Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Sports |
Founded | May 3, 2019 |
Area served | United States |
Key people | David Preschlack (CEO) David DeVoe (CFO and COO) Randy Freer (board member) Mary Ann Turcke (board member) Bob Whitsitt (board member) Chris Ripley (board member) |
Services | Bally Sports networks |
Owners | Sinclair Broadcast Group Allen Media Group |
Diamond Sports Group LLC is an American media and entertainment company operating as a subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group, and partnered with Allen Media Group. The company operates Bally Sports, a group of regional sports channels that was formerly known as the Fox Sports Networks. The company also has stakes in Marquee Sports Network and YES Network.
Sinclair Broadcast Group formed the company with Byron Allen's Allen Media Group to acquire 22 regional Fox Sports Networks affiliates and Fox College Sports from The Walt Disney Company, which was required to divest of these networks to secure government antitrust approval. [1] The transaction, initially valued at $10.6 billion, is managed through a joint venture called Diamond Holdings Group, [2] and formally closed the transfer in August 2019 for $9.6 billion. [3]
The company's regional sports networks have exclusive broadcasting rights to 42 professional teams (including 16 National Basketball Association teams, 14 Major League Baseball teams, and 12 National Hockey League teams), [4] and the channels collectively generated $3.8 billion in 2018, across nearly 75 million subscribers. [2]
Sinclair took a $4.23 billion write-down of its regional sports assets in 2020 after a downturn in the business. [5]
On November 18, 2020, Sinclair announced that it had entered into an agreement with casino operator Bally's Corporation to acquire the naming rights under a 10-year deal. [6]
On January 27, 2021, Sinclair announced that the networks would be rebranded as Bally Sports on March 31. [7] [8] [9] In December 2021, the company reached an extension agreement with the National Hockey League. [10]
On May 2, 2022, Diamond Sports Group assembled a board of five directors, made up of Bob Whitsitt, Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley, Randy Freer, a former Fox Sports/Hulu executive, Mary Ann Turcke, a former COO of the NFL, and David Preschlack (previously President of the NBC Sports Regional Networks); Preschlack would be elected CEO of Diamond on December 5. [11]
On June 23, 2022, Bally Sports soft-launched a direct-to-consumer service known as Bally Sports Plus (or Bally Sports+) in selected markets. It is expected to launch nationally in the remainder of the networks' footprint on September 26. [12]
On December 4, 2022, Diamond Sports Group's board had voted to block the Sinclair Broadcast Group from operating Diamond and its regional sports networks. [13]
An email from Diamond CEO David Preschlack announced on March 20, 2023 that Steve Rosenberg would no longer be the president of Diamond Sports Group; Rosenberg's last day as president of Diamond was March 19. With his departure, Diamond's chief financial officer David DeVoe will take on the role of COO. [14]
On May 1, 2024, cable companies Xfinity and Midco dropped the Bally Sports networks as part of a carriage dispute. [15] [16]
On March 14, 2023, Diamond Sports filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, [17] 30 days after they failed to make a $140M interest payment. [18] Diamond’s first-lien lenders will not be affected as part of the restructuring support agreement, but other creditors will convert their debt into equity. Diamond also plans to separate from Sinclair and become an entirely new entity. [19]
During its bankruptcy, Diamond has missed payments to the Arizona Diamondbacks, Texas Rangers, Cleveland Guardians and Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball (MLB), the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL), the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and to Raycom Sports for its ACC on Regional Sports Networks package and the Orange Bowl for its Orange Bowl Classic men's college basketball tournament. [20] [21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] Diamond also entered grace periods for their payments to the San Diego Padres and Cincinnati Reds of MLB, which they eventually made. [27] [28]
