19 Bally RSN's going bankrupt, 14 MLB teams potentially affected

[CentralChamps21]

We got tired of xfinity's price increases and switched to YouTubeTV. They have NBCSC but not Marquee.

[Harry Chappas]

48 minutes ago, CentralChamps21 said:

We got tired of xfinity's price increases and switched to YouTubeTV. They have NBCSC but not Marquee.

I'm moving to You Tube TV just so I do not have to pay for Marquee. 

[ewokpelts]

18 hours ago, caulfield12 said:

Illinois is bleeding population as well cable subscribers.

If they don't make the playoffs in the next two years and there's no new stadium and/or Chicagoland relocation...it's going take coin flip luck they get an ownership group that can ever challenge the Cubs like the Angels got in Moreno and Mets got in Cohen in those markets with multiple teams.

It will look a lot more like the A's situation...minus the almost complete desperation/exasperation.

IMO Milwaukee, Minnesota, Cleveland, St. Louis and the Cubs all have better ownership groups...certainly front office teams.

lolz. thanks for the massive pile of typed crap. it made me laugh.

[ewokpelts]

6 hours ago, CentralChamps21 said:

We got tired of xfinity's price increases and switched to YouTubeTV. They have NBCSC but not Marquee.

then it sounds like you won big. i'm still paying for joe ricketts' tv station.

[caulfield12]

3 hours ago, ewokpelts said:

lolz. thanks for the massive pile of typed crap. it made me laugh.

copy and paste   18 seconds, tops

[ewokpelts]

15 hours ago, caulfield12 said:

copy and paste   18 seconds, tops

of stuff that has NOTHING to do with a sox team that is not affected by bally sports. so shut up

[caulfield12]

42 minutes ago, ewokpelts said:

of stuff that has NOTHING to do with a sox team that is not affected by bally sports. so shut up

The state of Illinois and Chicago from a financial and tax perspective certainly is relevant and will become increasingly more so in the coming years following demographic trends of blue staters leaving for states like AZ TX and FL, to name just three. 

Ask Melody Hobson if she thinks it is something to be considered...who is going to finance a new stadium for the White Sox privately, for example, in the future??? 

Reinsdorf owning basically the biggest share of NBCSports Chicago isn't the Top 3-5 broadcasting deal in all of sports anymore... essentially, the AL Central Division opponents in the long/er term will get bigger slices of the pie, the equivalent of revenue sharing. 

This year, the impact of those missed Bally/Sinclair  payments/defaults might be more impactful as everyone adjusts financially, but the Sox are basically treading water and falling backwards on payroll from 7th to 12th due to spending increases by other teams as well as inflationary pressure in mega deals. 

Edited March 8, 2023 by caulfield12

[Vote4Pedro]

On 3/7/2023 at 10:15 AM, Harry Chappas said:

I'm moving to You Tube TV just so I do not have to pay for Marquee. 

You Tube TV is great except for the fact they dropped MLB Network right before spring training. Had to make the switch until they pick it back up

[pcq]

The quality of baseball on cable tv is significant. Streaming baseball not so much. Or choosing among 35 different streaming services. 

[Tnetennba]

 

[CentralChamps21]

I think at some point we end up with MLB Network owning and distributing rights to games. You'd have MLBN Chicago (and Plus since there are two teams) that will show Chicago games when they're on, and evenings that don't have Chicago games you get a national game or the national studio show.

[caulfield12]

For this season, though, there are still at least 12 teams that are largely unaffected... including the Cubs and Yankees due to limited corporate exposures of their networks to Sinclair/Bally RSN's issues. 

[caulfield12]

"As Bloomberg reported, Prudential Financial, Fidelity, Hein Park Capital Management, and Mudrick Capital Management would become owners of the Bally Sports stations as Sinclair’s debt converts to equity. I’ll skip all the fun financial stuff about how a huge portion of that outstanding debt is trading at pennies on the dollar and get to what this could mean for a very pesky Cubs rival.

Media rights deals can be terminated or renegotiated as part of the restructuring, so teams relying on revenue from Bally RSNs might be in for a very rude awakening. The Cardinals are one such team and they are heading into the sixth year of a deal initially signed with Fox Sports Midwest that was to pay them north of $1 billion over 15 years. That means the Redbirds are in danger of losing more than $66.6 million in annual revenue just like that.

The bright side is that the Cards will probably get their competitive balance picks back if Bally Sports tanks, plus they still have devil (untouted rookie) magic on their side. Oh, and we can’t forget Chip Caray. They don’t need money to fleece teams into paying them to take on All-Stars or to turn create-a-players into impact contributors. Of course, it’s a little easier to operate frugally when you’ve got the safety net of TV money secured for another decade."

 

https://www.cubsinsider.com/2023/01/26/cardinals-could-take-huge-financial-hit-as-sinclairs-bally-sports-rsns-nearing-bankruptcy/

Edited March 14, 2023 by caulfield12

[Tnetennba]

 

[caulfield12]

"The most notable development for fans of teams whose local broadcasting deals are carried through Bally is that the company confirmed the RSN “will continue to operate in the ordinary course during the Chapter 11 process.” The corporation added it has approximately $425MM in cash to fund the business during its restructure.

Diamond is responsible for local broadcasts for 14 major league teams*. Kosman reported yesterday that Diamond would try to restructure its deals with some of the clubs but was planning to entirely reject its contracts with the Diamondbacks, Padres, Guardians and Reds. (Diamond didn’t provide any specifics on its planned course of action in today’s release.)

