Texas Rangers expand TV broadcast options with traditional carriers and some free games
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Texas Rangers reached multiyear agreements with several distributors that will broadcast games in the team's five-state television territory, the team announced Tuesday.
A day after unveiling the new Rangers Sports Network (RSN), the team said the network had partnered with several traditional cable and digital television providers. Those include DirectTV, U-Verse and Spectrum, with deals still being finalized with other providers. The team will also provide free over-the-air games for the first time since 2014, with a plan for 15 such broadcasts that will mainly be Friday home games.
'Given the challenges in the landscape for local game broadcasts the past few years, it was essential for us to provide fans with multiple ways to watch Rangers baseball,' said Neil Leibman, chairman of the new Rangers Entertainment and Media Company.
The Rangers in mid-January entered into a multiyear agreement to stream Rangers regional games directly to consumers on the Victory+ service. That service will cost $100 to access games for the full season.
The Rangers previously had their regional broadcasts on Bally Sports Southwest, part of the financially troubled Diamond Sports Group that went through a bankruptcy reorganization. The team's deal with Diamond expired at the end of last season. Bally Sports Southwest was not available through some cable companies and many popular streaming platforms.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
The Associated Press

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Bitcoin is introduced into Africa's largest slum, with risks and rewards
KIBERA, Kenya (AP) — Dotting the roadside in what is widely considered Africa's largest urban slum are typical stands selling vegetables. What isn't typical is their acceptance of bitcoin as a form of payment. Around 200 people use bitcoin in Soweto West, a neighborhood of the Kibera slum in Kenya 's capital. It's part of an initiative to extend financial services to one of the country's poorest and most under-banked areas. Its promoters say the adoption of crypto fits with the ideals of bitcoin as an accessible, democratic technology — but experts say it also has major risks. Bitcoin came to Soweto West via AfriBit Africa, a Kenyan fintech company, through its nonprofit initiative to improve financial inclusion. 'In many cases, people in Kibera do not have an opportunity to secure their lives with normal savings,' said AfriBit Africa co-founder Ronnie Mdawida, a former community worker. With bitcoin, "they do not need documentation to have a bank account … that gives them the foundation for financial freedom.' Bitcoin, the first and largest crypto, was created in 2009 in the wake of the global financial crisis as a decentralized digital asset that could act as an alternative method of payment. The asset has found more popular use as a store of value, like a digital form of gold. Bitcoin has attracted enthusiastic supporters as prices have climbed almost 1,000% in the last five years. But its volatility and lack of regulation are concerns. AfriBit Africa introduced bitcoin into Soweto West in early 2022 through crypto-denominated grants to local garbage collectors, who are often funded by nonprofits. The groups are made up of dozens of young people, who Mdawida says are more likely to be open to new tech. After gathering on a Sunday to collect trash, garbage collectors are paid a few dollars' worth of bitcoin. AfriBit Africa estimates that it has put some $10,000 into the community, with garbage collectors acting as the main agents of spreading bitcoin in Soweto West. In Kibera, many people earn about a dollar a day. Now a small number of other residents hold bitcoin, and some merchants and motorcycle taxis accept payments in crypto. Damiano Magak, 23, a garbage collector and food seller, said he prefers bitcoin to M-PESA, the ubiquitous mobile money platform in Kenya, because M-PESA transaction costs are higher and the network can be slower. There are no fees for M-PESA transactions between individuals or businesses up to 100 Kenyan shillings (78 cents), but after that the fees increase with transaction size. Fees for the Lightning bitcoin network where transactions take place are free if people use a platform that AfriBit Africa introduced into the community. Onesmus Many, 30, another garbage collector, said he feels safer with his money in a bitcoin wallet instead of in cash because of crime. Some merchants have found benefits to accepting crypto, including Dotea Anyim. She said around 10% of customers at her vegetable stand pay in bitcoin. 'I like it because it is cheap and fast and doesn't have any transaction costs,' she says. 