MLB forms economic group as regional TV in peril

[navychop]

Prime vs Choice?

Real world?

 

[klang]

Limited Prime selection at my local Kroger affiliate. I usually order from Allen Brothers.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Foxbat]

Or Prime Beef is something else?

Given the thread, I would assume this would be Whole Foods hamburger delivered by Amazon delivery! Free, for $139/year.

 

[Bruce]

Bally/Diamond missed payments on the Cleveland Guardians and Minnesota Twins, now has 15 days to make the payment.

Yet, it made on time payments to the Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays.

Also made a late payment to San Diego .

Also this- The next payments due are to the Texas Rangers and Cincinnati Reds. The Reds’ payment is unlikely to be paid on time, the publication says, while the Rangers situation is unclear.

The Regional Sports Network Crisis: Bally Sports Misses Twins & Guardians Payments? Now What? - The TV Answer Man!

By Phillip Swann The TV Answer Man –@tvanswerman Diamond Sports, the owner and operating unit for the 19 Bally Sports regional sports networks, has missed its regular payment to both the Cleveland Guardians and Minnesota Twins, according to a new report from Sports Business Journal. That doesn’t...

tvanswerman.com

 

[Mr Tony]

Awful announcing article

Diamond Sports misses media rights payment to Twins, makes payments to eight other teams

Another team is getting pushed towards the Bally Sports chopping block. Per the Sports Business Journal, the Diamond Sports Group did not make a payment to the Minnesota Twins in recent days, pushing them into a 15-day grace period. The Cleveland Guardians also were not paid on time and have...

awfulannouncing.com

 

[Mr Tony]

Hey if the Twins get to be streamed in market on mlb.tv I wouldn't mind (thats my local team)

 

[Bruce]

Awful announcing article

Diamond Sports misses media rights payment to Twins, makes payments to eight other teams

Another team is getting pushed towards the Bally Sports chopping block. Per the Sports Business Journal, the Diamond Sports Group did not make a payment to the Minnesota Twins in recent days, pushing them into a 15-day grace period. The Cleveland Guardians also were not paid on time and have...

awfulannouncing.com

I am reading more and more they ( Diamond) want to give up on the Ohio market, I do not know why, maybe they have lost too subscribers like the Minnesota market has-Per the report, there were 2.9 million subscribers to the regional sports network in 2013 (branded Fox Sports North at the time) compared with just 1.2 million subscribers to Bally Sports North now. That includes a staggering 1.4 million subscribers lost in just the last five years alone. Other markets saw large decreases in subscribers as well.

Bally Sports North reportedly lost more than half its subscribers in last decade

A Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal report, citing research from S&P Global Market Intelligence, shows a subscriber base that has gone from 2.9 million in 2013 to just 1.2 million now.

www.startribune.com

I wonder how quick traditional providers drop the RSN charge for those areas.

 

[Mr Tony]

MLB Demands Bally Sports Make Missing Payment or Terminate Its Contact in Emergency Court Filing​

MLB Demands Bally Sports Make Missing Payment or Terminate Its Contact in Emergency Court Filing | Cord Cutters News

The Bally Sports bankruptcy case just got interesting as yesterday MLB filed an emergency motion to demand that Bally Sports’ parent company Diamond Sports, pay the Tiwns and Guardians. In this emergency filing, MLB is asking that Diamond Sports be forced to make the missed payment to the Twins...

cordcuttersnews.com

The Bally Sports bankruptcy case just got interesting as yesterday MLB filed an emergency motion to demand that Bally Sports’ parent company Diamond Sports, pay the Tiwns and Guardians.

In this emergency filing, MLB is asking that Diamond Sports be forced to make the missed payment to the Twins and Guardians or terminate the contracts, according to a report from The Athletic.

 

[SamCdbs]

And the (semi-paywalled) SBJ reports that the WBD part of the issue is heading for a resolution. WBD is the AT&T Sportsnet. Despite the threats of just filing Chapter 7 and walking away on the come and gone March 31 deadline, SBJ believes that AT&T Sportsnet will continue to operate, and pay its rights fees, for this baseball season.

