From the New York Post: MLB, NBA and NHL unlikely to save struggling TV regional sports networks
TL;DR:
- Bally Sports (which frequently blacks out VT games from streaming) is in debt.
- The owner of the networks (Diamond Group/Sinclair) are trying to sell the network to three pro sports leagues (NBA, NHL, MLB), but the leagues aren't interested
- This means that bankruptcy might be the next best option
Some (cherry picked) relevant quotes:
Diamond Sports Group — which operates 21 Bally Sports-branded regional sports networks, or RSNs, that account for more than half the local broadcast markets around the country — has been in talks this fall to sell itself to the sports leagues for as much as $3 billion including debt.
But Diamond — a unit of Sinclair Broadcast Group — surprised investors on Nov. 28 by slashing its outlook for this year's profitability in half as cord-cutting continues to dog the industry. Accordingly, the leagues no longer are willing to pay a premium in a buyout — and creditors are instead bracing to take their chances in bankruptcy court in the first half of next year, according to sources close to the talks.
a Diamond bankruptcy could open the doors for new level of dealmaking — and some insiders hope it will change the way people consume sports for the better. Many younger fans can't watch games now because they don't have cable, and some cable providers don't even carry sports, the MLB owner griped.
Blackouts and carriage could be a risk and many team owners also could lose lucrative revenues, warns Greg Bouris, director of Adelphi University's Sports Management Program and a former communications director for the MLB Players Association.
I hate Bally Sports TV with a fiery passion (I hate their ownership - Sinclair Broadcasting - as well, for other reasons). I despise blackouts. I'll pay to watch VT. Just make it accessible. Which isn't that hard in 2022.
Hard to see a downside of Bally falling.
As always, please read the whole piece, as there is likely context I failed to capture above.
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