You can watch local Arizona sports teams through different broadcast channels, as Bally Sports Arizona has shut down.
- Arizona Coyotes: Scripps Sports
- Phoenix Suns: KTVK/KPHE
- Arizona Diamondbacks: MLB Arizona Diamondbacks
Fubo and DIRECTV STREAM offer the local channels you need to watch the Suns and Coyotes! Fubo also allows you to combine the national Diamondbacks channels with MLB.TV!
My top choice for Arizona sports fans is Fubo with the MLB.TV add-on. Fubo allows you to try out its service with a free trial.
Bally Sports Arizona has closed so I’m providing the following information for historical purposes. Additionally, the Bally Sports Network is now called the FanDuel Sports Network if you are looking for more information about related channels.
Up until recently, Bally Sports Arizona was arguably the most important sports broadcaster in the greater Arizona area — providing virtually complete coverage of the Arizona Coyotes (NHL), Phoenox Suns (NBC), and Arizona Diamondbacks (MLB). But as of late 2023, Bally Sports Arizona is no more.
In a hurry? Fans in and around Arizona can watch the Coyotes and Suns with Fubo’s base plan. And to get Diamondbacks, they can just get the MLB.TV add on. Fubo allows you to try out its service with a free trial.
Table Of Contents
We are leaving information about Bally Sports Arizona below for archival purposes. But remember: the channel has shut down. See the top of this article for information on watching the Coyotes, Suns, and Diamondbacks.
How Do You Stream Bally Sports Arizona?
There are two streaming providers for Bally Sports Arizona and another option for getting access to its primary content.
How to Stream Bally Sports Arizona With Fubo
If sports is your thing, Fubo (formerly FuboTV) is the obvious choice. It’s a great overall streaming service that should make the entire household happy. But it really shines when it comes to sports streaming.
Fans in central Arizona will get Bally Sports Arizona. In other parts of the state and surrounding areas, they may get more.
Beyond Bally Sports Arizona, Fubo provides 35+ other sports channels including CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN2, FS1, and FS2. And it also features the big sports networks (many channels each) beIN Sports and TUDN. Plus you get a full slate of general channels including all the local network affiliates and standard cable channels.
Fubo comes with 1,000 hours of permanent cloud DVR storage. And it allows you to stream on up to 10 devices at once — great for large households.
The price of Fubo depends upon how many RSNs are in your area. For most subscribers, it will be $91.98/month:
- Plan Cost: $79.99/month
- RSN Fee:
- One RSN: $11.99/month — total: $91.98/month
- Two or More RSNs: $14.99/month — total: $94.98/month
For more information, see our Fubo review.
How to Use DIRECTV STREAM to Stream Bally Sports Arizona
DIRECTV STREAM used to be the only option to avoid cable/satellite while watching locally-produced broadcasts of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Arizona Coyotes on Bally Sports Arizona. But it’s still a good option, which you can get with the Choice plan for $114.99/month.
Of course, DIRECTV STREAM is a live TV streaming service, which provides you with roughly 100 channels at the Choice level. So you get a lot of other channels. As for RSNs, it depends on where you are located. For much of Arizona, including Phoenix, your only RSN will be Bally Sports Arizona.
However, those in the southern part of the state, in cities such as Yuma and Tucson, will also receive Bally Sports San Diego. Meanwhile, portions of Arizona that are near Las Vegas, such as Lake Havasu City, get AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain West in addition to Bally Sports Arizona.
As for sports channels that are available to all Choice plan subscribers nationwide, those include ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPNU, FS1, MLB Network, NBA TV, SEC Network, and Tennis Channel.
Meanwhile, those who take the step up to the Ultimate plan ($129.99/month) will also receive access to CBS Sports Network, FS2, and NHL Network.
How to Stream With Bally Sports+
Note: the FanDuel Sports Network streaming service has secured rights for the games of all covered NBA and NHL teams. But it has not secured rights to most MLB team games. Make sure that your teams will be available before signing up.
Bally Sports+ is a direct-to-consumer streaming service that was launched in time for the 2022 Major League Baseball regular season. Note that Bally Sports+ does not include access to Arizona Diamondback games.