On April 5, 2023, Major League Baseball filed an emergency motion asking the bankruptcy judge to order Diamond to pay the teams they missed payments to or give the media rights back to the MLB. Diamond argued that because of cord-cutting the contract rate for the media rights of the teams was too high. [29] [26] [23] [30] As an interim, on April 19, the bankruptcy judge ordered Diamond Sports to pay 50% of what the Diamondbacks, Guardians, Twins and Rangers are owed. [31] On June 1, 2023, after a two day-long hearing, the bankruptcy judge ordered Diamond to pay the teams fully within five days. [32] Diamond would go on to pay the Rangers and Twins for the remainder of the season and the Guardians through July. [33] [34]
On April 28, 2023, the Phoenix Suns of the NBA and Phoenix Mercury of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) announced they had signed a five-year agreement with Gray Television to replace Bally Sports Arizona as its local television partners. [35] After the announcement, Diamond Sports Group accused the team of breaching its contract and bankruptcy law, stating that the team was making an "improper effort" to "change their broadcasting partner without permitting Diamond to exercise our contractual rights." In response, Suns CEO Josh Bartlestein stated that "Diamond's position is totally inaccurate. We are moving forward with this deal and could not be more excited about what it means for our fans and our future." [36] [37] [38] On May 10, 2023, the bankruptcy judge voided the Suns contract with Gray, ruling that the Suns violated Bally Sports Arizona's contractual right of first refusal. He ordered the parties into arbitration. The Phoenix Mercury's deal was not affected. [39] On July 14, 2023, the deal became official when Diamond declined to match Gray's contract offer. [40]
On May 31, 2023, Diamond officially missed a second payment to the Padres, and the Padres' television rights were returned to Major League Baseball. Because Bally Sports San Diego, which aired Padres games, is a joint venture between the Padres and Diamond it is technically not in bankruptcy. Therefore this missed payment did not have the same bankruptcy protections that Diamond's other missed payments had. [41] [42] Padres games will be available blackout free on MLB.tv, as well as through channels on select cable providers, including YurView California, in the San Diego area. MLB Network will produce the games with the Padres' regular commentators. [43] [42]
On June 14, 2023, Diamond rejected its contract with Raycom Sports to distribute a package of Atlantic Coast Conference games, freeing Raycom to sell the package to other networks. [44] A month later, Raycom announced that The CW had bought the rights. [45]
On June 22, 2023, Diamond announced its intention to reject its contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 30, 2023. [46] Diamond and the Arizona Diamondbacks later released a joint statement pushing back the hearing and agreeing to continue Diamond's broadcast of Diamondbacks' games. [47] The contract was officially rejected on July 18. As for the Padres, Major League Baseball took over production. [48]
On July 21, 2023, Diamond sued the Sinclair Broadcast Group, their parent, over transactions made when Sinclair had control over the company. Diamond alleged that Sinclair made transactions that were designed to benefit itself while hurting its subsidiary. [49] On August 11, 2023, the bankruptcy judged granted an 80 day extension to Diamond Sports to file their reorganization plan. The plan is due on September 30. [50]
On September 28, 2023, the New York Post and Next TV reported that Diamond Sports had reached one-year carriage agreements with DirecTV and Comcast prior to their restructuring deadline. [51] [52] On September 29, Diamond Sports requested a 60-day extension to file their reorganization plan. [53] On October 11, 2023, Major League Baseball filed a notice opposing Diamond Sports' request for an extension. The MLB also asked the bankruptcy court to force Diamond to decide on whether the company would air games from the Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers and Texas Rangers in 2024. [54]
On October 1, 2023, Diamond Sports missed a payment to the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association. But, on November 6, 2023, Diamond Sports and the National Basketball Association reached a one-year agreement that will result in the contracts for NBA teams airing on Diamond expiring after the 2023–24 NBA season but will result in the Orlando Magic being paid. Across the board, all NBA teams airing on Diamond Sports will receive a 16% reduction in the money they receive from Diamond Sports but will be able to sell 10 games exclusively to local over-the-air networks. [55] [22] The sold games will continue to be produced by Bally Sports. [56] [57]
