Collapse of Regional Sports Networks (Diamond Sports Group files bankruptcy, Warner-Discovery looking to leave business, Xfinity drops Bally)

Spydey629

Registered User
Jan 28, 2005
985
410
Carlisle, PA
It’s official. The Pirates are joining forces with FSG to co-own SportsNet Pittsburgh. They become a partner on January 1.

Everything on it is a blurb post so far. No links to provide at the moment…
 
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Fish on The Sand

Untouchable
Feb 28, 2002
60,360
2,130
Canada
Watch the same people who are rubbing their hands about rsn falling and crying about blackouts are going to be the same people complaining about Jersey sponsers so they make up the revenue. Be careful what you wish for.
They will probably complain even louder when they realize a dedicated sports subscription, even for a single team, will end up being similar to a cable subscription, but with much less overall value.
 

Kirk Van Houten

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May 7, 2019
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News: Bally RSNs, Pac-12, Peacock

Diamond Sports Group, owner of the Bally Sports RSNs, is nearing a settlement with MLB that would allow them to broadcast games for the 2024 season, per report. The two sides spent Thursday negotiating terms before meeting in federal bankruptcy court on Friday.

Details around the negotiations are sparse, and lawyers for both sides did not disclose whether a potential agreement would include all 11 franchises currently under contract with Diamond. In previous negotiations, Diamond has identified the Cleveland Guardians and Texas Rangers as two teams they would like to drop. Friday, a lawyer for Diamond mentioned there was a third team “currently not contemplated to be in the fold,” but did not specify which team.

Earlier this year, Diamond struck agreements with the NBA and NHL to broadcast games through the end of the season at a discounted fee, before ceding rights back to the league when the season concludes.

For the moment Bally Sports will stay even with a reduced pool of teams.
 

Kirk Van Houten

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May 7, 2019
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Amazon, Diamond Sports, in negotiations on partnership

Amazon and Diamond Sports — operator of the Bally Sports RSNs — are reportedly in talks that would eventually result in games being distributed through Amazon’s Prime Video platform. The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Amazon and Diamond are in active negotiations on a “multiyear streaming partnership” that would see Amazon purchase an as-yet-undetermined stake in the now-bankrupt company and “eventually become the streaming home” of its properties.

Amazon, which already owns a stake in YES Network, has previously been mentioned as a suitor for the NBA’s local rights in the league’s upcoming media rights negotiations. The NBA recently struck a deal with Diamond that will result in all of its existing deals with Bally Sports RSNs ending after this season. That arrangement was viewed as paving the way, at least partially, for the NBA to package local rights in a potential national deal with Amazon.

The aforementioned agreement between Diamond and the NBA is part of a plan by the company to exit all of its existing deals by the end of the 2024 Major League Baseball season. While that effort has been perceived — specifically by Diamond’s parent company Sinclair Broadcast Group — as a prelude to Diamond’s liquidation, an arrangement with Amazon would obviously change the calculus.
 

mouser

Business of Hockey
Jul 13, 2006
29,609
13,120
South Mountain

For clarity it's not guaranteed broadcast rights will return to the teams after this season. The deal still includes the possibility for a third party such as Amazon to purchase the assets out of bankruptcy.

Also the court document only lists 8 of the 11 teams. Meaning the other 3 teams (Blues, Kings, Panthers) might have a slightly different treatment.
 
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jkrdevil

UnRegistered User
Apr 24, 2006
43,174
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Miami
For clarity it's not guaranteed broadcast rights will return to the teams after this season. The deal still includes the possibility for a third party such as Amazon to purchase the assets out of bankruptcy.

Also the court document only lists 8 of the 11 teams. Meaning the other 3 teams (Blues, Kings, Panthers) might have a slightly different treatment.
Were those three teams paid already?
 

mouser

Business of Hockey
Jul 13, 2006
29,609
13,120
South Mountain
Were those three teams paid already?

Possibly, or at least their respective networks seem to be referred to as non-debtor joint ventures. That would imply Diamond is not in default on the deals, or some other arrangement has been or will be made. The joint venture language implies mixed ownership groups for those three networks, possibly including the teams themselves. Haven't researched the ownership details on those three networks.
 

FriendlyGhost92

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Jun 22, 2023
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A postpoment on the next meeting between Bally and MLB for the 2024 season


Didn't Seravalli's website just put out an article that Bally's parent company agreed to pay the NHL markets for the rest of 23-24 and 24-25 TV rights go back to those teams to find new contracts?
 

