Major League Baseball and Diamond Sports Group, which owns the Bally Sports branded family of regional sports networks, have been at loggerheads for some time. After testimony before a bankruptcy court, and a judge’s ruling, the days of the league being broadcast by the networks appear numbered, according to Forbes.
On Thursday in Houston, U.S. bankruptcy judge Christopher Lopez ruled that Diamond should pay the full value of their contracts with the Cleveland Guardians, Minnesota Twins, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Texas Rangers. Diamond had been seeking to pay less based on changes in the media rights market.
MLB released a statement shortly after, saying, “MLB appreciates the ruling from the Federal Bankruptcy Court in Houston requiring Diamond to pay the full contractual rate to Clubs. As always, we hope Diamond will continue to broadcast games and meet its contractual obligations to Clubs. As with the Padres, MLB will stand ready to make games available to fans if Diamond fails to meet its obligations.”
Lopez implored the two sides to try and reach some kind of deal on the rights saying, “I’m not asking the parties to agree, I’m asking the parties to talk.”
After all, on Wednesday MLB commissioner Rob Manfred was in the hearing and told a story that seems to exemplify the relationship between DSG and MLB.
Manfred recalled a meeting between him and Sinclair CEO David Smith. Diamond Sports Group is a subsidiary of Sinclair, so ultimately Sinclair pays the bills for Diamond. In the story, Smith reportedly said that if MLB didn’t take lower rights fees, Sinclair would drive Diamond Sports Group into the ground.
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