As the NBA approaches a new season, releasing its 2023-24 schedule earlier this month and announcing the fixtures to watch over the next year, a thorny issue continues to linger over the league and half of its teams.
Diamond Sports Group, the company that operates 19 Bally Sports regional sports networks across the United States and owns the local television rights to 15 NBA teams including the Mavericks, Clippers, Cavaliers and Spurs, among others, remains in bankruptcy court. This has created some uncertainty as to how these teams will be broadcasting their games locally in the coming season.
Rick Schnall, the new co-owner of the Charlotte Hornets, addressed the situation this month when he was unveiled as part of the investment group that bought the franchise this summer. When asked where fans could see the team this season, he couldn’t give a definite answer.
“We don’t actually know the answer to that question,” Schnall said. “We are under contract with Bally Sports for the (20)25-26 season and we expect them to honor that contract. You are obviously in Chapter 11; This is an ongoing negotiation. The NBA is obviously very concerned and very involved. There will be a place to watch the hornets. We believe under the terms of the contract it will be Bally Sports but if not we will have alternative plans.”
Matches are currently expected to be broadcast on Bally Sports’ regional sports channels early in the season and the league has been told Diamond Sports Group has sufficient capital to honor its contracts and get through the upcoming season at about the Matter informed sources who have been granted anonymity so they could speak freely. But the NBA has also begun working on contingency plans in case there are issues or expectations don’t meet once the regular season begins on October 24.
In the event that the Diamond Sports Group RSNs are unable to fulfill their contracts with the teams, the NBA stands ready to handle broadcast production and distribution in those markets. The league would then offer fans in those markets a direct-to-consumer streaming option, as well as a linear option to be determined. This model is already well established in cities like Phoenix and Salt Lake City, where the Suns and Jazz announced deals this summer to move their teams from a cable RSN – and in the Suns’ case, a Bally Sports RSN – to an over embarrassed -the-air broadcast network, along with a streaming option. League or team officials have already been in contact with local broadcasters across the country in Bally Sports’ RSN markets to lay the groundwork should anything go wrong.
This year has already set precedent for a professional sports league to step in when Diamond is unable to meet its commitments. Major League Baseball stepped in to broadcast the San Diego Padres’ games this summer when Diamond stopped broadcasting their games.
The approach between the NBA and Diamond Sports Group doesn’t appear to be as controversial as between the company and MLB, and the NBA wants to get through the upcoming season with RSN contracts and payments intact. But nothing is guaranteed. Diamond tried to stop its full rights payments to four MLB teams that year on the grounds that it was able to do so under bankruptcy law, but a federal judge halted that plan. If Diamond feels that one of its TV deals with an NBA team is also not part of its future plans or is unprofitable, it could use the same argument to attempt to do the same — although the company’s litigation with MLB has proven that this is not a sure guarantee of success.
There’s also a key difference between Diamond Sports Group’s MLB and NBA deals. According to bankruptcy filings, the company has the digital direct distribution rights to just five of the 14 MLB teams it has signed with. It has the streaming rights for all contracted NBA teams.
While there is optimism on both sides, there is also a good deal of skepticism.
“The situation is very uncertain,” an industry source told The Athletic.
The Diamond Sports Group has also had a difficult summer elsewhere. While the bankruptcy proceedings continue, the company has also sued Sinclair Broadcasting Group, its parent company, in federal court, alleging that Sinclair unlawfully siphoned off up to $1.5 billion from Diamond’s RSN business after acquiring Diamond in 2019 and Excessively High Administrative Fees As part of his response to the lawsuit, Sinclair said in a court filing that he believed Diamond Sports Group’s exit from bankruptcy was “not on the horizon.” In a statement, a spokesman for Diamond Sports Group said the company “is confident in our legal position” and that Sinclair’s court filing will have no impact on its operations.
(Photo: Jerome Miron / USA Today)
Comments are closed.