'When people pay using bitcoin, I save that money and use cash to restock vegetables.' The possibility that crypto prices could keep rising also appeals to residents of Soweto West. Magak and Many said they now have around 70% to 80% of their net worth in bitcoin, a far higher level of exposure than most people. 'It is my worth and I'm risking it in bitcoin,' Magak said. That concerns Ali Hussein Kassim, a fintech entrepreneur and chair of the FinTech Alliance in Kenya. 'In an extremely volatile asset like bitcoin, it's overexposure. I can't afford to lose 80% of my wealth. How about a guy in Kibera?' Kassim said. 'You are exposing a vulnerable community to an ecosystem and to financial services that they can't necessarily afford to play in.' Kassim acknowledged the potential benefits that digital assets could bring, particularly in facilitating cheaper cross-border payments like remittances, but failed to see the benefit in Kibera. Bitcoin's volatility could negate the benefits of cheaper transaction fees, Kassim said, and bitcoin does not have the same protections as other financial services due to a lack of regulation. Mdawida disagreed, calling bitcoin's unregulated nature a benefit. 'We don't shy away from the risks involved,' the AfriBit Africa co-founder said, noting the group's investments in bitcoin education in Kibera, including financial literacy training and crypto courses in the community. Efforts to introduce bitcoin into developing countries have faced challenges. Bitcoin was adopted as legal tender in El Salvador and Central African Republic but both countries have reversed their decision. In Kenya, the digital asset sector has faced legal and regulatory challenges, including crackdowns on cryptocurrency giveaways. This small project, focusing only on Soweto West, has been allowed. 'On my phone I put notifications on when bitcoin rises … and it's all smiles," Magak said. "Whenever it fluctuates up and down, I know at the end of the day it will just rise.' ___ For more on Africa and development: The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data


San Francisco Chronicle
28 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Public employees in Iraq's Kurdish region caught in the middle of Baghdad-Irbil oil dispute
BAGHDAD (AP) — Tensions have escalated between Iraq's central government in Baghdad and the semiautonomous Kurdish region in the country's north in a long-running dispute over the sharing of oil revenues. The central government has accused the Kurdish regional authorities of making illegal deals and facilitating oil smuggling. Baghdad cut off funding for public sector salaries in the Kurdish region ahead of the Eid al-Adha holiday. Kurdish authorities called the move 'collective punishment' and threatened to retaliate. A long-running dispute It's the latest flare-up in a long-running dispute between officials in Baghdad and Irbil, the seat of the Kurdish regional government, over sharing of oil revenues. In 2014, the Kurdish region decided to unilaterally export oil through an independent pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan. The central government considers it illegal for Irbil to export oil without going through the Iraqi national oil company and filed a case against Turkey in the International Court of Arbitration, arguing that Turkey was violating the provisions of the Iraqi-Turkish pipeline agreement signed in 1973. Iraq stopped sending oil through the pipeline in March 2023 after the arbitration court ruled in Baghdad's favor. Attempts to reach a deal to restart exports have repeatedly stalled. Last month, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani of the Iraqi Kurdish regional government traveled to Washington, where he inked two major energy deals with U.S. companies. The federal government in Baghdad then sued in an Iraqi court, asserting that it was illegal for the regional government to make the deals without going through Baghdad. Iraq cuts off funds for public employees in the Kurdish region The Iraqi Ministry of Finance announced a decision last month to halt funding for salaries of public sector employees in the Kurdish region. The move sparked widespread outrage in Irbil, triggering strong political and public reactions. The ministry said in a statement that the decision was due to the Kurdish regional authorities' 'failure to hand over oil and non-oil revenues to the federal treasury, as stipulated in the federal budget laws.' It added that any transfer of funds would be conditional on 'the region's commitment to transparency and financial accountability.' The federal Ministry of Oil accused Irbil of failing to deliver crude oil produced in the region's fields to the ministry for export through the state-run SOMO company, which it said had led to massive financial losses amounting to billions of dollars. The ministry warned that 'continued non-compliance jeopardizes Iraq's international reputation and obligations, forcing the federal government to reduce oil production in other provinces to stay within Iraq's OPEC quota — which includes Iraqi Kurdish production, regardless