Yes, I could tell that.
In simple terms, bankruptcy courts can do virtually whatever they want (only a slight exaggeration). The broadcast rights are an "asset" of the debtor - the bk court generally will not allow an asset to simply terminate if that harms creditors. In order for the broadcast rights agreements to terminate, the court will need to approve that.
Here is the key part of the article:
"The agreements, the filings said, change the terms of the contracts with the 22 teams, though
those deals are sealed. But presumably it involves a reduction in rights fees given the deterioration of the regional sports network market, in return for the assurance of Bally Sports televising the games, as well as getting streaming rights.
If Diamond does not have a Chapter 11 exit plan
by the end of the next NBA and NHL seasons, then the contracts are terminated. In the event Bally Sports defaults on payments before then, the teams become high priority creditors, and receive liens on Diamond assets.
However, if Diamond does get a plan approved, the NBA and NHL agreements automatically continue past the upcoming season."
So:
- We don't know all of the terms of the agreements with the NHL/Diamond.
- We don't know if Diamond already defaulted under those agreement (quite possibly so)
- Even if Diamond did default, the BK court very likely will still have a say in what happens to the long term rights. It is possible this was addressed in the sealed agreements - TBD.
- If the report is correct, we know that Diamond has until 2024-25 to get a reorganization plan approved. That is April 2025 (or possibly later if the playoffs are factored in).
Bottom line, until the BK court makes a decision (either in a court order or approval of a bk plan), the status of the broadcast rights is unclear. My guess (and admittedly this is speculation based on recent reports of Amazon pulling back its funding) is that Diamond told the ducks it could not guaranty Diamond would have $$ to broadcast the full season so the ducks pivoted to a temporary solution. That doesn't mean that Bally's won't be involved going forward.