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ESPN has a story up recapping the current situation.

www.espn.com

'Brutal': The state of RSNs, bankruptcy and what it means for people who can't watch baseball

As Diamond Sports' bankruptcy chaos continues, fans who can't follow their teams on TV are "furious." What's next?
www.espn.com www.espn.com


of note - there was a good deal of discussion/speculation on MLB's efforts to offer its own streaming plan as a hub for multiple teams with no blackouts. the consensus seems to be that MLB will need to have the streaming rights to at least 15 teams and hopefully more to make this work. one un-named exec predicted that eventually, they might be able to get over 20 teams involved - but the big-money teams will fight any type of local media revenue-sharing.

But - the big but (as opposed to a big butt...) - in order for this to happen, Diamond has to fail in its bid to emerge from bankruptcy. If Diamond survives, it will be almost impossible for MLB to make its plan work.

oh, the story also recaps that Diamond has sold its naming rights to FanDuel - so if Diamond survives, its RSN's will re-brand as FanDuel Sports this Fall.
 


Diamond/Bally loses more cable customers in another carriage rights dispute - impacting fans of 6 MLB teams.
same issue as Comcast - the cable company wants to move the RSN's to a higher-priced Sports tier. according to Sportico:

The Bally Sports RSNs have gone dark on Altice USA’s Optimum cable systems, as negotiations to renew the legacy carriage deal expired at midnight. The operator, which serves 2.09 million video subscribers across 21 states, issued a statement in which it charged Diamond Sports Group with seeking “unsustainable demands” for the 12 RSNs that were knocked off its channel lineup earlier this morning.

In a nod to Diamond’s ongoing bankruptcy case, an Optimum rep said it was unreasonable to ask subscribers to shoulder the burden of increasingly high carriage fees when the future of the RSNs remains up in the air. “We do not believe it is fair for Diamond … to ask customers to pay high rates for their channels when they are still negotiating content rights with various sports leagues and do not yet know what content will be available to their viewers,” the spokesperson said, by way of a statement issued Monday.

(Diamond responded) "Unfortunately, Altice has rejected multiple proposals with terms similar to what other distributors have already agreed to while demanding carriage on a premium sports tier that would require fans to pay more to retain access, demonstrating they are unwilling to let their subscribers enjoy broadcasts of their favorite teams.”

The clubs blacked out in their home markets include the Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers.

-----
the article notes that traditional cable TV providers have lost 12.3% of total customers in the last 12 months.
 

and now, 2 NHL teams have cut ties with Diamond/Bally Sports. from Next TV (a site that covers streaming video and related issues)

The operator of the troubled Bally Sports regional sports network initiated the loss of its second NHL franchise in a week on Wednesday, when it asked the court overseeing its bankruptcy to allow it to cut ties with the Dallas Stars, a lynchpin tenant on Bally Sports Southwest, ahead of the upcoming 2024-25 NHL season.

"The Debtors also have been engaged in ongoing discussions with the NHL and the Stars regarding, among other things, the Stars Agreement and the parties’ go-forward relationships. During these discussions, the Stars requested that the parties mutually terminate the Stars Agreement in advance of the 2024–25 NHL season," Diamond said in its motion, filed Wednesday.

Should the court grant the request, Diamond would be left with nine remaining NHL teams under the Bally Sports banner.

Earlier this week, the Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers announced they will not be returning to Bally Sports next season and instead will broadcast their games in over-the-air channels in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Fort Myers via a broadcast deal with Scripps Sports.

The deal will cover most of the Panthers' regular-season games and the first round of the playoffs. And direct-to-consumer streaming service is also part of the plan.
 

The Minnesota Wild should be the next team to do it.
 


short ornery norwegian said:
Earlier this week, the Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers announced they will not be returning to Bally Sports next season and instead will broadcast their games in over-the-air channels in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Fort Myers via a broadcast deal with Scripps Sports.

The deal will cover most of the Panthers' regular-season games and the first round of the playoffs. And direct-to-consumer streaming service is also part of the plan.
Click to expand...
So the Panthers see this is a problem and are using the offseason to put together a better plan for next year. What forward thinkers! Meanwhile the Twins were sitting with their thumbs up their asses an entire year after they figured out this was a problem and did nothing.

