NBA Readying Contingency Plans in Case Diamond Sports Group Gives Up Broadcast, Streaming Rights
NBA Readying Contingency Plans in Case Diamond Sports Group Gives Up Broadcast, Streaming Rights
The NBA is hoping for the best, and preparing for the worst with Diamond Sports Group (DSG) this season. A new report from The Athletic outlines how the league is getting ready for the upcoming season with regard to its TV deals, specifically for the 15 teams covered by a Bally Sports regional sports network (RSN) and available to stream on Bally Sports+.
Diamond is the parent company of Bally Sports RSNs and is still in bankruptcy court determining how to pay down debt and continue operations as a profitable business. It gave up two of its MLB contracts this summer, as those deals cost it more money than they brought in, and the judge presiding over its bankruptcy case did not allow it to make lower payments than contractually obligated to those clubs.
Might NBA teams suffer a similar fate this season? DSG has assured the league that it has enough cash on hand to meet its obligations to teams like the Dallas Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves, but the league is taking steps to ensure that there are no broadcast disruptions in the event that the company decides to give up one of its NBA contracts.
The Charlotte Hornets appear on Bally Sports Southeast, and the team’s co-owner Rick Schnall discussed the situation earlier this month at a press conference to introduce the new ownership group. He acknowledged there was some uncertainty when asked where Hornets games would appear on TV this year, but tried to assure fans they wouldn’t miss any games.
“We actually don’t know the answer to that question,” Schnall said. “We’re under contract through the ‘25-26 season with Bally Sports, and we expect them to live up to that contract. They’re obviously in Chapter 11; that’s an ongoing negotiation. The NBA is obviously very concerned and very involved in that. There will be a place to watch the Hornets. We think it will be Bally Sports under the terms of the contract, but if not, we will have alternative plans.”
The Athletic reports there has already been contact between league officials and local broadcast stations in the markets where teams play on Bally Sports RSNs. This suggests a slight deviation from MLB’s strategy; the baseball teams that departed Bally Sports channels stayed on cable, going to specially-created channels to continue serving their local markets. The NBA is looking to use over-the-air broadcast channels if their teams leave Bally Sports, meaning all users would need to see those games is an antenna.
Such a shift has already occurred for two NBA teams this offseason: the Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz. The Suns were formerly on [Bally Sports Arizona], but they were officially released from their contract by DSG in June. The Jazz played on [AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain] last year, but that channel’s parent company Warner Bros. Discovery is getting out of the RSN game, and the Jazz are moving to a Sinclair-owned broadcast station. Both teams are also getting an in-market streaming option this season, and the NBA will establish such an option for any team that leaves a Bally Sports RSN this year.
Other media companies who expressed interest in the NBA's local rights may have to walk away disappointed this season. But they could still be called upon if the rights to all 15 NBA teams covered by Bally Sports become available at the same time. DSG’s carriage contracts with DIRECTV and Comcast are set to expire this fall, and if they aren’t renewed, it could be the end of the road for the company. If that happens, the NBA might not be ready to juggle new contracts for all of those teams’ broadcasting rights separately and might decide to sell them all to a company like Disney or Apple in the short term.
For now, the NBA is crossing its fingers that DSG is financially prepared to meet its obligations to the teams it has contracts with. But if it can’t, the league seems fully ready to send those teams to local over-the-air channels instead, and to create in-market streaming options so users accustomed to watching on Bally Sports+ won’t miss out on the action.
Bally Sports+
Bally Sports+ was a direct-to-consumer streaming service that provided live, in-market games without requiring a cable or satellite subscription. It allowed fans to watch their local Bally Sports regional sports network (RSN) without a traditional TV package.