If one characteristic has bound together six disparate ownership groups over more than 50 seasons of baseball in Arlington, it has been this: Never go against the grain.
Until came Ray Davis, rebel with a cause.
Angered and frustrated over two years of constant litigation to try to realize the local TV revenues he negotiated in good faith more than a decade ago, Davis challenged his management group to do what others were unwilling or unable to. The Rangers walked away from yet another renegotiation for lower rates with Diamond Sports Group. They passed on the easy route of letting MLB take over the production of games, albeit for lower revenue. And instead they set out to cobble together their own version of a regional sports network.
On Wednesday, the Rangers realized the first step of that: A multi-year deal for the direct-to-consumer streaming rights with the parent company of Victory+, which currently broadcasts Dallas Stars and Anaheim Ducks games. The deal will allow fans to stream through Victory+, but unlike the Stars’ model, accessing Rangers games comes with a price. That price: “just $100 for a full season,” according to a news release from Victory+.
Since that last statement sounds like a TV commercial, this next one should too: But wait, there’s more!
The streaming deal was the Rangers’ first step, but isn’t intended to be the only one. The release, which included a statement from Rangers COO Neil Leibman, indicated the Rangers intend to finalize deals on other platforms to widen access to games. The obvious next step would be to complete deals for linear rights, which would include traditional cable and potentially some over-the-air broadcasts.
Those deals can be even more complicated, however, as they require negotiations with individual carriers. The release specifically states the agreement “represents the first element of the Rangers’ effort to provide fans with multiple viewing options” in 2025. The takeaway for fans: Games may be available – at no subscription cost – via some regular cable or satellite providers, but which are not clear yet.
“The Rangers’ partnership with Victory+ as our direct-to-consumer provider is a tremendous first step as the club continues to finalize our television offerings for 2025 game broadcasts,” Leibman said in the statement. “Victory+ has proven itself over the past few months as a reliable streaming home for several professional sports teams, and we feel Rangers fans will enjoy the familiarity, convenience and simplicity of this service.”
The terms of the deal were not released, but it is expected the Rangers will do better financially than if they had accepted yet another renegotiation with Diamond Sports, the parent company of what was branded as Bally Sports Southwest in 2024, or if they had let MLB take over its broadcasts. Those have been the only two options for most of the teams that had deals with Diamond.
The Rangers sought a different path to focus on both widening reach and maintaining the revenue to support a top 10 payroll.
Diamond was not able to get BSSW carried by a number of cable companies, freezing a significant number of Rangers fans out. According to a comment from Leibman at a Sports Business Journal event last year, the Rangers had only been able to reach 16% of the 16.5 million households in their territory, which covers parts of five states. Due to MLB blackout rules, teams can only stream to their own broadcast territory. The Rangers’ territory, which covers parts of Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Arkansas is geographically one of the largest in the country
Meanwhile, Diamond’s bankruptcy eroded their revenue. Their original deal was for approximately $111 million annually, among the more lucrative in baseball, but after Diamond’s bankruptcy case they accepted a pay down of nearly $20 million in 2024.
MLB took over broadcasts for both San Diego and Arizona in 2023, promising to backstop up to 80% of the club’s negotiated deals. In addition, MLB is now producing Cincinnati, Cleveland, Colorado, Milwaukee and Minnesota. MLB’s presence makes production and distribution easier for teams, but cannot promise the same revenue from deals done at the top of the RSN market balloon.
The clubs under the MLB umbrella are projected to average $161 million in payroll for Competitive Balance Tax purposes, according to Baseball Prospectus. At present, the Rangers payroll is projected at $234 million, seventh highest in baseball.
Six other clubs renegotiated deals with Diamond: Atlanta, Detroit, Miami, St. Louis, Tampa Bay and Los Angeles after Diamond had announced plans to renounce deals with all but Atlanta without renegotiation.
It is unclear if the Rangers will be able to realize what they originally negotiated or even the paid down sum, but, by cobbling together their own deals, they are expected to come closer to that than had they accepted an easier route. But the complexity of the situation is why the Rangers, until Wednesday, were the only remaining MLB team without any kind of announced broadcast home.
While the Victory+ release does not include any reference to a monthly subscription opportunity, it does indicate that access packages will be available for purchase in early February. There is an early access waitlist available at victoryplus.com/rangers.
The annual subscription price seems to track with other already available rates. Arizona, for example, advertised its 2024 rates at $19.99 a month or $99.99 for the full season.
The Rangers situation remains a work in progress, but on Wednesday, they secured the first step towards widening their reach without crippling the revenue needed to support a top-tier payroll.
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