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hockeygame3
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Bally Sports networks

Post by hockeygame3 » Wed Feb 15, 2023 11:26 pm

Rob Manfred says MLB will handle team broadcasts if Bally Sports networks miss payments

With the owner of the broadcast rights of 14 MLB teams reportedly on the verge of bankruptcy, the league is gearing up for some new responsibilities.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred told reporters Wednesday that if Diamond Sports Group, the company that runs the nationwide array of Bally Sports network, misses its payments to clubs, those clubs will indeed terminate their agreements, at which point the league would look to produce and distribute those games itself.

Diamond Sports announced Wednesday morning that it will miss a $140 million interest payment, triggering a 30-day grace period to figure out a way forward. It is widely speculated that such a road will lead to bankruptcy, putting MLB in a position where many of its teams could lose one of their biggest sources of revenue.

As Manfred explained MLB's backup plan, the league would try to get the games aired on local cable like usual while creating a new option for fans to stream local games, which has long been forbidden under the usual RSN structure:

"We've been really clear that if Diamond doesn't pay, under every single one of the broadcast agreements, that creates a termination right, and our clubs will proceed to terminate those contracts. In the event that MLB stepped in, what we would do is we would produce the games, we would make use of our asset, the MLB Network, to do that. We would go directly to distributors — meaning Comcast, Charter, the big distributors — and make an agreement to have those games distributed on cable networks.

"We would also be seeking flexibility on the digital side, so that when you look at MLB.tv, you'd go in, you can buy your out-of-market package like you've always had, but you would have the option to buy up into in-market games, which I see as a huge improvement for fans."

When asked if he thinks MLB would be able to replace 100 percent of the revenue that teams were due to receive, Manfred responded simply "not in the short term."

Which teams are affected by Bally Sports' potential failure?
The following teams' local broadcast rights are owned by Bally Sports networks: the Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays.

It was reported by Sportico on Tuesday that the three AT&T SportsNet networks, which own the rights of the Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros and Pittsburgh Pirates, also failed to make the obligatory payments in recent weeks. Manfred did not directly address that Wednesday.

The issue is by no means an MLB-only matter, as Bally Sports networks also control the rights of 16 NBA teams, 12 NHL teams and four WNBA teams.

MLB's future if Diamond Sports fails
Diamond Sports' origins date to 2019, when parent company Sinclair Broadcasting Group purchased a group of Fox Sports regional networks from Disney as a condition of the latter's purchase of Fox. Its fall comes as the trend of cord-cutting intensifies, an issue that MLB has been anticipating for years.

Under the current structure, the vast majority of MLB teams are in agreements in which a regional cable channel pays them tens of millions of dollars annually for the right to air most of their games locally. MLB in turn doesn't allow its MLB.tv customers to stream games if they're in the market of that cable channel.

These channels are a major pillar of the cable industry, and the fact that most of them are on the verge of failure means MLB will have to change the way it does business, something Manfred acknowledged Wednesday:

"It's hard to escape the reality that change in media consumption has been particularly hard on the RSNs. Obviously, we want all of our broadcast partners to be successful. We don't want them to have financial difficulties. We have been spending a lot of time and effort trying to work with Diamond to figure out exactly where they are.

"Obviously, our first choice would be that Diamond pay the clubs what they're contractually obligated to pay them. But because I'm a contingency planner by nature, we are prepared no matter what happens, with respect to Diamond, to make sure games are available to fans in their local markets. We think it will be both linear in the traditional cable bundle and digitally on our own platforms, but that remains to be seen."

None of this is a surprise to MLB, which hired RSN veteran Billy Chambers as executive vice president of local media to tackle this exact problem. Whichever direction the league goes, the short term is likely to be painful for many teams' balance sheets.


Check your cable bill ](*,)
Sports tv rights fees have escalated ridiculously. There’s simply no way they were worth what was being paid by these networks. So they deserve to fail. That’s the free market at work.

hockeygame3
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Re: Bally Sports networks

Post by hockeygame3 » Wed Mar 15, 2023 11:13 am

Diamond Sports Group, owner of 14 MLB teams' broadcast rights, files for bankruptcy

Diamond Sports Group, the Sinclair subsidiary that owns the broadcasting rights of 14 MLB teams plus several NBA, NHL and WNBA teams, announced Tuesday that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The company, which holds more than $8 billion in debt, said it expects its Bally Sports regional sports networks "will continue to operate in the ordinary course during the Chapter 11 process," with $425 million in cash on hand to fund the business.

