The rise of streaming and the decline of regional sports networks (RSN) like Diamond and AT&T SportsNet seem to have forced MLB and NBA executives to adjust. But how?
Here’s what MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said about Diamond’s issues:
"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."
Per Yahoo’s Nick Bromberg:
The impending RSN reckoning
The SportsNet announcement comes on the heels of news that Diamond Sports Group is also prepping to file for bankruptcy this spring. DSG owns and operates the Bally Sports regional networks and has the local television rights for over 40 MLB, NBA and NHL teams. Dozens of teams across the country have multiple years remaining on their current rights agreements with WBD and DSG.
Diamond Sports Group was created by the Sinclair Broadcast Group and acquired the former Fox Sports regional networks from Disney after the Fox RSN rights were part of Disney’s 21st Century Fox acquisition in the late 2010s. Diamond’s purchase wasn’t profitable from the start. The company has $8 billion worth of debt and has struggled to get widespread distribution for its RSNs amid consumers’ changing television consumption habits. DSG networks are not available on YouTube TV and other television services.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said earlier in February that MLB would handle team broadcasts in 2023 if DSG misses rights payments. Manfred’s comments came after Diamond said it would miss a $140 million interest payment in what’s widely seen as the first step towards bankruptcy proceedings.
If the Bally Sports network crumbles ahead of the season, Manfred said MLB “would go directly to distributors — meaning Comcast, Charter, the big distributors — and make an agreement to have those games distributed on cable networks.” He also said that teams would have more flexibility to stream their games. Right now, consumers can only view games in local markets through Bally’s streaming service or a television provider.
Will this result in fans of Diamond-carried clubs like the Reds, Spiders [that’s what the Cleveland baseball team should be named (based on history) IMO] and Tigers, getting to see more of their teams’ games?
