MLB Teams Pick Sides in Broadcasting Fight Between League and Diamond Sports
Teams have to decide what broadcast model works for them, and some may decide to head back to Diamond.
Nearly a dozen Major League Baseball teams are facing a dilemma. Last week, Diamond Sports Group (DSG) informed a bankruptcy court that it intended to drop the rights to 11 out of the 12 teams it partnered with in 2024 in order to help it become a solvent company, with the sole exception being the Atlanta Braves. This week, several clubs have taken their first steps toward ironing out their broadcast plans for the 2025 season, and in some cases, those plans will highly resemble the arrangements they’ve carried on with for years.
Key Details:
- Diamond is in “active negotiations” with at least seven MLB clubs to continue broadcasting games.
- The Brewers, Guardians, and Twins are all planning to allow the league to distribute their games itself.
- Diamond’s confirmation hearing for its reorganization plan is now slated for Nov. 14.
Sportico reports that despite Diamond’s apparent desire to let most of its MLB partner teams depart in peace, those clubs aren’t as eager to move on from Diamond as league bosses are. At least seven MLB teams are in “active negotiations” to stay with a Diamond regional sports network (RSN) in 2025.
This is something I predicted could happen, especially after it became known that the Los Angeles Angels were already in talks to try to stay on a Bally Sports channel. Even with a 20% to 40% reduction in rights fees, these teams may feel that they can make more on a Diamond-owned channel than they can by sending their rights back to the league or trying to distribute games on over-the-air (OTA) channels.
Not all teams who aired games on a Bally Sports RSN last year are talking with Diamond about a new deal, however. Sportico also reports that the Cleveland Guardians, Milwaukee Brewers, and Minnesota Twins are all planning to let the league distribute their games. MLB will be responsible for seeking out local TV deals, and will likely stream the teams with special in-market plans of MLB.TV for $20 per month, the way it has done for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, and San Diego Padres. Additionally, Sportico says that the league is trying to get the Cincinnati Reds to turn their rights over as well.
While the regular season just ended, Diamond has to iron out any deals with MLB partners quickly. It faces a Nov. 14 confirmation hearing on its bankruptcy reorganization plan, and if that plan is not approved by Dec. 16, the RSN owner has agreed to return all NBA and NHL rights following the 2024-25 seasons for those leagues.
One big change that Diamond is looking to make is to the name and branding of its RSNs. Its deal with Bally Sports expired at the end of baseball season, and this week it was reported that Diamond is closing in on a new agreement with FanDuel to take over naming and branding responsibilities for the channels and streaming platform.
Bally Sports+
Bally Sports+ is a direct-to-consumer streaming service that offers live games for those who want access to your local Bally Sports RSN without subscribing to a cable or satellite package.