Diamond Sports Will Terminate NBA, NHL Contracts if Reorg Plan Isn’t Approved Soon
The deals agreed to between Diamond, the NBA and NHL can be nullified if the broadcaster doesn’t win approval for its bankruptcy plan.
Wednesday’s news that Diamond Sports Group (DSG), which owns and operates Bally Sports-branded regional sports networks (RSNs) across the United States, was about to drop the majority of its MLB contracts has once again raised the prospect that the company is ready for a sprint to the finish line in its bankruptcy case. But the Sports Business Journal has more details about the company’s latest court machinations, including filings that show DSG is willing to let the NBA and NHL out of their contracts despite recently agreeing to longer-term deals with those leagues.
Key Details:
- The NBA and NHL can get out of their contracts with Diamond if its bankruptcy plan isn’t approved by Dec. 16.
- MLB was willing to stick with Diamond past 2025, but would not accept a 20% to 40% reduction in rights fee payments.
- Questions have arisen as to whether various Bally Sports channels can survive without MLB games.
SBJ reports that Diamond’s newest court filings show that the company is willing to release the NBA and NHL teams that it recently agreed to deals with after the upcoming 2024-25 season if it can’t get its bankruptcy reorganization plan approved by Dec. 16.
Meanwhile, MLB officials say they were “sandbagged” by Diamond’s decision to drop 11 of the 12 teams contracted with a Bally Sports channel in 2024. The RSN company handed the league details of that plan just 75 minutes before Wednesday’s status conference was set to begin, according to MLB attorney James Bromley.
In September, Diamond reportedly approached its partner MLB clubs with extension offers that included rights fee payments 20% to 40% lower than what they were currently taking. The league was willing to let teams re-up with Diamond, but not at such a drastically reduced rate.
Without those baseball teams, there is now significant doubt as to whether Diamond has any long-term viability as a company, even with its recent NBA and NHL deals. Each MLB team that plays on a Bally Sports channel airs approximately 150 games on their respective channel each season, and networks like Bally Sports Ohio or Bally Sports Wisconsin likely can’t get by with just the NBA and/or NHL.
At the very least, MLB got the speedy resolution it has been publicly demanding, and will now have enough time for teams to make new broadcasting arrangements ahead of the 2025 season. The Atlanta Braves are the last baseball team currently slated to stick with Diamond, but they too will be let out of their contract if the company doesn’t win approval for its reorg plan by Dec. 16.
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