As if it wasn’t hard enough to find a Rangers game on TV, they’ve made it even more complicated.

After Bally, the company that held the right to broadcast Texas Rangers games declared bankruptcy, folded, and stiffed the Rangers on millions of dollars of rights fees, the team moved quickly to establish its own broadcast entity, calling it Rangers Sports Network. 

But they needed a place to broadcast their games. So, they joined the newly formed Victory+ distribution channel, along with the Dallas Stars, Anaheim Ducks, offering a subscription service where fans had to pay to watch their games. That was the home of the Rangers.

Until now.

Yesterday, the Rangers made the abrupt decision to abandon Victory+ mid-season and jump onto another newly formed platform called BZZR. Like Buzzer. This won’t end well. It seems BZZR can’t even afford to buy a vowel. 

The Rangers deal with Victory+ ended because of funding problems, with is how the Bally deal ended. Victory+ had been looking for financing in order to grow. They had the rights to the Rangers, as well as the Stars, the Ducks, and a few other teams, and were attempting to secure the rights to three NBA teams: the Magic, Hornets and T’Wolves. To get those rights, they needed to secure additional funding. But because of an impending change in NBA’s operating contract, all three NBA teams could only sign a one-year licensing fee with Victory+. No bank would offer funding to Victory+ if they couldn’t secure long-range rights. 

The Ducks, sensing a collapse, pulled out first. Then the Rangers pulled out, not wanting to be burned again by a network that cannot pay them their rights fees.

So, beginning immediately, which means tomorrow’s series with Atlanta, Rangers games will be streaming on BZZR, which claims to be “a uniquely verified all-sports digital and content platform.” Whatever that means. Actually, what it means is, the Ranges will be on BZZR until it folds and they’ll find something else. You will, of course, have to pay BZZR to watch Rangers games.

But, if you had a subscription with Victory+, that gets transferred over to BZZR, so you’re not out your subscription fee this year. 

This is the rigmarole a franchise like the Rangers has to go through in order to secure enough rights fees which will allow them to rationalize cutting payroll. 

Owning a baseball team is hard work.