Bally Sports RSNs Are Reportedly Preparing For Bankruptcy

[Bruce]

Against all odds, Diamond Sports Group looks set to rise from the ashes

After a protracted bankruptcy period, the investment from Amazon looks set to salvage what was left of Diamond Sports Group.

awfulannouncing.com

from the link-

Patrick Crakes, a former Fox Sports executive, has long been on a hobby horse countering the message that pay-TV is dead. By now the numbers are familiar, from a peak of just over 100 million homes about a decade ago, the cable universe has dropped below 70 million homes and the decline is not abating.

Except what he is not reporting, of that under 70 Million that still has Paid Live TV, over 20 Million of them are with services that do not carry the RSNs (Dish, Sling, Hulu Live, YTTV)

Then three of the Providers that do carry them, are the ones that lose the most subscribers every quarter-Comcast, Charter and DirecTV.

Then, how many have packages that do not have the RSNs, like Entertainment with DirecTV.

So that drops RSN subscriber numbers to about 40-45 million, at the rate they are losing customers (per sub fees) at about 6-8 million this year, estimated to be 8 million next year, that means then there will not be enough subscribers to support the RSNs, so most of them have 1-2 years of life, team owned has 2-3 years left, even the team owned ones have bills with running a RSN.

 

[navychop]

It’s a sign of the Apocalypse

 

[glrush]

Diamond Sports Group dropping Bally's branding from regional sports networks

The Bally Sports RSNs are in their final months with that name, with the Diamond Sports Group looking to rebrand.

awfulannouncing.com

 

[Bruce]

Some news, Diamond signed a new deal with Charter to carry the channel, but not all good news.

“Under the new agreement, customers will continue to have access to live, local MLB, NBA and NHL games and pre- and post-game content on Diamond’s RSN channels through Charter’s Spectrum TV Select Plus package.

Plus is the higher Tier, it was originally on the less expensive tier, so if people still want it, they will have to pay more, but of those who do not care (majority), they will stay at the less expensive tier and Diamond will lose out of even more per sub fees.

Bally Sports Will Continue to Air NBA Games after Reaching a Deal With Spectrum | Cord Cutters News

Today, Bally Sports’ Parent company, Diamond Sports Group, announced it has reached a deal with Spectrum’s parent company, Charger Communications. This deal will keep Bally Sports on Spectrum TV packages and help it keep its NBA TV rights. Recently it was reported that if Bally Sports failed to...

cordcuttersnews.com

 

[Bruce]

More news-

A Houston bankruptcy court judge on Wednesday approved Diamond Sports Group’s broad, 174-page outline for exiting Chapter 11 restructuring (aka a “disclosure statement”), an outcome that could occur as soon as June 18, when a confirmation hearing is set.

but-

trouble bubbled up again last week, when Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League each filed motions with the court, expressing, in the words of the NBA, that they are “deeply concerned” about Diamond's trajectory.

Not only does Diamond still have pivotal long-term renewal deals with DirecTV and Comcast to nail down, but Lopez has just approved Diamond’s request to extend the final deadline for finishing its restructuring plan to November 14, the maximum time frame allowed under U.S. bankruptcy law.

The NBA and NHL both expressed consternation that the leagues could once again start their new seasons in October amid the specter of a major TV distribution partner in bankruptcy.

Notice that the MLB did not complain, because the contract ends after this season, would DirecTV, Comcast and Charter ( they only have a one year deal at a reduced rate) want to pay Diamond full price for a part time RSN, that is what it would be without MLB.

Diamond Sports Could Emerge From Bankruptcy on June 18

With a judge approving the company’s disclosure agreement and setting up a June confirmation hearing, Diamond lawyer says the company has the, er, rubber to the road on exiting Chapter 11, while insisting a just-approved November deadline extension is merely a ‘prophylactic motion’

www.nexttv.com