According to the Post, MLB is planning to step up for teams whose contracts are abandoned and stream them in-market for free while the league searches for alternatives. There’ll surely be more developments over the coming weeks and months, but the long-anticipated bankruptcy for the fledgling RSN corporation has officially been set in motion."

[caulfield12]

"The Post reported that Diamond stands to lose $20 million annually on San Diego alone.

The Union-Tribune previously reported that approximately $50 million the Padres are owed from its agreement with Bally Sports San Diego would be diminished or even completely wiped out in 2023 with a bankruptcy filing.

According to The Post, MLB has not yet finalized exactly how teams in affected markets would be able to view games while the league negotiates with cable companies for lower contracts. MLB would likely settle on pay schedules for both traditional TV and streaming options, though games could be made available free of charge until the details are ironed out."

 

https://www.gaslampball.com/2023/3/14/23639149/san-diego-mlb-stream-padres-games-tv

Edited March 15, 2023 by caulfield12

[caulfield12]

The Guardians, who declined comment, have a contract with DSG that runs through 2027. It pays them between $47 million and $54 million a year.

Now that DSG has filed for bankruptcy here are a couple of ways this could affect the Guardians.

If DSG rejects its contract outright with the Guardians, or any other team it has a deal with, MLB, according to sources, would quickly get the rights back and take steps to make sure the games would be televised.

If DSG refuses to pay the Guardians, or any other team it has a deal with, it could still broadcast the games because it would continue to collect revenue without having to pay rights fees. Meanwhile, MLB would have to go to bankruptcy court to get the rights back, which would be a lengthy process.

MLB released this statement last night:

“Diamond Sports Group’s bankruptcy declaration today is an unfortunate development that we have been expecting.  Despite Diamond’s economic situation, there is every expectation that they will continue televising all games they are committed to during the bankruptcy process.  Major League Baseball is ready to produce and distribute games to fans in their local markets in the event that Diamond or any other regional sports network is unable to do so as required by their agreement with our Clubs."

https://www.cleveland.com/sports/2023/03/guardians-games-on-bally-sports-still-in-limbo-as-diamond-sports-group-files-for-bankruptcy.html

Edited March 15, 2023 by caulfield12

[JoeC]

I know it's probably been answered somewhere above, but if MLB takes over distribution responsibilities for these affected teams... that still doesn't fix the fact that they're not getting the $40~$60MM from these RSN's, right?

[JoeC]

(as in, MLB wouldn't be able to cover that gap)

[caulfield12]

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/SB-Blogs/Newsletter-Media/2023/03/13.aspx

 

"But much of that continuity hinges on MLB’s ability to work out a deal to have distributors carry those games. Sources say that MLB execs have had a steady stream of meetings with distributors, including Comcast, Charter and DirecTV. With two-and-a-half weeks to go before Opening Day, sources say the two sides remain far apart in those negotiations to have distributors carry games outside of a traditional RSN. Of course, my sources caution that two weeks is considered an eternity in these types of disputes.

Expect these negotiations to get more intense, especially if Diamond Sports tries to get out of some of its more onerous contracts, potentially sending more teams’ rights to MLB.

.....

I talked to several sports execs who have gone through a bankruptcy process. They all used the same words to describe it: complicated, unpredictable, long and potentially messy. “You have no control anymore,” one exec said.

All bankruptcies are different with their own unique circumstances, with judges and trustees trying to decide on the best way forward. Observers expect Diamond Sports to analyze rights deals that it wants to keep, deals that it wants to shed and deals that it may be able to restructure.

Diamond already is late with a rights fee payment to one team -- the D'backs -- though it still is within a grace period where it could make a payment without incurring a penalty. Sources say it also is looking into its deal with the Padres, which is considered extremely favorable to the team. Its next rights fee payment to the Padres is due before Opening Day, sources said. Diamond also is looking closely at its deals with the Reds and Guardians, sources said."

Edited March 24, 2023 by caulfield12

[caulfield12]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-americans-watch-local-sports-is-about-to-change-as-cable-bundles-unravel-5f896013?siteid=yhoof2

[caulfield12]

https://sports.yahoo.com/local-broadcasters-crucial-mlb-now-080044795.html

[pcq]

I read Guardian fans could not get streaming games recently. Trouble. 

[caulfield12]

Bally Sports viewership from Opening Day shows the popularity of local sports rights. Nine of Diamond’s 14 MLB teams posted ratings increases, with five of those increases eclipsing 20%.

Here are the superlatives:

• The Padres (+75%) had its most-watched Opening Day in the history of the market's RSN, which launched in 2012

• The Angels (+25%) posted the clubs' biggest Opening Day number since 2014

• The Cardinals (-5%) had the most-watched TV program in the St. Louis market since the Super Bowl

• The Padres, Rangers (+30%), D-backs (+27%), Angels and Rays (+23%) saw the biggest Opening Day gains among Diamond’s MLB teams.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/SB-Blogs/Newsletter-Media/2023/04/03.aspx

Edited April 4, 2023 by caulfield12

[caulfield12]

Teams clearly in danger with Bally

Twins Guardians Reds Diamondbacks

 

???? Rangers (seems likely to get paid, still not finalized)

 

Already/recently paid

Angels Padres Brewers Braves Cardinals Marlins Rays Royals Tigers

 

Safest 7

TOR Cubs LAD Boston Seattle NYM NYY

 

Own part or all of networks

A's Giants Phillies White Sox

Edited April 4, 2023 by caulfield12