet Pittsburgh, home to Penguins and Pirates games, on Comcast’s Xfinity cable systems. But there will be one change.
Beginning Tuesday, SportsNet Pittsburgh will move from Xfinity’s Popular TV package to the Ultimate TV package.
Popular TV costs approximately $70 per month; Ultimate TV costs around $90 per month. Ultimate TV includes more sports content like linear channels devoted to the NFL, NHL, NBA and MLB.
“Most of our customers who receive the network today already have Ultimate TV, and our viewership information shows that they are the ones primarily watching it, so that’s why we’re making this change,” Comcast said in a statement. “We appreciate SportsNet Pittsburgh working with us to find a solution that balances cost and consumer choice to watch local sports in this changing video marketplace.”
Comcast will make promotional offers available to current customers on the Popular TV tier who want to upgrade to Ultimate TV.
“Comcast made the decision to move SportsNet Pittsburgh (SNP) to the Ultimate TV package,” SNP said in its own statement. “Subscribers should contact Comcast to make sure they have SNP, Penguins and Pirates games, in their package.”
While SNP avoided a blackout, WPXI-TV has been off DISH Network since November 2022 with no sign of a resolution in sight.
You can reach TV writer Rob Owen at rowen@triblive.com or 412-380-8559. Follow @RobOwenTV on Threads, X, Bluesky and Facebook. Ask TV questions by email or phone. Please include your first name and location.
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