Report: Diamond Sports Group Nearing Deal with Arizona Diamondbacks, but MLB Commisioner May Block
At this point, the acrimony for Diamond Sports Group (DSG) felt by Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred is known far and wide. Manfred feels trapped by the contracts 13 of his teams currently have with Diamond and its Bally Sports regional sports networks (RSNs), and he wants out of those deals by any methods necessary.
One of his clubs might be preparing to sign a new deal with DSG regardless of Manfred’s feelings. That’s the Arizona Diamondbacks, who were so close to being dropped by Diamond that the company requested a bankruptcy court hearing in late June to reject the team’s contract. But at the 11th hour, the team and the company agreed to keep Diamondbacks games on Bally Sports Arizona, and that a new deal that was more financially accommodating to DSG could be reached.
The deal is not yet complete, but new reporting from the New York Post gives details about what it might look like. The deal would give DSG a 20% discount off the 20-year, $1.5 billion deal it signed with the team in 2015. Crucially, it would also hand the company the streaming rights to Diamondbacks games, which would be shown in the Arizona market on Bally Sports+ for the first time.
Manfred has veto power over every one of the league’s media contracts and has threatened to block the deal. MLB owners from bigger-market teams like the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers are also unhappy, as they have to pay 80% of the amount DSG does not come up with into a pool that gets distributed to clubs broadcast by Bally Sports RSNs. But if Manfred does reject the new contract between DSG and Arizona, the team could be in worse financial straits next year.
“I don’t believe Rob will reject the Arizona deal,” one MLB owner told the Post. “I think it’s a complete bluff.”
In Manfred’s ideal world, the league would reclaim all of its broadcasting and streaming rights and would begin the process of creating its own in-market streaming service that would offer all 30 MLB teams in their respective cities. But bigger teams like the Yankees and Boston Red Sox already have their own local streaming platforms, and their owners aren’t likely to jump on board another scheme that makes them feel like they’re subsidizing smaller-market clubs.
“Nobody has faith in Manfred creating an MLB network,” the MLB owner told the Post.
The commissioner hasn’t had much opportunity to prove he can set teams on the proper path after leaving DSG. The company has given up the rights to just one team: the San Diego Padres, which saw their games leave the Bally Sports San Diego channel at the end of May. The Cleveland Guardians were the latest team to get a rights payment from DSG, which keeps their games on Bally Sports Great Lakes until at least Aug. 1.
If DSG does not get cooperation from Manfred regarding its restructuring plan and its new potential deal with the Diamondbacks, the company may be forced to liquidate next year. That’s not the only problem the company is facing, either; Spectrum recently announced it would start offering cable plans without RSNs for a lower price. If more cable and satellite providers begin offering plans without RSNs, it will exacerbate the issues that caused DSG to enter bankruptcy court in the first place; namely that there aren’t enough people paying into the funnel to keep them on the air.
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.