On October 4, 2023, Diamond announced that it intended to reject its contract with the Arizona Coyotes. [21] The next day, Scripps Sports announced it had acquired the rights and that games would air on KASW. [58] As a result, with no remaining professional sports rights, Bally Sports Arizona was shut down on October 21, 2023. [59] [60] On October 10, 2023, Diamond announced that it intended to reject its contract with the Orange Bowl for its Orange Bowl Classic men's college basketball tournament. [20]
On December 20, 2023, Diamond Sports and the National Hockey League reached a similar agreement to the NBA's November 6 deal that will also result in the contracts for all NHL teams airing on Diamond expiring after the 2023–24 NHL season, pending approval by the bankruptcy court. [61]
On January 17, 2024, Diamond Sports announced a restructuring agreement after receiving a $115 million investment from Amazon, which will result in a 15% share of the company, and reaching an agreement with the Sinclair Broadcast Group for a $495 million cash payment to settle an earlier lawsuit. [62] On January 26, 2024, committee of unsecured creditors objected to the restructuring agreement, arguing that financing in the restructuring agreement did not have the committee's best interests in mind. [63] The restructuring agreement supersedes the prior agreements with the NHL and NBA, so rights for the NBA and NHL will no longer expire following the 2023–24 season. [64]
On February 2, 2024, Diamond Sports announced agreements with the Texas Rangers, Cleveland Guardians and Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball that will result in a decreased rights fee and will end their contracts with Diamond after the 2024 season. [65] [66]
Diamond Sports Group officially filed its reorganization plan on March 1, 2024. As part of the plan, Diamond will end its naming rights deal with Bally's Corporation and rebrand its networks by the end of the 2024 MLB season. [67]
Team | Date of action | Status |
---|---|---|
ACC on Regional Sports Networks | March 2023, June 2023 | TV rights returned to Raycom Sports [44] (Sublicense acquired by The CW) |
Arizona Coyotes | October 2023 | TV rights acquired by Scripps Sports [58] |
Arizona Diamondbacks | March 2023, July 2023 | TV rights returned to MLB [47] |
Atlanta Hawks | January 2024 | 10 games acquired by Gray Television, remaining games on Bally Sports [68] |
Cincinnati Reds | April 2023 | Paid through 2023 [69] |
Cleveland Cavaliers | February 2024 | 5 games acquired by Gray Television, remaining games on Bally Sports [70] |
Cleveland Guardians | April 2023, February 2024 | Paid through 2023, will now expire after the 2024 season [71] [66] |
Dallas Mavericks | January 2024 | 10 games acquired by Tegna Inc., remaining games on Bally Sports [72] |
Los Angeles Kings | September 2023 | 6 games acquired by CBS News and Stations, remaining games on Bally Sports. Multi-year agreement. [73] |
Milwaukee Bucks | January 2024 | 10 games acquired by Weigel Broadcasting, remaining games on Bally Sports [74] |
Minnesota Twins | April 2023, February 2024 | Paid through 2023, new contract reached which will expire after the 2024 season [75] [66] |
New Orleans Pelicans | January 2024 | 10 games acquired by Gray Television, remaining games on Bally Sports [76] |
Oklahoma City Thunder | January 2024 | 8 games acquired by Griffin Media, remaining games on Bally Sports [77] |
Orlando Magic | October 2023 | Expected to be paid following approval of larger deal with the NBA [22] |
Phoenix Suns | July 2024 | TV rights acquired by Gray Television [40] |
San Diego Padres | March 2023, May 2023 | TV rights returned to MLB [41] |
Texas Rangers | April 2023, February 2024 | Paid through 2023, will now expire after the 2024 season [78] [66] |
Bally Sports Ohio is an American regional sports network owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group and is operated as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel broadcasts regional coverage of sports events in the state of Ohio, with a focus on professional sports teams based in Cleveland and Cincinnati, which are broadcast on separate programming feeds, as well as Columbus.
Bally Sports Great Lakes is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel, which is a sister network to Bally Sports Ohio, broadcasts statewide coverage of professional, collegiate and high school sports events throughout northern Ohio, including the Cleveland area.
A regional sports network (RSN) in the United States and Canada is a television channel that presents sports programming to a local media market or geographical region.
Bally Sports Florida is an American regional sports network owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel broadcasts local sports coverage in the state of Florida, with a focus on professional sports teams based in Miami, Tampa and Orlando.
