Bally networks coming back to Comcast, with a catch. What it means in South Florida

Three months after Comcast yanked Bally regional sports networks from its programming lineup, the sides settled their carriage dispute on Monday.

That means Marlins fans can begin watching the team’s games on Bally Sports Florida beginning on Thursday. Bally Sports Sun also will return to Comcast’s lineup in Florida on Thursday.

But there’s a catch: Comcast subscribers will need to subscribe to Xfinity’s “Ultimate TV” package to get the Bally networks. They can also stream on the Bally Sports app using Xfinity credentials.

Comcast said that “while most of our customers who were avid viewers of the Bally Sports RSNs prior to the expiration already have Ultimate TV, we’ll be offering a promotion for customers wanting to subscribe to Ultimate TV.” No more details were offered in the initial announcement.

Comcast, the dominant cable provider in South Florida, said the new agreement will restore 15 Bally networks to Comcast/Xfinity homes.

The disagreement, leading to three months of Bally going dark on Comcast, resulted from Comcast’s desire to place Bally regionals on a tier. The new deal allows Comcast to place Bally networks on a higher-priced package.

The Panthers announced earlier this summer that they are moving their games off Bally this upcoming season and onto WSFL-Channel 39. The Heat and Marlins have said they do not yet know where their games will air next season.