As Diamond Sports' bankruptcy chaos continues, fans who can't follow their teams on TV are "furious." What's next?
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"A confirmation hearing is scheduled for July 29-30, at which point a bankruptcy judge could determine whether Diamond, which runs the regional sports networks (RSN) for 38 MLB, NBA and NHL teams under the name Bally Sports, will move forward as a business or shut down entirely. It's a decision that could expedite drastic changes in a rapidly evolving media landscape and one that will have a major impact on MLB's strongly held desire to place media rights under a national umbrella. Before enticing a partner like Amazon, Netflix, Hulu or ESPN+, the league says it needs the rights -- blackout free, without the territorial exclusivity tied to traditional RSN deals -- for somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 teams, according to sources. And that's only possible if Diamond doesn't emerge from bankruptcy."
"That is the ideal scenario, but one the league seemingly no longer considers feasible. The worst-case scenario isn't that those contracts disappear, but rather, that Diamond emerges on unstable ground, prompting more of the same uncertainty that clouded last offseason and, if owners continue to cite unstable RSN deals as an excuse for not spending, seems destined to stain the next one. Somewhere between those two extremes lies MLB's pivot plan -- housing all media rights under one umbrella, rather than having teams cut RSN deals on their own. The approach would include maintaining a traditional linear-cable product while also bringing in a major streaming company that would serve as MLB's digital home. Through this, MLB officials say, blackouts would cease and some of the current-day fragmentation that has frustrated fans would dissolve. It's a plan some consider overly optimistic, packed with a lot of moving parts -- and it might work only if all 30 teams ultimately join."
"MLB currently holds the broadcasting and streaming rights for the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks, both of whom Diamond cut last year, as well as the Colorado Rockies, who lost their RSN deal when AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain ceased business operations in October. The Texas Rangers, Cleveland Guardians and Twins, who negotiated one-year deals with Diamond in February, could join them over the offseason."
Baseball exploring options a bit more faster than NBA or NHL.