A bankruptcy hearing Wednesday afternoon that could bring clarity to how MLB teams will appear on Bally’s regional sports networks this season has been pushed back 10 days, according to a court filing Tuesday night. The delay appears to be a sign that the parties believe they have a chance to reach an agreement on their own if given more time. But it leaves three teams in particular — the Cleveland Cavaliers, Texas Rangers and Minnesota Twins — in a precarious position as their TV revenue continues to expand as free agency continues to expand.
Diamond Sports, which has filed for bankruptcy, has the rights to TV broadcasts of 11 MLB teams on Bally-branded RSNs through 2024. MLB has asked the court to push Diamond to make a decision on which teams to carry in 2024, and the sides have been negotiating a mutually acceptable arrangement through arbitration.
The talks are focused on three groups, which is the testimony of the court. The two World Series champions, the Rangers and Rangers, are the teams that Diamond plans to continue broadcasting through 2024 only under revised terms.
A third team that people have mentioned in the process is a club that Diamond previously traded to, but technically does not currently have rights to: the Twins. The Twins’ deal with Diamond expired after last season, but a new and improved arrangement is under negotiation.
If the Diamonds bring back the Twins in 2024 and the Diamonds don’t dissolve any other MLB teams, the Diamonds’ MLB team count will increase to 12. That’s the MLB situation and the teams are trying to avoid it this year.
The other nine MLB teams to which Diamond holds the rights are the Los Angeles Angels, Milwaukee Brewers, Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Miami Marlins, Tampa Bay Rays, Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers.
As of now, Diamond plans to operate until 2024. It is not yet known whether it will continue in some form after 2024.
Amazon, the owner of a popular streaming service, has expressed interest in investing in Diamond, but Diamond only owns the digital rights to five MLB teams: the Brewers, Marlins’, Rays’, Royals and Tigers’. MLB and Diamond have long been at odds over the value of digital rights to various MLB teams, and MLB would prefer to deal directly with Amazon instead of awarding digital rights in the long term, according to people briefed on the talks. of New York Post As reported Monday, MLB told Amazon that if it wanted more digital rights, such a deal would have to come directly with MLB.
The rescheduled hearing is set for the morning of January 19 in Houston.
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