The Padres are among about half a dozen teams that could have their games streamed for free from Major League Baseball this season, in the wake of Diamond Sports preparing to file for bankruptcy on March 17, according to a New York Post report to register.
Under the Bally Sports name, Diamond Sports owns broadcast rights to 14 baseball teams. The company is expected to use bankruptcy proceedings to reject the contracts of at least four teams, including the Padres, Arizona Diamondbacks, Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Guardians.
The Post reported that Diamond will lose $20 million annually in San Diego alone.
The Union-Tribune previously reported that about $50 million owed to the Padres under their agreement with Bally Sports San Diego would be reduced or even wiped out entirely with a bankruptcy filing in 2023.
According to The Post, MLB has yet to spell out exactly how teams in impacted markets will be able to watch games for free while the league negotiates lower deals with cable companies.
Currently out of print games can be viewed through a $149.99 annual subscription to the MLB.TV app. Bally Sports currently charges $19.99 per month for its sports streaming packages.
Diamond operates 19 regional sports networks that hold the broadcast rights for 42 teams in MLB, NBA and NHL. The deal with MLB teams accounts for about $1 billion in revenue.
Diamond was formed after Sinclair Broadcast Group paid $10.6 billion for Fox Sports Networks’ regional channels, which included Fox Sports San Diego, in 2019.
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