The sports broadcasting landscape in the United States could look very different one week from now. Diamond Sports Group (DSG), the embattled broadcaster responsible for 19 Bally Sports regional sports networks (RSNs) and the Bally Sports+ streaming service could be facing the end of its run as a partner with the NBA.
Diamond has two pivotal hurdles to clear before the month is out. First, its debt reorganization plan is due in bankruptcy court by Sept. 30. If its timeliness in paying NBA teams is any indication, DSG will likely be able to submit this plan on time. John Ourand of Sports Business Journal reports that the company paid both the Milwaukee Bucks and New Orleans Pelicans on Sept. 1, which the league took as a good sign. However, it has more rights payments due to teams on Oct. 1 and Nov. 1. DSG currently has the local broadcasting rights to 15 NBA teams, and requested mediation with both the NBA and NHL last month to ensure its reorganization plan included meeting its responsibilities to those leagues.
The second potentially existential issue that Diamond faces this week is that its carriage contract with Comcast, which has around 15 million cable subscribers in the U.S., is set to expire by week’s end. No new deal has been announced between the two sides as of yet, and while there’s still time to work something out, DSG will have to make a rock-solid case to Comcast that it has the ability to keep going if it expects to keep collecting carriage fees for its channels. Ourand spoke to one NBA official who confirmed there was anxiety about the lack of certainty with Diamond.
“I would characterize it right now not necessarily as a black cloud, but a gray cloud hanging over us, without a doubt,’’ said Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins, whose team is owed a payment from DSG on Nov. 1. “We’re all sort of sitting anxiously to see what happens with the Bally bankruptcy.’’
If Bally Sports RSNs are dropped by Comcast, Diamond may have to renege on its NBA deals. The league’s contract with the company stipulates that if it misses just one payment to one team, the NBA can reclaim all of the local broadcasting rights that DSG owns. NBA executives have promised they stand ready to take over broadcasting duties for affected teams if that happens, and that games will be available to stream locally on the NBA app and find new cable channel homes as well.
The league may not have to take on the burden of broadcasting all 15 teams currently on Bally Sports channels if Diamond goes under, however. Disney, Amazon, Apple, and Google have all reportedly expressed interest in picking up local NBA broadcasting rights if DSG cannot fulfill its responsibilities this season, so perhaps one of them will step in after the dust settles and take over from the NBA for the rest of the year.
Things could snowball quickly for Diamond if it doesn’t get a new carriage deal from Comcast. That coupled with the loss of its NBA rights would almost certainly mean Bally Sports channels are also dropped from DIRECTV, as DSG’s carriage deal with that provider expires in October. Spectrum is up next in January, and considering the concessions that company was able to get from Disney in their latest carriage squabble, it’s reasonable to assume its negotiating team won’t be giving DSG a sweetheart deal.
Diamond could come through this week smelling like roses, with a judge-approved debt restructuring plan and a new carriage contract with the largest cable provider in the country. The opposite outcome looks more likely at the moment, however, as the week marches on with no Comcast deal in sight.
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.