A Bally Sports display is shown within the eighth inning of the sport between the Houston Astros and Minnesota Twins at Goal Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 9, 2023.
David Berding | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images
The NBA and NHL are concerned over Diamond Sports’ future, and whether the regional sports network owner can put together a viable marketing strategy 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 of last yr. The leagues are fearful the owner of the most important portfolio of regional sports networks won’t have a viable marketing strategy sorted out ahead of the 2024-2025 seasons.
Lawyers for every league raised their concerns during a standing conference in bankruptcy court on Tuesday, after Diamond said it was delaying its hearing to verify its reorganization plan from mid-June until late July.
“I would like to reiterate why timing is so critical for the NBA. The beginning of the 2024-2025 season is fast approaching,” said NBA attorney Vincent Indelicato in court on Tuesday. “So much must get done well ahead of the season to properly produce and distribute games.”
The NHL attorney voiced similar fears, indicating if Diamond Sports is unable to craft a viable marketing strategy in the approaching months, the leagues could also be left scrambling to seek out options to provide and air games in local markets. Some Major League Baseball teams have already forged ahead without their Bally Sports network.
Meanwhile, various NBA and NHL teams have reached deals with local broadcast station groups to hold local games.
Diamond Sports must put together a reorganization plan, outlining its future outside of bankruptcy protection, and receive court approval to maneuver forward with it. The approval paves the way in which for a corporation to exit bankruptcy protection.
The NBA has pushed for Diamond to have “a really clear marketing strategy no later than July,” Indelicato said Tuesday.
For Diamond, it has been an extended road to formulate a reorganization plan full of various negotiations — with lenders to restructure its hefty debt load, with the leagues and teams for streaming TV rights and with pay-TV distributors that carry the games.
The recent breakdown of negotiations between Diamond and Comcast Corp. threw a wrench within the sports network operator’s progress, its attorneys said on Tuesday.
Last month, Comcast customers lost access to Bally Sports networks, which affected fans of 11 MLB teams. The carriage blackout hasn’t caused a problem yet for NBA and NHL fans, nevertheless, because the leagues are each within the postseason. Regional sports network air regular season local games.
The Diamond attorney said Tuesday the corporate continues to be in negotiations with various stakeholders, nevertheless it reached an impasse with Comcast, giving it little alternative but “to explore alternatives.”
Distributors like Comcast have been losing pay-TV customers at a quick clip lately as people go for streaming alternatives, and the regional sports networks are among the many most-affected channels. On top of this, Diamond had a greater than $8 billion debt load stemming from Sinclair‘s acquisition of the networks in 2019.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.