Under an agreement with its creditors, Diamond will reportedly be spun off from Sinclair as a standalone company. CEO David Preschlack said he hopes the moves will allow the company to restructure for the future while continuing operations:

"We are utilizing this process to reset our capital structure and strengthen our balance sheet through the elimination of approximately $8 billion of debt. The financial flexibility attained through this restructuring will allow DSG to evolve our business while continuing to provide exceptional live sports productions for our fans.”

The development remains troubling for nearly half of MLB's teams, which typically count on payments from their RSNs for a large portion of their income.

What will MLB do if Bally networks stop paying?
DSG's bankruptcy has been widely expected since the company announced last month that it would miss a $140 million interest payment.

While DSG said it will continue broadcasting games, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has already outlined what the league intends to do should the company start missing payments.

The plan, as Manfred explained it, would see the league try to get the games aired on local cable like usual while creating a new option for fans to stream local games, which has long been forbidden under the usual RSN structure:

"We've been really clear that if Diamond doesn't pay, under every single one of the broadcast agreements, that creates a termination right, and our clubs will proceed to terminate those contracts. In the event that MLB stepped in, what we would do is we would produce the games, we would make use of our asset, the MLB Network, to do that. We would go directly to distributors — meaning Comcast, Charter, the big distributors — and make an agreement to have those games distributed on cable networks.

"We would also be seeking flexibility on the digital side, so that when you look at MLB.tv, you'd go in, you can buy your out-of-market package like you've always had, but you would have the option to buy up into in-market games, which I see as a huge improvement for fans."

Basically, the league would terminate every agreement in which Bally misses payments and produce its own broadcasts, then approach cable distributors to get those games on television while also overhauling its streaming arm by offering in-market games to fans.

Given that MLB fans have long criticized the practice of RSNs blacking out in-market streaming for MLB.tv subscribers, Diamond's bankruptcy could be the first step toward a new system of streaming.

MLB responds to Diamond Sports Group bankruptcy
Three hours after Diamond announced its bankruptcy, MLB released a statement affirming its ability to air games for fans should the RSNs cease production.

“Diamond Sports Group’s bankruptcy declaration today is an unfortunate development that we have been expecting," the statement said. "Despite Diamond’s economic situation, there is every expectation that they will continue televising all games they are committed to during the bankruptcy process. Major League Baseball is ready to produce and distribute games to fans in their local markets in the event that Diamond or any other regional sports network is unable to do so as required by their agreement with our Clubs. Having streamed live games on MLB.TV for more than 20 years and produced live games for MLB Network since 2009, we have the experience and capabilities to deliver games to fans uninterrupted. In addition, we have hired additional seasoned local media professionals to bolster our capabilities in anticipation of this development. Over the long term, we will reimagine our distribution model to address the changing media climate and ultimately reach an even larger number of fans.”

Which MLB teams are affected by Diamond Sports Group's bankruptcy?
It was reported Tuesday by the New York Post that MLB would offer free streaming for four teams whose contracts Diamond is expected to dump in the coming days: the Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks.

In addition to those four, the following teams' local broadcast rights are currently owned by Bally Sports networks: the Atlanta Braves, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays.

MLB's RSN problem goes beyond that group, though, as the parent company of AT&T SportsNet, the string of RSNs that own the rights of the Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates and Seattle Mariners, said last month that it plans to discontinue the networks.

This problem isn't contained to MLB, as Bally has the rights of 16 NBA teams, 12 NHL teams and four WNBA teams. The timing just means baseball will be the first sport to experience the financial repercussions.

hockeygame3
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Re: Bally Sports networks

Post by hockeygame3 » Tue Jul 18, 2023 6:55 pm

D-backs will end broadcasts on Bally Sports Arizona immediately

Bally Sports Arizona will cease to carry Arizona Diamondbacks games on television after its owner, Diamond Sports, could not agree with the team on favorable terms of a new deal.

A judge ruled Tuesday in favor of Diamond Sports’ request to cease operations as the D-backs’ TV partner, moving the team’s broadcasts to MLB control immediately, reports Front Office Sports’ Eric Fischer.