Try FanDuel Sports Network Now
There is only one plan but you can save some money if you pay annually:
- Monthly: $19.99
- Yearly: $189.99 (deal details)
Subscribers get access to Bally Sports channels that are available in their area. Those in Phoenix will only get Bally Sports Arizona. But those in Tucson will also get Bally Sports San Diego (former home of the Padres).
Bally Sports+ supports relatively few devices but the company says it is expanding. Currently supported devices: Amazon Fire TV, Android mobile, Android TV-compatible TVs, iOS (iPhone), tvOS, and web browsers (BallySports.com).
Cord-cutters should be glad to have this extra option. But remember that you will only be getting Bally Sports channels. If you want ESPN and FS1, you will need a live TV streaming service like Sling TV.
Also, viewers in the north may want to check out Fubo or DIRECTV STREAM, since they also provide AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Vegas Golden Knights).
What Are the Alternatives to Bally Sports Arizona?
If you are located in Arizona and looking for alternative ways to stream the Diamondbacks, Suns, and Coyotes games, unfortunately, you do not really have any other than being satisfied with a small handful of their games on national networks, such as ESPN.
One option for those satisfied with a limited selection of those teams’ games is subscribing to a different streaming service, such as Hulu + Live TV ($82.99/month) or Sling TV ($45.99/month).
Meanwhile, fans looking for Arizona Cardinals games can find them on Fox, CBS, NBC, ESPN, and NFL Network. Streaming services tend to offer those channels, while you can watch nearly all the team’s games with an antenna and television.
NEW: See when the Cards are playing next, and the best way to watch it.
College sports fans will need to access their favorite team(s) through a variety of channels. However, Arizona Wildcats and ASU Sun Devils games do tend to be shown on the Pac-12 Network, especially Pac-12 Arizona, with many of the rest of them on ESPN- and Fox-affiliated channels.
Several Grand Canyon Antelopes men’s basketball games from the 2019-20 season-on have been broadcast on Fox 10 Xtra, which is available on Fubo and DIRECTV STREAM to those in the Phoenix metropolitan area, and through ESPN-affiliated networks and streams.
ESPN programming outlets, most notably ESPN+, show the majority of Northern Arizona Lumberjacks sporting events, including NAU football games.
Meanwhile, those outside of Bally Sports Arizona’s broadcast area can, in most cases, access Arizona Diamondbacks’, Phoenix Suns’, and Arizona Coyotes’ out-of-market broadcasts through MLB.tv ($24.99/mo), NBA League Pass ($14.99/mo), and ESPN+ ($10.99/month), respectively.
TVs and Other Streaming Devices for Bally Sports Arizona
You can watch Bally Sports Arizona on most devices with Fubo and DIRECTV STREAM. These include all the popular HDMI streaming devices (Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku), Chromecast, smartphones and tablets that run iOS or Android, most web browsers, and Android TV-based and Samsung smart TVs.
Fubo provides apps for a number of other smart TVs including Hisense, LG, and Vizio. And it supports Xbox gaming consoles.
Bally Sports has its own app which allows you to watch Bally Sports Arizona. You use your DIRECTV STREAM account to log in via TV Everywhere. It supports all the devices listed above as well as other smart TVs and the Xbox One gaming system.
What Is Bally Sports Arizona?
Bally Sports Arizona is a regional sports network (RSN), meaning that it is only available in a specific region and primarily shows locally produced games of teams that are based there.
It had been named Fox Sports Arizona before its name change went into effect on March 31, 2021, the day before the Diamondbacks played their opening day game of that campaign, versus the Padres in San Diego.
Where Is Bally Sports Arizona Available?
Bally Sports Arizona may be viewed throughout Arizona as well as in nearby areas of New Mexico, including cities such as Las Cruces but not Albuquerque. It is not available in California, Nevada, Utah, or Colorado.
What Sports Teams Does Bally Sports Arizona Cover?
Bally Sports Arizona is primarily focused on three teams:
- Arizona Diamondback (MLB)
- Arizona Coyotes (NHL).
Bally Sports Arizona has been the primary focal point of the Arizona sports community since it first broadcasted in 1996. But the Phoenix Suns are no longer covered.