Kirk Van Houten

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May 7, 2019
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Didn't Seravalli's website just put out an article that Bally's parent company agreed to pay the NHL markets for the rest of 23-24 and 24-25 TV rights go back to those teams to find new contracts?
I'm pretty sure Bally got that deal with NBA/NHL teams so it's relevant to see what they do with MLB if they can't reach a deal then we're looking at the same thing for the NHL
 

Kirk Van Houten

Registered User
May 7, 2019
1,494
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Amazon, Diamond Sports, in negotiations on partnership

Amazon and Diamond Sports — operator of the Bally Sports RSNs — are reportedly in talks that would eventually result in games being distributed through Amazon’s Prime Video platform. The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that Amazon and Diamond are in active negotiations on a “multiyear streaming partnership” that would see Amazon purchase an as-yet-undetermined stake in the now-bankrupt company and “eventually become the streaming home” of its properties.

Amazon, which already owns a stake in YES Network, has previously been mentioned as a suitor for the NBA’s local rights in the league’s upcoming media rights negotiations. The NBA recently struck a deal with Diamond that will result in all of its existing deals with Bally Sports RSNs ending after this season. That arrangement was viewed as paving the way, at least partially, for the NBA to package local rights in a potential national deal with Amazon.

The aforementioned agreement between Diamond and the NBA is part of a plan by the company to exit all of its existing deals by the end of the 2024 Major League Baseball season. While that effort has been perceived — specifically by Diamond’s parent company Sinclair Broadcast Group — as a prelude to Diamond’s liquidation, an arrangement with Amazon would obviously change the calculus.


Diamond Sports (operator of the Bally Sports RSNs) is in negotiations to sell its Major League Baseball streaming rights to Amazon, but has had to scale back its original plans under opposition from MLB, the New York Post reported this week. Amazon originally offered to invest $150 million into Diamond in exchange for multi-year streaming rights to all 11 MLB teams carried by Bally Sports, but Diamond only owns streaming rights to five (the Brewers, Marlins, Rays, Royals and Tigers). The sides are now in talks concerning just those teams.

Diamond had pitched MLB on acquiring long-term streaming rights to all 11 and then selling those to Amazon, but was rebuffed as the league wants to sell those rights itself. To that end, MLB is offering Diamond reduced rights fees for three teams if the company agrees to relinquish its streaming rights after this season, a move that would have the added benefit of resolving the sides’ stalemate over which teams will air on Bally Sports this season. (Diamond has indicated that it will only carry certain teams — believed to be the Guardians, Rangers and Twins — at a reduced rate.)

Small update on the Amazon/Bally/MLB situation
 
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LadyStanley

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Sep 22, 2004
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Sin City

Amazon will partner with Diamond Sports as part of a restructuring agreement as the largest owner of regional sports networks looks to emerge from bankruptcy. ...
 

AtlantaWhaler

Thrash/Preds/Sabres
Jul 3, 2009
20,217
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So now we have to see first if MLB does make with Amazon and then what the NBA/NHL do
According to the ESPN article:

Customers will be able to access their local team's content on Prime Video channels where Diamond has rights. Pricing and availability will be announced at a later date. Regional sports content will also remain available on cable and satellite providers.

This is awesome news. Though, this will be a blow to the cable companies. I have a number of friends who subscribe to Comcast just to be able to watch Braves games (after Bally's left YouTube TV).
 

Ezekial

Cheap Pizza, Okay Hockey
Sponsor
Nov 22, 2015
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Chicago
According to the ESPN article:

Customers will be able to access their local team's content on Prime Video channels where Diamond has rights. Pricing and availability will be announced at a later date. Regional sports content will also remain available on cable and satellite providers.

This is awesome news. Though, this will be a blow to the cable companies. I have a number of friends who subscribe to Comcast just to be able to watch Braves games (after Bally's left YouTube TV).
Cable companies need to adapt to the realities of the day. Diamond pays to produce the broadcast and their model is failing in the current cable market - advertisements alone can't pay the bills when you can't get eyeballs on them. The producers of the broadcast need to make money or the lights turn off, I was thinking Bally's would completely fail before Amazon or some other major streamer would swoop in and buy all that broadcasting infrastructure.


As for the news, it's great news.
 
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