Currently, the biggest regional sports broadcaster Diamond Sports Group is struggling for its existence because it is grappling with high-stakes carriage and rights negotiations before the start of NHL and NBA seasons. Diamond Sports carried the games of over 40 major sports teams. Earlier this year, Diamond Sports Group filed for bankruptcy but recently, the broadcaster requested the court to extend its bankruptcy plan as it is in negotiations with the stakeholders and leagues that will collectively liquidate the company. On Friday, Diamond Sports Group filed a notion in a Texas court to extend the deadline of its bankruptcy plan by 60 days. Continue reading this article and unfold more details.
Chapter 11 Bankruptcy for Diamond Sports Group
On Friday, Judge Christopher Lopez was asked to extend by two months both the deadline to file a Chapter 11 plan and the date by which Diamond Sports Group can solicit acceptances. The new date for the deadline to file a Chapter 11 plan for Diamond Sports would be November 29, 2023, and the date by which Diamond Sports can solicit acceptances would be January 29, 2024. As per the reports, Diamond Sports owes payments to the National Hockey League and National Basketball Association in a matter of days. In addition, Diamond Sports’ distribution deal with the cable company Charter Communications is also about to expire in several months. Furthermore, the broadcaster’s creditors are also divided on whether they should attempt to revive the company. Notably, Diamond Sports which operates Bally Sports-branded networks, is embroiled in a legal battle with Sinclair Broadcast Group. Shift to the next page and read more details.
The executives of Diamond Sports Group are encouraging cable companies including Comcast for multiyear carriage agreements to keep matches on cable. In addition, the Diamond executives also provided a reduced but predictable stream of revenue. However, the broadcaster is seeking a longer-term rights deal with the NBA than its current year-to-year agreement, besides negotiating with representatives from the NHL and the NBA to potentially reduce its payments.
Diamond Sports File Bankruptcy
As mentioned above in the article, due to the Diamond’s financial struggles Major League Baseball took over the broadcasts of the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres, which led the local fans to watch the teams on the league’s streaming platform MLB.TV instead of having to pay for cable TV. At the time the league said it would help partially plug the gap in broadcasting revenue in the event Diamond Sports didn’t pay teams.