The Diamondbacks announced games will air locally for Phoenix-area COX cable subscribers on Yurview channel 4 and channel 7 in Tucson. DirecTV will carry games on channel 686-3, Spectrum will carry them on channel 304, and Comcast xfinity will show D-backs games on channel 1261.

Games will also be available on Fubo and DirecTV Stream, while there is an additional streaming option for the team’s game for $19.99 per month on MLB.TV.

Fans will be able to view streams for free on MLB.com and Dbacks.com through Sunday.

🚨 Starting today, you can watch your #Dbacks in some new locations! And for the first time, you can stream games in-market via https://t.co/0iFv0TuhNf with a new Single Team D-backs subscription. Learn more at https://t.co/k9Xjx1tKgF. pic.twitter.com/hi49pChOyO

— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) July 18, 2023

The MLB team said the move will expand the D-backs’ reach from 930,000 homes to approximately 5.6 million in the broadcast footprint. The increase of 4.7 million homes marks a +506% jump in reach.

“This decision provides us with an opportunity to partner with Major League Baseball to produce high-quality broadcasts of D-backs games on current platforms, expand access to include streaming options, and remove local blackouts that have been a fan frustration point for years,” D-backs president and CEO Derrick Hall said in a release. “We have enjoyed our partnership with Bally Sports Arizona and thank them for the longtime partnership. But we look forward to providing unprecedented access to our exciting team moving forward, including a greatly expanded reach of new households.”

The D-backs are the second team, following the San Diego Padres, to leave Bally’s regional sports networks (RSN) for MLB’s own production.

Diamond Sports filed a request in court Monday with plans to separate from the D-backs by vacating Chase Field by the end of July. The language in the request indicated the company would end its coverage of Arizona games on Bally Sports Arizona.

The hearing on Tuesday did not clarify how TV providers, such as DirecTV, would be able to continue carrying games under the new broadcast format without paying a new rights fee.

A motion filed a week before the turn of the calendar to July set forward new negotiations between Diamond Sports, the MLB club and other suitors interested in broadcasting Diamondbacks games.

Diamond Sports, which is in bankruptcy, requested in the Southern Texas Bankruptcy Court on June 22 that its current television contract with the D-backs be rejected, and a judge ruled in favor of that. A hearing scheduled for the end of June that could have ended the current Diamondbacks-Bally deal was pushed back to Monday, then again to Tuesday.

“We have to have enough time to let fans know where to go … we’re working closely with MLB and other suitors that wanted us,” Diamondbacks president and CEO Derrick Hall told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s The Mike Broomhead Show on July 6. “We’re talking with (Bally) because we had so many good negotiations and so many good conversations.”

The New York Post’s Josh Kosman reported on July 10 that the D-backs even were negotiating a 20% discount and a new deal with Bally to include streaming that wasn’t available. That would put the team on the Bally Sports+ platform, something that Bally had for the Phoenix Suns and Arizona Coyotes last season but not for the MLB team. It would help distribute games to fans who do not have Bally as part of a cable package.

Kosman added that MLB commissioner Rob Manfred was threatening to block a revised Bally deal involving the Diamondbacks.

In February, Manfred said the league was ready to take on game broadcasts in the event Diamond Sports could no longer function as the rights holder.

“We are prepared no matter what happens with respect to Diamond to make sure the games are available to fans in their local markets,” Manfred said at Cactus League Media Day. “We think it will be both linear in the traditional cable bundle and digitally on our own platforms, but that remains to be seen.”

A bankruptcy judge on June 1 ruled in favor of Major League Baseball against Diamond Sports, forcing the company to fulfill its end on contracts for the rights to broadcast MLB games. The Diamondbacks were ordered to receive the full payment of $18 million, according to Arizona’s Law.

After missing a $140 million interest payment, Diamond Sports Group, the company that operates Bally Sports regional networks, entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March.

Under Chapter 11, the company has frozen assets, allowing it to refinance and reorganize.

Bally Sports Arizona also holds the rights to the Arizona Coyotes.

It is also in a legal battle to retain the rights of the Phoenix Suns, who announced a new agreement before the end of their prior contract.

A judge ruled with Diamond Sports and said in May that the new media deal announced by the Suns with Gray Television and Kiswe was void, but the television deal away from the regional sports network became official last week after Bally’s operator opted not to match the contract terms, as was their right under their contract with the NBA club.

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