Pittsburgh (MLB Pirates, NHL Penguins) where the Penguins are owned by the same guy who owns the Red Sox and NESN, will launch its own channel using NESN filler material and resources. PESN (Pittsburgh Entertainment and Sports Network) is the working title, or just NESN Pittsburgh (with NESN standing for nothing in this case). Pirates are going to go along with the deal.

Rocky Mountain (MLB Colorado Rockies, NBA Utah Jazz, NHL Las Vegas Knights, with a complex web of different feeds based the different territories of each) is complicated by that very multi-city fact. No idea, but the Rockies might just sign with Altitude, which has the indoor Denver teams already. Denver doesn't need two RSNs. The Knights might make a deal with ROOT, which already carries its games in Montana, for a sub feed channel or just go OTA and wait for MLB or the NBA to come to town. Or make a deal with the Jazz for a Nevada/Utah based channel. OTA is an option for the Knights because Nevada and the rest of its claimed territory (other than SLC) outside the Las Vegas DMA is basically empty.

Houston, has contracts with DirecTV and Comcast that last into the next decade, will be sold off to some combination of the Astros and Rockets and continue to operate under a new name. It remains profitable.

Seattle, where they use the old ROOT Sports name, is only 30% owned by WBD. The Mariners own the rest, and it remains profitable. WBD will continue to own its share.

 

[Joe The Dragon]

What will jerry reinsdorf do if Comcast pulls out? Will they just go there own? Keep the blackhawks? Will the blackhawks join up with the cubs on Marquee?

 

[Yespage]

Technically, the Pens and Sox are owned by a private equity firm not a person. They are well above average among the industry.

 

[Jimbo]

I would pay $25 month to get all the Astros games, on top of my DISH subscription. That would be $150 per season, which is about what it would cost me to go see one game at the stadium (with peanuts and popcorn and parking with one guest). I don't think it's available though so the point is moot.

I basically pay that for MLB EI most years ... I watch the Astros and the Red Sox.
I guess if I look at a 1 time payment, its easier to take.
Pay it and get it over with.

Same way I'll be with YT ST eventually.

 

[Jimbo]

I think we will all end up getting our games at least Thru the end of this season ....

I read earlier that the Astros game WILL be shown thru the end of the year.

 

[Bruce]

I think we will all end up getting our games at least Thru the end of this season ....

I read earlier that the Astros game WILL be shown thru the end of the year.

I believe the end of year also, except for a few markets, Diamond seems like it wants to shut down Bally Sports North since it has lost 1.7 million subscribers ( per sub fees) and only has 1.2 remaining, so unless they can get the rights for cheap-

Bally Sports North reportedly lost more than half its subscribers in last decade

A Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal report, citing research from S&P Global Market Intelligence, shows a subscriber base that has gone from 2.9 million in 2013 to just 1.2 million now.

www.startribune.com

Also seems it wants out of the Ohio market also, already has missed the payment with Cleveland and has said it will not pay the Reds, yet has made payments to Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers and the Tampa Bay Rays.

Also this-

In a filing on Monday, Diamond Sports wrote that it expects to request approval to pay “only the reasonable value of the rights” to teams as the bankruptcy case moves forward. Lawyers for Diamond Sports requested a May 12 hearing highlighting “expert testimony on the current value of the rights under the contracts.”

Which basically means Diamond wants the Bankruptcy Court to redo the contracts with teams, but that will only work if MLB agrees to it, which they have already said they will not, they want the rights back.

I really believe MLB has a deal set up with either Apple or Amazon if Diamond goes under, both streaming services has tons of cash and wants to make a deal with a sport’s league, to what that could be, I have no idea.

