Diamond Sports, parent company of Bally Sports Regional Networks, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday but said in a statement its 19 regional sports channels would continue to operate unhindered. Here’s what you need to know:
- Diamond’s own parent company, Sinclair, is reeling under more than $8 billion in debt from its 2019 acquisition of RSN, an ill-timed deal that happened just as cable-cutting was taking hold.
- Fears have swept leagues, particularly MLB, that its 14 Bally-backed teams would be abandoned by Diamond. That doesn’t seem to be happening.
- The pre-packaged bankruptcy, which is still being negotiated with creditors, is expected to reduce Diamond’s debt by $8 billion and separate the company from Sinclair Broadcasting.
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Diamond Sports Group “will continue to broadcast games and connect fans across the country to the sports and teams they love,” Diamond CEO David Preschlack said in a statement. “With the support of our creditors, we expect to execute a swift and efficient reorganization and emerge from the restructuring process as a strengthened company.”
Many were expecting Diamond to drop certain RSNs that weren’t that economical, and at the moment that doesn’t appear to be the case. However, Diamond’s Arizona affiliate, Diamond Sports Net Arizona, filed a Chapter 11 of its own. It’s unclear what that means for the Arizona Diamondbacks, who were the only team not to be paid on time last week. Schyuler Carroll, a bankruptcy attorney, said all RSNs were supposed to file individually but probably hadn’t completed their filing
According to Diamond Chapter 11, AZPB, the Diamondbacks’ parent company, is the sports media company’s fourth-largest creditor at $30.8 million. No other team is listed. College sports media company Raycom Sports Network is listed as owed $8.5 million.
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According to the Diamond Chapter 11 filing, there is a four-person “conflicts committee” that helps run the company during Chapter 11: Preschlack, former NFL general manager Maryann Turcke, former Fox Sports executive Randy Freer, and former Vulcan Sports Manager Robert Whitsitt.
The Diamond Sports and AZPB petitions each list assets and liabilities between $1 billion and $10 billion. The cases are being filed in the Southern District of Texas Bankruptcy Court.
Diamond’s 19 owned and operated RSNs include Bally Sports Arizona, Bally Sports Detroit, Bally Sports Florida, Bally Sports Great Lakes, Bally Sports Indiana, Bally Sports Kansas City, Bally Sports Midwest, Bally Sports New Orleans, Bally Sports North and Bally Sports Ohio, Bally Sports Oklahoma, Bally Sports San Diego, Bally Sports SoCal, Bally Sports South, Bally Sports Southeast, Bally Sports Southwest, Bally Sports Sun, Bally Sports West and Bally Sports Wisconsin. The Bally Sports RSNs broadcast 42 NBA, NHL and MLB teams.
Major League Baseball issued a statement Tuesday night, saying that “all expectations are in place that (Diamond) will continue to televise all games that they have committed to during the bankruptcy proceedings,” and that the league is “ready.” to produce and distribute games to fans in their local markets in the event that Diamond or another regional sports network is unable to do so as per their agreement with our clubs.”
“Having streamed live games on MLB.TV for more than 20 years and producing live games for MLB Network since 2009, we have the experience and skills to deliver games to fans without interruption,” the league’s statement continued . “We have also hired additional experienced local media professionals to strengthen our capacity in anticipation of this development. In the long term, we will reinvent our distribution model to meet the changing media climate and ultimately reach an even larger number of fans.”
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(Photo: Jerome Miron / USA Today)