Additional props to the Panthers for going OTA. I'm guessing this is a stop-gap solution, but it guarantees the games will be on TV, unlike some intrepid organizations.
 

Update - with a big caveat -

Puck news' John Ourand is apparently reporting that Diamond Sports and Comcast have re-opened negotiations.

But - I am not a Puck subscriber and most of the information is behind a paywall.

what little I can see indicates that Diamond may be getting desperate to reach a new deal with Comcast before the July 29th Bankruptcy court hearing. Ourand is apparently suggesting that Diamond may be willing to accept Comcast's demand that the Diamond RSN's be moved to a higher-priced Sport Tier, which has been the main sticking point in the negotiations. in essence, a bad deal is better than no deal.

which gets back to the Question - if you're a Comcast customer, would you pay the extra money to watch the Twins, Wolves and Wild on a Sports Tier? (I assume some people already do...)
 

OK - more info on negotiations between Diamond and Comcast. short version - the two sides are talking again and want to postpone some dates - apparently to give them more time to negotiate a possible new deal.

from Sportico:

In a four-page motion filed Thursday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Diamond asked to shift an upcoming deadline back by nearly a week as the principal owner of the Bally Sports RSNs prepares for the confirmation hearing at the end of the month. Attorneys for the company are looking to move the voting/opt-out deadline and the plan-objection deadline from July 18 to July 24, which would push both dates within five days of the July 29 hearing.

the request comes as Diamond and Comcast have returned to the negotiating table after a long stretch of radio silence.

Executives who’ve confirmed that Comcast and Diamond are once again on speaking terms caution that the adversaries remain leagues apart on a number of key deal points.

Comcast won’t budge on its resolution to move the RSNs to a higher-priced digital tier, while Diamond would much prefer to remain on the basic tier, which is about $20 cheaper each month than the cabler’s beefed-up “Ultimate TV” package.

The motion to delay the voting and plan-objection deadlines has no material impact on the July 29 confirmation hearing, which will proceed as planned.

----
(signing a new deal with Comcast would almost certainly help Diamond's chances of getting a favorable ruling from the Bankruptcy court Judge, which would allow Diamond to emerge from bankruptcy. either way, MLB is expected to ask the Judge to rule against Diamond. the NHL has also been critical of Diamond, while the NBA has been quieter. )
 





Well, this is potentially interesting. according to Cord-Cutters News, people have noticed what looks like a stand-alone Twins channel showing up on some cable TV guides. details below:

Recently, the future of Bally Sports has been in doubt. The network’s owners, Diamond Sports Group, have until the end of this month to find a plan to get out of bankruptcy. Now, though, it seems that MLB teams, at least the Minnesota Twins, are making plans in case the network shuts down before the end of the season.

It was recently reported that the team is in talks to build a direct-to-consumer streaming service as a backup plan. Now, though, Cord Cutters News can confirm that thanks to our readers, a Twins TV channel started appearing on some cable networks this week as a possible replacement for Bally Sport.

The channel for now is off-air, but this is similar to how other MLB teams operated when they lost TV rights with Bally Sports. Launching a partnership with some local cable companies to air the games and a streaming service.

Cord Cutters News reached out to Bally Sports and some of the local cable networks for comment, and at this time, we have not heard anything back at the time of this publishing.

this on X (Twitter) from "Jason's Storm"
@CordCuttersNews
saw this on my cable companies live TV streaming channel line up. It not even on their official guide. Channel 41 has a Minnesota @Twins logo as a placeholder. A fallback if @BallySportsNOR
goes belly up?

1721243560696.png
 


We are 1 week away from the big time hearing. We should know weather the Twins stay with Bally or they are done with Bally.
 



gophersfan said:
We are 1 week away from the big time hearing. We should know weather the Twins stay with Bally or they are done with Bally.
Click to expand...

the dates have been adjusted somewhat.

There is a Status Conference scheduled for Wednesday, July 24th at 1pm. not sure what is being discussed. (there have been reports that Diamond and Comcast have resumed contract negotiations, but I have not seen any suggestion that the two sides are any closer to an agreement. Comcast is reportedly sticking to its demand that all RSN's have to be moved to a higher-priced Sports Tier. If Diamond is desperate to have a deal before the deadline, they might fold and agree to Comcast's terms, but that in turn could impact how the leagues vote on the final plan)

and now, Friday, July 26th at 4pm is the deadline for the involved parties (people who Diamond owes money to, and the leagues involved - MLB, NHL and NBA) to file formal objections to the bankruptcy reorganization plan.

