Bally Sports display during the eighth inning of the game between MLB’s Houston Astros and the Minnesota Twins at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on April 9, 2023.
David Berding | Getty Images Sports | Getty Images
The National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League are concerned about the future of Diamond Sports and whether the owner of the regional sports network will be able to develop a viable business plan ahead of the upcoming seasons this fall.
Diamond Sports – which operates its networks under the Bally Sports brand – has been under bankruptcy protection since March last year. The leagues fear that the owner of the largest portfolio of regional sports networks will not have a viable business plan developed before the 2024–2025 season.
Lawyers for both leagues expressed their concerns during a status conference in bankruptcy court Tuesday after Diamond said it was delaying a hearing to confirm the reorganization plan from mid-June to the end of July.
“I want to reiterate why this moment is so crucial for the NBA. The start of the 2024-2025 season is quick approaching,” NBA lawyer Vincent Indelicato said in court on Tuesday. “A lot needs to be done well in advance of the season to properly produce and distribute games.”
An NHL lawyer expressed similar concerns, pointing out that if Diamond Sports is unable to develop a viable business plan in the coming months, the league may be forced to find options to produce and broadcast games in local markets. Some Major League Baseball teams have already made do without the Bally Sports network.
Meanwhile, many NBA and NHL teams have struck deals with local broadcast groups to broadcast local games.
Diamond Sports must prepare a reorganization plan defining its future outside bankruptcy protection and obtain court approval to proceed. The approval paves the way for the company to emerge from bankruptcy protection.
The NBA has insisted that Diamond Sports have “a very clear business plan no later than July,” Indelicato said Tuesday.
For Diamond, crafting a reorganization plan has been a long road filled with various negotiations – with lenders to restructure massive debt, with leagues and teams dealing with streaming rights, and with pay-TV distributors offering the games.
The recent breakdown in negotiations between Diamond Sports and Comcast Company. his lawyers said Tuesday that he had hindered the sports network operator’s growth.
Last month, Comcast customers lost access to the Bally Sports network, affecting fans of 11 MLB teams. However, the rail breakdown has not yet caused a problem for NBA and NHL fans as both leagues are in the postseason. Regional sports networks air local games during the regular season.
A lawyer for Diamond Sports said Tuesday that the company is still in negotiations with various interested parties but has reached an impasse with Comcast, leaving it with no choice but to “explore alternatives.”
Distributors like Comcast have been losing pay TV customers at a rapid rate in recent years as people turn to streaming alternatives, and regional sports networks are among the channels hardest hit. Additionally, Diamond Sports was over $8 billion in debt Sinclairtakeover of the network in 2019.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.
