Bally Sports RSNs Are Reportedly Preparing For Bankruptcy

interesting and shrewdly brilliant. If i'm reading this correctly, Amazon is using this as a ploy to get Diamond's 20% equity in YES at a ridiculously steep discount. It reads like they actually expect Diamond to fail, and when they do fail, Amazon gets first dibs on that 20% because they're making Diamond use it to backstop the $115M note.
That is how I read it.

But, even if it makes it out of Chapter 11, it will burn through that $1 Billion quite quickly because they are still losing per sub fees.

For example, their #1 TV Provider, Comcast just reported another 389,000 gone in the 4th quarter, so no more per sub fees from how many of those receive Ballys.

How does Diamond increase revenue when they are still losing subs, advertising is in the toilet, a very small percentage watching, only, at the most, close to 300,000, for all of the streaming areas combined, subscribing.

As of now, Diamond top 3 TV Providers have lost in 2023
Comcast- 2,036,000 (all 4 Quarters)
DirecTV -1,350,000 (3 quarters)
Charter-768,000 (3 quarters)

That is 4,154,000 ( and before 4th quarter losses for two of them) per sub fees gone for the RSNs.

So since 2017, RSNs have lost about 60 Million Subscribers, because so many providers do not carry them (Dish, Sling, YTTV, Hulu Live, etc) and a lot have packages that do not offer the RSNs, like Entertainment from DirecTV.

So about 40 Million ( and shrinking )still receive the RSNs, using the same average of $7 per month, that is $280 Million a month, $3.3 Billion a year, for all the RSNs nationwide.

But from that $3 Billion, you have to take away the costs of running the channels, including those way too high contracts with the teams, for example, for MLB, Texas, NY, LA, the annual contracts combined for just 3 teams is about $500 Million a year.

So unless things drastically change, RSNs have 2-3 years left.
 
The one in Detroit Started as PASS ...
True, but it did become part of Prime Sports (not Amazon).

In 1987, Fetzer sold PASS to Tigers owner Tom Monaghan,[5] and in 1988, PASS became an early charter affiliate of the Prime Network group of regional sports networks.

On October 31, 1995, Liberty Media, owner of the Prime Network and most of its affiliates, sold a 50% ownership interest in the group to News Corporation. That company would immediately assume operational control of Prime following the purchase's closure, with plans to launch its own slate of regional sports networks as an outgrowth of its fledgling Fox Sports division[9] later announcing on July 3, 1996, that the Prime networks would be rebranded as Fox Sports Net beginning that November.


The rest is history, Pass shut down when the new Fox Sports signed contracts with the Tigers/Red Wings ( owned by Mike Ilitch then) and the Pistons, Pass was then shut down.
 
True, but it did become part of Prime Sports (not Amazon).

In 1987, Fetzer sold PASS to Tigers owner Tom Monaghan,[5] and in 1988, PASS became an early charter affiliate of the Prime Network group of regional sports networks.

On October 31, 1995, Liberty Media, owner of the Prime Network and most of its affiliates, sold a 50% ownership interest in the group to News Corporation. That company would immediately assume operational control of Prime following the purchase's closure, with plans to launch its own slate of regional sports networks as an outgrowth of its fledgling Fox Sports division[9] later announcing on July 3, 1996, that the Prime networks would be rebranded as Fox Sports Net beginning that November.


The rest is history, Pass shut down when the new Fox Sports signed contracts with the Tigers/Red Wings ( owned by Mike Ilitch then) and the Pistons, Pass was then shut down.
I was thinking PASS was Earlier than that, but I guess not ...
It's been a long time ... remember watching Tigers (and Lions) back when I was a kid, but that was probably on Network TV at that time ....
 
  • Like
Reactions: DirecTVFanSince2016
I was thinking PASS was Earlier than that, but I guess not ...
It's been a long time ... remember watching Tigers (and Lions) back when I was a kid, but that was probably on Network TV at that time ....
Lions of course, when there were not black outs because of attendance ( so long ago).

You are roughly my same age, back then, Tigers would air on ( in different years) Channel 2 ( CBS then, now Fox), 4 (NBC) and then Channel 50 (UHF), Red Wing were always on Channel 20 (uhf) for years, then Channel 50.

PASS, then Fox, by that time peroid, when the RSNs came into power as a part of the cable channel packages, most Network Affiliates had already given up on local sports.

Now things are shifting again.
 
I was thinking PASS was Earlier than that, but I guess not ...
It's been a long time ... remember watching Tigers (and Lions) back when I was a kid, but that was probably on Network TV at that time ....
Who bought Sports Channel.
 
Some new info, mostly shows that Diamond still has to deal with a lot of issues-

 
Some news, which only matters if the Court ( and everyone else involved) approves the reorganization deal-

Evan Drellich of the Athletic reported this morning that MLB expects all three organizations to sign one-year deals to remain on Diamond’s Bally Sports networks for the 2024 season. None of those contracts have yet been finalized

Drellich reports that the Guardians and Rangers are expected to lose 15% or less of what they otherwise would have received in 2024. It’s unclear how much of a reduction Minnesota might need to take on their next contract.

Cleveland made $55MM off their TV deal a year ago. Texas took in around $111MM from Diamond, while Minnesota’s contract paid $54MM in its final season.


So it looks like we are back to this is the last year for Diamond since these are one season deals?

 
Court hearing tomorrow for Diamond, also this-

 
  • Wow
Reactions: Nate.O’Brien
Isn't this cart before the horse, streaming rights are great, but you need a produced program to stream first.
 
Isn't this cart before the horse, streaming rights are great, but you need a produced program to stream first.
The deal, before Amazon was involved, was this was the last year, NBA, NHL already agreed to be let out of the contract in exchange for less fess or not dropping any teams.

MLB was still in talks, which is now completed, in exchange for less money for a couple of teams, Texas and Cleveland , Twins have a new deal, all MLB teams will be let free after the upcoming season.

But once Amazon was involved, Diamond said never mind, we really did not want that deal to happen, Diamond’s problem is the right’s payments it has been making to NBA/NHL teams , has been in the amounts/terms of the new deal, that they claim was never supposed to happen.

This is all documented in this thread with links.
 
Isn't this cart before the horse, streaming rights are great, but you need a produced program to stream first.
The program is a baseball game. There's not a lot more to it than that. It's not like they have to go find some scripts and some directors, actors, and the whole 9 yards. In this case, most announcers are actually on team payroll and the production staff controlled by the RSN. Well, guess who is available to be hired if the RSN isn't going to be carrying the games anymore?

Not too much different than when the teams took over the AT&T operated RSNs really, except with way less overhead of supporting an entire channel 24/7
 
  • Like
Reactions: Nate.O’Brien