Mac Engel: Stars and Rangers TV mess: 'It's Bally Sports all over again'

Mac Engel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Sep 2, 2026

Published in Hockey

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FORT WORTH, Texas — The jet fuel behind the Dallas Mavericks, Texas Rangers and Dallas Stars that once flowed like a fire hydrant has trickled into drops from a leaky bathroom sink.

The financial, and PR, mess that was Bally Sports continues here in Dallas-Fort Worth, only this time it goes by the name of “Victory+.” A more appropriate term is “Failure Minus.”

Following the reluctant lead set by the Mavericks and Rangers, the Stars are set to announce yet another new local broadcasting plan when it will join Amazon Prime as their primary TV partner to carry their games starting this season.

Fans are not expected to be on the hook for a price hike if they subscribe to Amazon Prime, but they will need that subscription. The people who comprise the Stars’ broadcasts, such as long time color man Daryl “Razor” Reaugh, are expected to remain in their respective roles.

This deal has been in the works for the last several weeks and will not be a financial balloon for the franchise. The transition is out of necessity.

According to executives with both the local baseball and hockey team, Victory+ owes the Rangers $30 million, and the Stars $20 million. It would be a surprise if either club sees a dime of it.

One former Victory+ employee called the situation, “a mess.”

Victory+ did not respond to an email request from the Star-Telegram for comment.

The Stars’ anticipated announcement is yet another step in an evolving mess that continues to leave fans wondering where exactly they can watch anything, since it all changes so frequently. Every time one of the major local sports franchises thinks it has solved its broadcasting distribution issue, a challenge that is now well over seven years old, a keg of flat red wine is dumped on their white, linen table cloth.

Stars, Rangers forced to move TV homes

The Stars had been with the ambitious startup Victory+ since the start of the 2024-25 season. It was a pioneering move; a direct-to-consumer, streaming-only option. All the viewer needed was a Wi-Fi signal.

The Rangers joined for the 2025 season.

According to officials with both of the respective clubs, the move to that platform was always viewed as a trial run, and not a guaranteed long-term solution to their local TV distribution problem that began roughly around the same time as “cord cutting” became popular. The trial run flopped.

The Victory+ model was built on target advertising as the main source of revenue. Its marketing hook is, “Stream live sports for free, from any device.”

According to its site, it lists the Atlanta Dream of the WNBA, Inter Milan, as well as Texas UIL football, the Women’s Hockey League, as some of the teams and leagues it carries. It also lists Sports Radio 1310 The Ticket; the hope was that it would carry a live feed of some of The Ticket’s popular shows.

There has not been enough ad revenue to make this work.

Having not been paid, the Rangers left Victory+ in June; their games can now be seen on an app called “BZZR.” The jump to “BZZR” has not exactly been a buzz saw; many fans have complained the app doesn’t work properly, and viewers aren’t able to consistently watch the games live.

Stars fans had no issues with Victory+.

TV future of Rangers, Mavericks, Stars, Wings et al.

Out of frustration with the evolution of Fox Sports Southwest to Bally Sports, and ensuing distribution battles that left fans without the ability to consistently watch the games, the Dallas Mavericks moved their games to “free TV” in 2024.

That offseason, the Mavs signed a multi-year agreement with TEGNA to broadcast its games on WFAA, or its sister station, KMPX.

Dallas Wings’ games are also currently broadcast by TEGNA. Wings president Gregg Bibb told the Star-Telegram that its multi-year deal with TEGNA ends at the end of the year, and the team plans to discuss options after the season.

For the Mavericks, moving to “free TV” was an easier move because the NBA’s national TV contract is so big they don’t need the local media rights revenue as much as the Stars, Rangers and the rest.

For well over a decade, the Rangers made a healthy sum from its local TV deal, first with Fox Sports Southwest and then with Bally. Those sweet deals died as the regional sports model was shredded by the rise of streaming, and the consequences have been felt on the team’s ability to add to payroll.

Local media rights revenues have collapsed for most MLB teams. The Rangers are unsure of their future local TV provider beyond this season.

One of the primary reasons the Stars are moving to a new arena in Plano is because they don’t generate nearly as much in media rights revenue. The new arena plans will create alternative real estate revenue possibilities.

According to people familiar with this new deal with Prime, the Stars will cover the production costs, which will only eat into whatever Prime is paying them.

The Stars tried something different with Victory+, but ultimately it was a minus.