Diamond Sports — the owner of Bally Sports-branded regional sports networks — reached a deal with Comcast on Monday that will see its networks go live for cable customers on Aug. 1.
CNBC reports the networks, which air regular season local games for Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and National Hockey League teams in various markets, had gone dark for Comcast cable customers on May 1 at the start of MLB regular season. Fans of 11 MLB teams, including the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins, were affected.
The deal paves the way for Diamond Sports’ survival after filing for bankruptcy last March. It has been working on securing contracts with various pay TV providers such as Comcast.
The leagues have recently voiced concerns over Diamond Sports’ future in court hearings, questioning whether the company could put together a viable business plan ahead of the upcoming NBA and NHL seasons this fall.
Diamond had been scheduled to seek court approval on Monday for its reorganization plan in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, but postponed the hearing as it sought to reach an agreement with Comcast.
The company has said it intends to emerge from bankruptcy protection under the ownership of its creditors.
The negotiations between Diamond and Comcast broke down in May following a dispute over terms, namely how quickly the cable provider could shift the sports networks into a tiered model, meaning customers would have to opt into the packages that include the channels at a higher rate rather than having them included in broader cable packages.
The deal reached on Monday allows for Comcast to offer Diamond Sports networks on such tiers outside of the broader cable package, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked to remain anonymous to discuss specifics of the deal.
No comments:
Post a Comment