July 26th at 4pm is also the deadline for the same groups to indicate whether they intend to vote on the reorganization plan or opt out of voting.

the Final Confirmation Hearing to decide whether Diamond's reorganizational plan will be approved is still on Monday, July 29th at 10:00am. the hearing might (probably will) continue into Tuesday, July 30th. no clue as to when the Judge will issue a final ruling.

and, even if the Judge rules against Diamond, that does not mean that Diamond will immediately cease operations. they could try to limp through the rest of the baseball season. But they could also decide to release teams from their contracts -- and a team like the Twins that is not being shown on Comcast would seem to be a candidate - but again, that's all up in the air.
 


so - status hearing today in the bankruptcy case. the headline from my perspective - the final confirmation hearing on the Diamond reorganizational plan has been postponed "indefinitely."

and Diamond admitted during the status hearing that the company might not be able to emerge from bankruptcy - per Evan Drellich in The Athletic:

Wednesday’s court hearing wasn’t all good news, though: it served to ultimately delay Diamond’s bankruptcy proceeding. And in a line of talk that was absent in recent months, a lawyer for Diamond volunteered in court that the company might not avoid liquidation.

“If we conclude that we cannot reorganize the business, which is a possibility, we will similarly pivot quickly,” Hermann said. “That is not our focus today, but that is a possibility and that’s not lost on us.”
Hermann (Diamond's attorney) also acknowledged that Diamond’s proposed business plan needs to be altered to satisfy some of its most prominent creditors.
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my thoughts - Diamond is, I think, clearly trying to stall for time in hopes of reaching a new agreement with Comcast. I will note that a new deal with Comcast might result in Bally RSN's being moved to a higher-priced Sports tier which would require subscribers to pay more to access the games.

with the final hearing being pushed into August, at least, that makes things very iffy for NBA and NHL teams that have deals with Diamond. Diamond reported during the status hearing that.......

“The other good news that we have to report is that the company is in very active dialogue and productive discussions with each of the NBA and NHL,” Hermann said. “While no agreements have been reached at this time, these discussions are ongoing … with significant progress being made.”

A spokesperson for MLB declined comment......
 

quick update/clarification -- not only has the final Diamond Sports bankruptcy confirmation hearing date been postponed indefinitely, but two other key deadlines have also been postponed.

On July 24, 2024, the Court conducted a virtual status conference, during which the Debtors announced their intent to adjourn the Confirmation Hearing to a later date to facilitate finalizing key commercial discussions and documentation. Accordingly, the Confirmation Hearing is adjourned, and will not be going forward on July 29–30, 2024. In addition, all remaining dates and deadlines set forth in paragraph 2 of the Disclosure Statement Order (as modified by the Prior Notices), including the Voting/Opt-Out Deadline and Plan Objection Deadline, are adjourned and will be reset. An additional notice will be filed and served with additional information in the near term.

so they have to reschedule the voting deadline and objection deadline first - because those have to take place before the final confirmation hearing. even if it's a two-week delay, that pushes any resolution into mid-August.

and the wheel goes around and around......
 

short ornery norwegian said:
“The other good news that we have to report is that the company is in very active dialogue and productive discussions with each of the NBA and NHL,” Hermann said. “While no agreements have been reached at this time, these discussions are ongoing … with significant progress being made.”