It was created partially to show then-named Phoenix Coyotes hockey games — that franchise had just moved from Winnipeg, Manitoba.
It was also partially created to broadcast Arizona Diamondbacks baseball games, starting with their inaugural season of 1998. It currently shows some spring training games and the vast majority of regular season games.
The Phoenix Suns, who have played in the NBA since 1968, later joined the party; their games started being shown on this channel in 2003.
Bally Sports Arizona has traditionally shown Phoenix Mercury games. During that WNBA team’s 2021 season, eight of its 32 regular-season contests were broadcast on that channel. Starting in 2023, the Mercury games are only appearing on other Bally Sports channels.
It has shown other Arizona-based squads in the past, including arena football and minor league hockey teams.
However, fans of the state’s four NCAA Division I athletics departments, the Arizona Wildcats, Arizona State Sun Devils, Grand Canyon Antelopes, and Northern Arizona Lumberjacks, should note that few of their contests will be broadcast on this channel. Some college sports events are shown on Bally Sports Arizona, but they usually do not involve any of those schools.
Bally Sports Arizona fills out its programming with events and shows related to paddling, surfing, fishing, beach volleyball, poker, softball, golf, boxing, mixed martial arts, and backpacking.
What Are Bally Sports Arizona Plus and Bally Sports Arizona Xtra?
Considering that Bally Sports Arizona is the television home of three major sports teams, it is understandable that it would need more than one channel. Early April is an especially busy time for Bally Sports Arizona as all of those teams are in-season then.
As a result, Bally Sports Arizona Plus and Bally Sports Arizona Xtra were created to ensure that all of their games are covered live.
Bally Sports Arizona Commentators
Steve Berthiaume and former Arizona Diamondbacks manager Bob Brenly team up for the club’s television broadcasts, the former doing play-by-play and the latter adding analysis. Berthiaume has been with the team since 2012 while Brenly, who also has World Series-broadcasting experience with Fox, has commentated on the D-backs since 2013.
Meanwhile, Kevin Ray and Eddie Johnson bring Phoenix Suns commentary to fans situated throughout Arizona and elsewhere. Johnson’s extensive NBA playing career included three seasons in Phoenix (1987-90).
As for the Arizona Coyotes, Matt McConnell handles play-by-play duties. He is usually joined by color analyst Tyson Nash although Paul Bissonnette sometimes joins McConnell instead.
Wrapping Up
The bottom line is that if you are based in Arizona or in nearby parts of New Mexico and want to stream the Arizona Diamondbacks, Phoenix Suns, or Arizona Coyotes more than a handful of times a season, you need Bally Sports Arizona.
You can get it by subscribing to Fubo for $91.98/month. Fubo allows you to try out its service with a free trial.
See Also
- Arizona Diamondbacks Viewer’s Guide
- MLB Viewer’s Guide
- Phoenix Suns Viewer’s Guide
- NBA Viewer’s Guide
- NHL Viewer’s Guide
- WNBA Viewer’s Guide
- WNBA Playoffs on Sling TV
FAQs
What happened to Bally Sports Arizona?
Bally Sports Arizona shut down operations because they had no contracts to broadcast live games. In April 2023, the Suns ended their contract with Bally Sports Arizona. In June 2023, they ended their contract with the Diamondbacks. And in October 2023, they ended their contract with the Coyotes. As of October 22, 2023, Bally Sports no longer existed.
What happened to Fox Sports Arizona?
The Department of Justice (DOJ) determined that the acquisition of the Fox Sports Network by Walt Disney violated antitrust laws because Disney already owned ESPN. All Fox Sports RSNs including Fox Sports Arizona was sold to Diamond Sports Group (a partnership between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios) and rebranded as Bally Sports.
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My expertise in sports coverage, particularly for out-of-market games and regional sports networks, stems from years of hands-on experience as an early adopter of streaming services and my work addressing fans' viewing challenges. As a longtime cord-cutter and subscriber to multiple streaming platforms, I combine my technical knowledge with practical user experience, making me a leading expert in the field of sports streaming and entertainment technology.
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