Judge Tells Diamond To Pay Half of What It Owes to MLB Clubs

A U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Texas overseeing the Chapter 11 restructuring of Sinclair Group’s regional sports networks subsidiary, Diamond Sports Group, has told Diamond to pay half of what it owes to four of the five Major League Baseball franchises to which it had previously withheld TV rights payments for the just-started 2023 baseball season.

The unpaid balances, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez said, will be rendered next month, after the restructuring process resets the individual team fees Diamond must pay.

Teams mentioned in Lopez’s order include the Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Guardians, Texas Rangers and Minnesota Twins. The judge hasn't yet addressed a fifth as-yet unpaid team in Diamond's Bally Sports RSN umbrella, the Cincinnati Reds.

Diamond missed its April 17 deadline to pay the Reds, but it still has until May 1 to render the bill under a grace period.

In his order, Lopez said he was not concerned about the financial stability of the clubs, but rather wanted the process to adhere to restructuring norms, where debtors are ordered to “pay the uncontested and reserve for the disputed portion of it.”

With Bally Sports continuing to show the unpaid teams’ games on its regional sports channels, Major League Baseball had petitioned the court to cut the clubs loose from their TV contracts and let them stream their own games.

Judge Lopez asked both MLB and Diamond to reconvene on May 10. His order seems to forestall the Diamondbacks, Guardians, Rangers and Twins on following through on threats to work with MLB and start their own telecasts.

Diamond Sports Group entered Chapter 11 on March 15, looking to trade equity for around $8 billion of debt relief.