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

wildthing202

Registered User
May 29, 2006
977
44
Bit off-topic, but Spectrum/Charter made a deal with NBC/Comcast to add basic Peacock to Spectrum Select TV customers in 2025.

Just another move to keep the sinking ship afloat a little bit longer and prevents a carriage dispute later on between the two largest cable providers even though it was unlikely to happen given that they are partners on the Xumo streaming boxes...
 
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No Fun Shogun

34-38-61-10-13-15
May 1, 2011
57,393
15,059
Illinois
The new Hawks/Bulls/Sox channel is continuing to be a gongshow.

Screenshot_20241004-191423_Twitter.jpg


Sox are historically bad.

Hawks are likely going to be a lottery team again.

Bulls are.... the Bulls.

And unsurprisingly, Comcast and Google don't think that CHSN will be much of a ratings draw through 2025.
 
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dj4aces

An Intricate Piece of Infinity
Dec 17, 2007
6,504
1,600
Duluth, GA
To me, this sounds like another Bally Sports attempt with the Chicago market in mind. Erecting a paywall between the fans and sports content -- especially if the teams behind that paywall suck, isn't going to make people subscribe to Comcast (in this example) just to see it.

I could be wrong ...and since I'm not in Chicago, I probably am... but I really don't see this lasting very long or being very successful.
 

patnyrnyg

Registered User
Sep 16, 2004
11,083
1,110

When the NHL wanted to take over all the team websites, the Rangers fought it tooth and nail. Eventually, the Rangers lost the battle. MLB could try to do the same, but the fight would be MUCH bigger and more expensive for YES and NESN. SNY? Cohen may support the league as he doesn't own it, Wilpons still do. Before the team was sold, contract was written so SNY paid very little to the Mets for the rights.
 

joelef

Registered User
Nov 22, 2011
2,065
858
When the NHL wanted to take over all the team websites, the Rangers fought it tooth and nail. Eventually, the Rangers lost the battle. MLB could try to do the same, but the fight would be MUCH bigger and more expensive for YES and NESN. SNY? Cohen may support the league as he doesn't own it, Wilpons still do. Before the team was sold, contract was written so SNY paid very little to the Mets for the rights.
Teams with their own networks will fight mlb. Tv tooth and nail since it gives them a financial advantage
 

Headshot77

Bad Photoshopper
Feb 15, 2015
4,002
2,030
Pittsburgh
When the NHL wanted to take over all the team websites, the Rangers fought it tooth and nail. Eventually, the Rangers lost the battle. MLB could try to do the same, but the fight would be MUCH bigger and more expensive for YES and NESN. SNY? Cohen may support the league as he doesn't own it, Wilpons still do. Before the team was sold, contract was written so SNY paid very little to the Mets for the rights.
This is gonna be a slow agonizing process where leagues pick up the distribution of a couple teams here and there over the next decade. I could see in 2030 most teams being distributed by their own leagues, with a few annoying holdouts like MSG, NESN, etc.
 
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Takuto Maruki

Ideal and the real
Dec 13, 2016
387
272
Brandon, Manitoba
The new Hawks/Bulls/Sox channel is continuing to be a gongshow.

View attachment 912524

Sox are historically bad.

Hawks are likely going to be a lottery team again.

Bulls are.... the Bulls.

And unsurprisingly, Comcast and Google don't think that CHSN will be much of a ratings draw through 2025.
It raises a question then: how much longer will having two effective SN's in Chicago last before one blows up, or Marquee buys out and gets the rest?
 

KevFu

Registered User
May 22, 2009
9,374
3,575
Phoenix from Rochester via New Orleans
When the NHL wanted to take over all the team websites, the Rangers fought it tooth and nail. Eventually, the Rangers lost the battle. MLB could try to do the same, but the fight would be MUCH bigger and more expensive for YES and NESN. SNY? Cohen may support the league as he doesn't own it, Wilpons still do. Before the team was sold, contract was written so SNY paid very little to the Mets for the rights.

Here's the thing though. For what MLB is trying to accomplish, they don't actually really need to get all 30 teams at once, and the "fight" is going to be a tiny bit of talk in dribs and drabs and not like "Everything coming to a head."

They just need a tipping point where they can pass a grandfather rule that either (a) separates streaming rights from local broadcast rights at the end of their current contracts, or (b) drops the exclusivity from streaming rights.

They have six now (COL, SD, ARZ, CLE, MIN, MIL). They also don't NEED Toronto ever; it just doesn't apply to them. They can definitely get the Athletics as part of the terms of relocation when they leave California.

Eight more teams were just dropped by Bally's and four of them would easily vote for it, because the collective distribution would be higher than what they can generate in their small markets (CIN, KC, MIA, TB).

BAL/WAS, where they co-own MASN together but arguing/disputing the revenue split constantly and that's up for renegotation in 2028. Washington feels they're getting hosed, and Baltimore will be "small market" when that deal evens out.

Basically somewhere between 2028-2031, like after they award expansion teams and those guys get to vote, they can probably pull off a "No future TV contracts include local streaming rights" rule.
 

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