Diamond Sports Hold Three MLB Clubs ‘Captive’

Despite its bankruptcy, Diamond Sports has broadcast games during the first two weeks of the season, but three teams argue about payments.

frontofficesports.com

Diamond Sports Group, Bally’s parent company, airing Guardians games without paying for them

Diamond Sports Group says bankruptcy gives it the right to renegotiate TV contracts. MLB arguing that teams must be paid or get their TV rights back.

www.cleveland.com

Bally Sports' parent to cut payments to 3 MLB teams

Diamond Sports cites Chapter 11 bankruptcy law in allowing them to restructure deals to reflect current market value.

theathletic.com

 

[Bruce]

Judge has punted till May 31, then will have a hearing.

So everything will stay the same until then, certain MLB teams will continue to air on the RSNs while not getting paid.

Also expected more teams will not have payments made, the Reds are next up for that.

What a mess.

 

[SamCdbs]

SBJ (paywalled) reports that MLB's new position is that the Cincinnati, Los Angeles (Angels), San Diego, Miami, Kansas City, and St. Louis are not before the Bankruptcy Court at all. These teams own a share of the network they are on. Thus, for example, Bally's Sports Ohio is not owned by Diamond Sports (the bankrupt entity) but rather by a joint venture between that company and the Cincinnati Reds, Inc., which has not applied for bankruptcy, nor is it eligible to do as it simply does not owe more than it makes, the classic test for being bankruptcy. As such the Court has no jurisdiction. MLB will simply inform Diamond Sports to get out 15 days after it misses a payment to the Reds. Virtually all of the production is done with freelance or team employees, rented equipment, etc. so the same people will produce the same games in the same manner, only difference being the graphics. MLB has "handshake deals" with all of the talent and with DirecTV and Spectrum (the main cable company in the region) and other cable companies. And, the lack of the Reds would void the carriage deal for BSO.

Same deal for the other teams involved. The worst case scenario for MLB is that this creates an "emergency" such that the hearing above mentioned gets moved up.

 

[Bruce]

Diamond missed the payment to the Rangers, a reason why is the deal ( with Fox Sports at the time) was made before Sinclair took over and based when 100 Million Households in the United States still had a Traditional Provider.

The Rangers was getting $150 million a year based on that deal, so Sinclair/Diamond has to be losing money on it since only about, roughly, 40-45 Million Households in the United States still get the RSNs and pay the per sub fee.

From the link-Texas’ agreement is worth reported to be around $150 million per year and runs through 2034. The exact details of the agreement were not listed in Tuesday’s bankruptcy filing.

Rangers Claim Diamond Sports Missed Rights Fee Payment

The Rangers requested to join MLB, Minnesota Twins, and the Cleveland Guardians in seeking an emergency hearing over the unpaid fees.

frontofficesports.com

 

[Yespage]

Sinclair's leveraged purchase of the RSNs has to be one of the worst business moves in The history of business.

 

[Bruce]

Sinclair's leveraged purchase of the RSNs has to be one of the worst business moves in The history of business.

Agreed, specially since cord cutting had already started when they bought them in 2019, the trends were already showing back then, for example-

Paid Live TV Subs 2015-100.5 Million (most had the RSNs then)
Paid Live TV Subs 2019-84 Million (most had the RSNs then)

And now-Forecast data from February 2023 indicates that the number of pay TV households in the United States will stand at around 60.5 million by the end of the year. This figure will likely drop further over the next few years and amount to less than 50 million by 2027.

These numbers include all providers, Sat., Cable and Streaming.

The problem is, out of that 60 Million, about 20-25 million also do not get then RSNs, so only 35-40 million pay the per sub fee, so even if Sinclair wins their Chapter 11 bid, they will be right back in a couple of years because of future losses, also more providers could drop them also.

Number of pay TV households in the U.S. 2027 | Statista

The number of U.S. pay-TV households, including cable subscribers, was 65.1 million in 2022. A forecast suggests a drop to 48 million by 2027.

www.statista.com

 

[Yespage]

Yes, it was a matter of overpaying for a product that was going in the wrong direction distribution wise, with the plan of using television rights to be the same as gambling rights (which it wasn't), with a good deal of money that wasn't even their's with the idea that debt would remain cheap forever (it wouldn't).