Diamond Sports Group, the subsidiary of Sinclair broadcasting that’s been running their sports RSN after they picked them up from Disney which picked them up from Fox, looks to be gearing up for an $8.6 billion debt restructuring in bankruptcy court. There are a lot of business and financial terms and policies to work through, but the long and short of it is that DSG is likely going to skip an interest payment it owes, which should be enough for them to get to the bankruptcy claim they’ve been rumored to be after for a while now.
Should they go that route, all their contracts with the MLB, NHL, and NBA will essentially disappear into the night. According to Bloomberg, if Diamond, which operates under the Bally Sports brand, files for bankruptcy, it could potentially put at risk crucial broadcasting-rights revenue for the likes of MLB.
No league has used their TV contracts as the crutch like MLB teams. For instance, the St. Louis Cardinals are currently bagging some $66 million a year from Bally from their 15-year, $1 billion deal they signed with Fox Sports in 2015. While the Cardinals are one of the better-supported teams in the league via attendance, you’d have to think $66 million going disparu would certainly be something they might notice. The Texas Rangers — you may remember them from such episodes as handing Jacob deGrom, Corey Seager, and Marcus Semien their own Caribbean islands in cash — inked a $1.6 billion, 20-year contract in 2010. There are 17 other teams on Sinclair/Diamond local TV deals, all of whom are going to have angry accountants when that local TV money goes to hang out with Harvey the Rabbit.