of its legality.' Accusations of oil smuggled out of the Kurdish region Baghdad has also accused Irbil of smuggling oil out of the country. An Iraqi official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly said the government had tracked 240 cases of illegal border crossings from Iraq's Kurdish region into Iran between Dec. 25, 2024, and May 24, 2025, aimed at smuggling oil derivatives. The Kurdish region's Ministry of Natural Resources in a statement called those allegations 'a smokescreen to distract from widespread corruption and smuggling in other parts of Iraq. The KRG agreed to sell its oil through SOMO, opened an escrow account, and handed over revenues — yet Baghdad failed to meet its financial obligations.' It accused the federal government of being responsible for the halt in oil exports via Turkey due to the lawsuit it filed in 2023 and said the Kurdish region had delivered over 11 million barrels of oil to the Ministry of Oil without receiving any financial compensation. The ministry accused Baghdad of 'violating the constitution and pursuing a deliberate policy of collective punishment and starvation against the people" of the Kurdish region through the halt in funding for salaries. Barzani in a statement on the eve of the Eid al-Adha holiday described the withholding of salaries as an 'unjust and oppressive decision' and a 'policy of mass starvation' comparable to the chemical attacks and 'genocide' launched by Iraq's former longtime strongman ruler, Saddam Hussein, against the Kurds. The Iraqi Kurdish people "have resisted with steadfastness and courage in the face of all forms of pressure and tyranny' and 'regret was the fate of the tyrants," he said. In the meantime, residents of the Kurdish region feel caught in the middle of the yearslong political dispute once again. Saman Ali Salah, a public school teacher from the city of Sulaimaniyah, said the salary cutoff comes at a particularly bad time for him — his daughter was hit by a car 40 days ago and is still in the hospital. He blamed both Baghdad and Irbil for the situation. 'All the money I had was spent on transportation from the house to the hospital and I haven't paid my rent for the past two months," Salah said. 'I don't know what to do. All I can say is that God will take revenge on these so-called officials on Judgement Day.'


San Francisco Chronicle
29 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
All-time great wrestler Hakuho quits Japan Sumo Association with plans to form global body
TOKYO (AP) — Hakuho, a retired 'yokozuna' or grand champion and viewed by many as the sport's greatest wrestler, said Monday he has quit the Japan Sumo Association after an apparent falling out with the governing body of the ancient sport. The Mongolia-born Hakuho was earlier sanctioned by the Japan Sumo Association, accused of failing to control the behavior of a wrestler in his so-called stable, the term used for a training team headed by retired wrestlers. Hakuho's stable was closed a year ago. Japanese media reports say the wrestler in question engaged in physical violence. But closing a stable, instead of just punishing an individual wrestler, was unusual. He did not directly criticize the professional Japan Sumo Association, but he said wrestlers who had trained under him were treated unfairly. Hakuho, who was granted Japanese citizenship, said he had been in talks with the association but recently decided to quit because there was no hope of reopening his stable. His farewell and future 'After 25 years of loving sumo and being loved by sumo, I want to advance toward a new dream,' Hakuho told reporters Monday at a Tokyo hotel. Hakuho said he wants to create a body to govern sumo outside Japan — the 'world sumo project.' He called it a 'new dream' to 'expand sumo to the world." 'When I think of my situation, I think it's best to contribute to sumo from the outside,' he said, wearing a dark suit and referring to the Japan Sumo Association. Appearing with a lawyer and other officials he had tapped for his team, Hakuho said they were getting corporate sponsors to back sumo grand slams, which draw amateur sumo wrestlers from around the world, including children and women. Hakuho said he was friends with Toyota Motor Corp. Chairman Akio Toyoda, who has expressed interest in supporting his efforts. Toyota already supports various amateur and professional sports activities. Toyota comfirmed Akio Toyoda's friendship with Hakuho. 'He (Hahuko) is devoted to trying to bring the world closer together through sumo,' the company quoted Akio Toyoda saying in a statement. Many regard the Mongolia-born Hakuko as the greatest champion in the sport's history and he holds many of its records. Hahuko's late-father, who went by the given name of Monkhbat, was an Olympic silver medalist for Mongolia in 1968. He also competed in at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Hahuko retired from active wrestling in 2021. ___