A spokesperson for MLB declined comment......
Click to expand...
So the Wolves and Wild are likely to sign up for another go round with Bally as well? Sigh.
 

howeda7 said:
So the Wolves and Wild are likely to sign up for another go round with Bally as well? Sigh.
Click to expand...

at this point, nobody knows. Diamond/Bally is trying to put the best possible spin on things before the final Confirmation hearing on the bankruptcy reorganization plan. But, if the Judge does not accept that plan, then all bets are off.

call me cynical, but Diamond would not keep postponing the hearing if they thought they had a good chance of being approved. they're stalling for time and hoping that a new deal with Comcast might help them win approval - but if that new deal bumps the RSN's into a higher-priced sports tier, then that could also impact the Judge's ruling.

and if the Judge rules "No," I don't see any way that Diamond survives as an on-going operation. meaning that the Wolves and Wild's TV rights could be in limbo.
 


howeda7 said:
Click to expand...

read the fine print - the games will now be available on the Xfinity 'Ultimate' TV package - which is (I believe) another $20 a month if you are not already paying for the higher-priced tier.

before anyone tries to spin this as some victory for the fans, they need to include the fact that at least some fans will be forced with a choice - pay more $ to watch the Twins or not.

bottom line - Comcast won. they got what they wanted. and the fans get to send Comcast more money if they want to watch the games.
 


off on a tangent here - pricing has been announced for the new Sports Streaming bundle "Venu" -
this is being aimed at cord-cutters who want sports but don't want to pay for cable TV.

Venu Sports -- the sports streaming platform planned by ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery -- will be available for $42.99 per month with its planned launch in the fall.

The platform includes offerings from 14 linear networks -- ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network, ACC Network, ESPNEWS, ABC, FOX, FS1, FS2, Big Ten Network, TNT, TBS, truTV -- as well as ESPN+.

Venu (pronounced "venue") Sports is being considered by some to be the equivalent of Hulu for sports. It will include games from the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, WNBA, NASCAR and college sports, as well as golf, tennis and soccer. Besides games, there will be studio shows, pre- and post-game programming and access to ESPN's 30 for 30 library, ESPN Films and documentaries from Fox Sports Films.

Subscribers would have the ability to bundle the product with Disney+, Hulu and/or Max.
 

Diamond (if it survives) may drop as many as 5 NBA teams and will be cutting the rights fees for other teams. from The Streamable:

A report from Sports Business Journal says that Diamond is continuing to work on a long-term deal with the NBA, but that deal will most likely include big cuts in rights fee payments to 10 teams, and that as many as five clubs may be dropped by Bally Sports regional sports networks (RSNs) altogether.

The five teams under threat of being banished from Bally Sports channels and the Bally Sports+ streaming service are the Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans, and Oklahoma City Thunder.

If Diamond is able to win approval for its reorganization plan, the NBA teams that are still with the network could see the fees they collect from the broadcaster cut by 30% or 40%. These teams still project that decreased revenue as an improvement over what they’d make by going to OTA channels, but it will still be a difficult pill to swallow.

If Diamond doesn’t get out of bankruptcy and ends up having to liquidate, SBJ reports that the NBA is considering allowing Amazon to buy local rights to former Bally Sports teams and distribute them in their respective markets.

(at some point, these pro teams have to be asking - what is the benefit for us to stay on Diamond/Bally?)
 

short ornery norwegian said:
Diamond (if it survives) may drop as many as 5 NBA teams and will be cutting the rights fees for other teams. from The Streamable:

A report from Sports Business Journal says that Diamond is continuing to work on a long-term deal with the NBA, but that deal will most likely include big cuts in rights fee payments to 10 teams, and that as many as five clubs may be dropped by Bally Sports regional sports networks (RSNs) altogether.

The five teams under threat of being banished from Bally Sports channels and the Bally Sports+ streaming service are the Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans, and Oklahoma City Thunder.

If Diamond is able to win approval for its reorganization plan, the NBA teams that are still with the network could see the fees they collect from the broadcaster cut by 30% or 40%. These teams still project that decreased revenue as an improvement over what they’d make by going to OTA channels, but it will still be a difficult pill to swallow.

If Diamond doesn’t get out of bankruptcy and ends up having to liquidate, SBJ reports that the NBA is considering allowing Amazon to buy local rights to former Bally Sports teams and distribute them in their respective markets.

