Bally Sports Channels Will Soon Become FanDuel Sports Networks
Diamond Sports Group has been in talks with FanDuel since February, but a deal has finally been submitted to the court for approval.
Goodbye, Bally Sports channels, and hello to FanDuel Sports Networks. Diamond Sports Group — the parent company of Bally Sports regional sports networks (RSNs) and the Bally Sports+ streaming service — has announced via filings in bankruptcy court that it has struck a new deal with FanDuel for naming rights to its channels, just in time for the 2024-25 NBA season and most of the NHL season as well.
Key Details:
- FanDuel and Diamond’s new deal will run for multiple years.
- The agreement allows FanDuel to buy up to 5% equity in a reorganized Diamond.
- DSG could still wind down operations after the NBA and NHL seasons if things don’t go its way.
Diamond said in its most recent filings with the U.S. bankruptcy court that if it emerges from Chapter 11 protections successfully by the end of the year, it will team with FanDuel as a “long-term naming rights partner.”
The deal would also allow FanDuel to purchase up to 5% equity in the new Diamond Sports Group should its bankruptcy reorganization plan be approved. The deal would see Diamond-owned RSNs be renamed for the third time in their history; they began life as Fox Sports channels but switched to the Bally Sports branding in 2019 when they were sold by Fox to Sinclair Broadcasting Group as part of Disney’s purchase of Fox assets.
Public reports surrounding talks between Diamond and FanDuel began to circulate in June, but talks started as far back as February. Diamond said it wanted to wait to finalize a long-term deal with the NBA and NHL before finishing negotiations with FanDuel, perhaps because in the absence of such deals it may not have wanted to continue as a business past the 2024-25 season.
The partnership between Diamond and FanDuel makes plenty of sense for both. Sports betting site FanDuel gets to increase its exposure with the naming-rights agreement, and Diamond gets to hold up a partnership with an extremely lucrative gambling firm to its creditors as it nears a bankruptcy reorg confirmation hearing in November.
It remains to be seen if Diamond will retain any of its baseball teams besides the Atlanta Braves in 2025. In early October, the company announced its intentions to move on from 11 of the 12 teams it partnered with last season, the sole exception being the Braves. Some of those clubs may decide to come back to Diamond on reduced rights fee deals, but only time will tell on that score.
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.