Bally Sports North is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, and operates as a Bally Sports affiliate. The channel broadcasts coverage of sporting events involving teams located in the Upper Midwest region, with a focus on professional and collegiate sports teams based in Minnesota.
Bally Sports Southwest is a Texas-based regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel broadcasts regional coverage of professional, collegiate and high school sports events throughout the South Central United States. The network is headquartered in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Irving, Texas, with master control hubbed at Bally Sports Networks' operations center in Atlanta, which houses master control operations for its regional networks in the Southeastern United States.
Bally Sports Wisconsin (BSWI) is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. Operating as the "Wisconsin" sub-feed of Fox Sports North until 2007, the channel was known as Fox Sports Wisconsin until 2021. It broadcasts regional coverage of sports events throughout the state of Wisconsin, with a focus on professional sports teams based in Milwaukee, namely the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball and the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association. It primarily operates from a studio/office facility in downtown Milwaukee, with secondary offices and production studio/office hub based in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Major League Baseball games not broadcast exclusively by its media partners are televised by regional sports networks, which present sports programming of interest to their respective region. Most MLB broadcasters are members of chains such as NBC Sports Regional Networks and Bally Sports, although several teams are broadcast by regional networks that are independent of these chains. Some teams own partial or majority stakes in their regional broadcaster.
Bally Sports SoCal is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, a joint venture between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios, and operated as part of Bally Sports, along with its sister network Bally Sports West. The channel broadcasts regional coverage of professional and collegiate sports events in California, focusing primarily on teams based in the Greater Los Angeles area. Bally Sports SoCal is available on cable providers throughout Southern California, the Las Vegas Valley and Hawaii; it is also available nationwide on satellite via DirecTV.
Bally Sports Arizona (BSAZ) was an American regional sports network (RSN). The channel broadcast professional, collegiate and high school sports events, with a primary focus on Phoenix-area teams. It was available on most cable providers throughout Arizona and available nationwide on satellite provider DirecTV.
Bally Sports Kansas City (BSKC) is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel broadcasts coverage of professional, collegiate, and high school sports events both within and outside the Kansas City area. It maintains offices at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri.
Bally Sports Indiana (BSIN) is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel broadcasts local professional and high school sports coverage throughout the state of Indiana, with a focus on professional sports teams based in Indianapolis, namely the NBA's Indiana Pacers.
Bally Sports San Diego is an American regional sports network owned as a joint venture between Diamond Sports Group, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. Prior to the team parting ways with the network in 2023, the San Diego Padres owned a 20% stake. It was launched on March 17, 2012.
Bally Sports New Orleans is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel broadcasts local coverage of professional and collegiate sports events within New Orleans and the state of Louisiana.
The Bally Sports app is the video streaming service of the former Fox Sports Networks, now Bally Sports regional sports networks. The app replaces Fox Sports Go (FSGO), the app of the former Fox Sports Networks. The service is available for customers of select cable and satellite TV providers, as well as the DirecTV Stream over-the-top service.
The Bally Sports Regional Networks are a group of regional sports networks in the United States owned by Diamond Sports Group, a joint-venture company of the Sinclair Broadcast Group and Allen Media Group. The naming rights to the network were sold to casino operator Bally's Corporation.
The 2023 Major League Baseball season (MLB) began on March 30. The 93rd All-Star Game was played on July 11, hosted by the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington, with the National League winning, 3–2. The regular season ended on October 1, and the postseason began on October 3, and ended with Game 5 of the World Series on November 1. This season saw the introduction of several rule changes: in an effort to create a quicker pace of play, a pitch clock was introduced along with other minor changes, while limits on defensive shifts and larger bases were also introduced.
The following is a general overview of Major League Baseball on television in the 2020s. During the 2020s, Major League Baseball announced its first exclusive television contract with a paid streaming service. Due to the bankruptcy of Diamond Sports Group, MLB took over the production of the local broadcasts of the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks.
The following is a general overview of the National Basketball Association (NBA) on television in the 2020s. There have been no new national media contracts during this period. Locally three NBA teams, the Los Angeles Clippers, Utah Jazz and Phoenix Suns, moved all or some of their games from regional sports networks to over-the-air television networks.