(at some point, these pro teams have to be asking - what is the benefit for us to stay on Diamond/Bally?)
Click to expand...
There no way i see the Timberwolves going the amazon way. I see the Wolves getting a local deal long before amazon get the Wolves. If A-rod and Marc get the Team. you will see a new regional sports network forming. book it.
 

gophersfan said:
There no way i see the Timberwolves going the amazon way. I see the Wolves getting a local deal long before amazon get the Wolves. If A-rod and Marc get the Team. you will see a new regional sports network forming. book it.
Click to expand...
That only works if the Twins and Wild are in too. Have an entire network based around the Wolves having maybe 65 games if you're lucky won't work.
 

howeda7 said:
That only works if the Twins and Wild are in too. Have an entire network based around the Wolves having maybe 65 games if you're lucky won't work.
Click to expand...
That what is most likely to happen. the Wolves, Wild, Lynx, Twins all in on it together. That what A-rod and Marc are looking into too. That if they get ownership of the Wolves and i think they will.
 

FWIW - as of this morning, no new court dates have been set for the Diamond Sports bankruptcy proceedings. reminder - before there can be a final hearing on Diamond's plan to emerge from bankruptcy, the court has to set dates for the interested parties to indicate whether they plan to participate in the hearing, and whether they want to file any objections. after that, then a final hearing date can be set. so we're looking at - (best guess) - at least mid-August if not later.

NBA and NHL teams that are under contract with Diamond want to know what the f*** is going on before the new seasons begin - especially with the news that Diamond may be planning to dump up to 5 NBA teams (but not the Wolves).

----
** and Gophersfan - starting a new RSN in this media climate would be an incredibly risky venture. the writing is on the wall - cable TV as we know it is on the path to extinction and streaming is the future. so IF ARod and Lore wanted to come up with their own version of BSN, they would have to have the streaming rights for all of the teams involved. I just don't see that happening - at least not with the Twins. Maybe a scaled-down deal for the Wolves and Wild could work at the right price point. that could be where Bloomberg comes in as a partner with his media expertise.
 

short ornery norwegian said:
FWIW - as of this morning, no new court dates have been set for the Diamond Sports bankruptcy proceedings. reminder - before there can be a final hearing on Diamond's plan to emerge from bankruptcy, the court has to set dates for the interested parties to indicate whether they plan to participate in the hearing, and whether they want to file any objections. after that, then a final hearing date can be set. so we're looking at - (best guess) - at least mid-August if not later.

NBA and NHL teams that are under contract with Diamond want to know what the f*** is going on before the new seasons begin - especially with the news that Diamond may be planning to dump up to 5 NBA teams (but not the Wolves).

----
** and Gophersfan - starting a new RSN in this media climate would be an incredibly risky venture. the writing is on the wall - cable TV as we know it is on the path to extinction and streaming is the future. so IF ARod and Lore wanted to come up with their own version of BSN, they would have to have the streaming rights for all of the teams involved. I just don't see that happening - at least not with the Twins. Maybe a scaled-down deal for the Wolves and Wild could work at the right price point. that could be where Bloomberg comes in as a partner with his media expertise.
Click to expand...
A new sports network can work in this market. A-rod and Lore have said they wanted to start a new sports network that involed the Lynx, Timberwolves and also the other teams in this area. They want to do a model of the Yankeesd yes network. Victory Sprots was bad and i mean bad. Twins were wrong in doing that. Let wait and see. I fully see Lore and A-Rod getting a new network forming.

This is where i got the info from.
www.si.com

Report: Lore, A-Rod interested in creating TV home for Wolves, Lynx, 'other teams'

The report says the new TV network would be inspired by the Yankees' YES Network.
www.si.com www.si.com

It still in the planing thing. It may not even happen. Gerry Cardinale would help A-Rod and Lore on it if they do decide to go in on it.
 

gophersfan said:
A new sports network can work in this market. A-rod and Lore have said they wanted to start a new sports network that involed the Lynx, Timberwolves and also the other teams in this area. They want to do a model of the Yankeesd yes network. Victory Sprots was bad and i mean bad. Twins were wrong in doing that. Let wait and see. I fully see Lore and A-Rod getting a new network forming.

This is where i got the info from.
www.si.com

Report: Lore, A-Rod interested in creating TV home for Wolves, Lynx, 'other teams'

The report says the new TV network would be inspired by the Yankees' YES Network.
www.si.com www.si.com

It still in the planing thing. It may not even happen. Gerry Cardinale would help A-Rod and Lore on it if they do decide to go in on it.
Click to expand...
The issue is I think MLB is pretty set on doing something league-wide and I don't think a Minnesota-based RSN can work without the Twins. Just not enough content.
 

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