Diamond Sports Signs LA Kings to Multiyear Deal; Still Has Hurdles to Clear Before NHL, NBA Seasons
Diamond Sports Signs LA Kings to Multiyear Deal; Still Has Hurdles to Clear Before NHL, NBA Seasons
Diamond Sports Group (DSG) has netted a big goal before the start of the NHL season, but it remains to be seen if the score will be a one-timer or lead to a hat trick. Yahoo Sports reports that DSG has signed a new deal with the Los Angeles Kings that will keep the team’s games on Bally Sports West for multiple years to come.
The deal includes provisions for linear broadcasts and streams, so fans will be able to watch the Kings on Bally Sports+ in the Los Angeles area if they don’t have a cable subscription. It’s a big item for DSG to cross off its list, as one source with knowledge of the company’s inner workings told Yahoo that it doesn’t have any other rights renewal deals coming with NHL teams before the end of those leagues’ seasons.
“We are encouraged by the progress we are making in our restructuring process and are hopeful that this agreement can serve as a model for future discussions with our team and league partners,” said Diamond CEO David Preschlack in a statement.
Unfortunately for DSG, the company has bigger fish to fry than just ensuring its rights deals with teams are up-to-date. It has major carriage negotiations coming with Comcast at the end of September, and its deal with DIRECTV expires one month later. The latter company has already been to bankruptcy court with Diamond, filing a protest ahead the departure of the Arizona Diamondbacks which argued the provider should not have to pay DSG for Diamondbacks games it was no longer offering.
Diamond’s future could be decided by those negotiations. If it can’t come to agreements with Comcast and DIRECTV, it makes it that much harder for the company to claim that it has a viable audience when its carriage contract with Spectrum expires in February of 2024. Comcast, DIRECTV, and Spectrum account for over half the pay-TV audience in the United States, and if Bally Sports RSNs are pulled from those providers, DSG would have few options left.
These negotiations aren’t the only looming deadline Diamond faces, either. The filing period in its bankruptcy court case is ending on Sept. 30, after Judge Christopher Lopez granted the company an extension in August. That means the company only has a couple of weeks left to submit its plan for staying solvent and meeting its financial obligations to teams in the future.
In other words, stay tuned for more updates on DSG’s situation in the coming weeks. If something disastrous happens and DSG is unable to broadcast NBA or NHL games this season, both leagues stand ready to step in and take over broadcasts of games, much like Major League Baseball had to do with the Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres this year. For now, however, it appears the Los Angeles Kings will be on Bally Sports West all season long.
| DIRECTV | Fubo | Hulu | Philo | Sling TV | YouTube TV | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | Free Trial | Free 3-Day Trial | Free Trial | Save with Sling | Free Trial | |||||
| $20.99 | $9.99 | $28.99 | $25 | $19.99 | $29.99 | $45.99 | $45.99 | $64.99 | ||
| Bally Sports West | + $44 | + $59 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
