Bally Sports possible bankruptcy?

[Sea Ray]

This is a mess and ultimately this falls on Manfred. He's the guy at the top and ultimately his job is to look after the financial well being of his sport. This is why Goodell makes $63mill/yr. This may be one reason why the Reds are really going cheap this year. The Cardinals stand to lose the most over this.

[Chip R]

This is a mess and ultimately this falls on Manfred. He's the guy at the top and ultimately his job is to look after the financial well being of his sport. This is why Goodell makes $63mill/yr. This may be one reason why the Reds are really going cheap this year. The Cardinals stand to lose the most over this.

Goodell doesn't have 30 different teams that have 30 different local TV deals. All he does is pit the networks against each other and sell the package to the network(s) who offer the better deals. Not that Manfred is any good but I doubt Goodell could do much better.

[757690]

Here is the Reds TV spring training schedule

Attachment 19178

[Chip R]

Five games being broadcast by BSO. That's a step up from not so long ago when they would show one or two.

[Sea Ray]

Goodell doesn't have 30 different teams that have 30 different local TV deals. All he does is pit the networks against each other and sell the package to the network(s) who offer the better deals. Not that Manfred is any good but I doubt Goodell could do much better.

This is where Manfred needs to earn his keep. Solve some real problems

[Wayne Krivsky]

Five games being broadcast by BSO. That's a step up from not so long ago when they would show one or two.

It may be a step up but it still blows my mind that we only get 5 games when I can jump on and get streams to most high school games in 2023.

Maybe I’m greatly underestimating the cost of televising these games but I’d be perfectly fine with some b team broadcasters and limited camera angles. Not sure what else Bally sports has to show on a Tuesday afternoon….old poker games?

[westofyou]

It may be a step up but it still blows my mind that we only get 5 games when I can jump on and get streams to most high school games in 2023.

Maybe I’m greatly underestimating the cost of televising these games but I’d be perfectly fine with some b team broadcasters and limited camera angles. Not sure what else Bally sports has to show on a Tuesday afternoon….old poker games?

They have to send a crew to Arizona, equipment too, plus they have to house them. Then they have to adjust to the fact that the team will be playing in a different time zone and schedule them in way that enhances ad dollars. Then they have to make sure they don't step on the content of March that is playing meaningful games. (College BB, NBA, NHL)

100 loss teams don't get to have blanket coverage in spring training by companies on the verge of bankruptcy

[757690]

They have to send a crew to Arizona, equipment too, plus they have to house them. Then they have to adjust to the fact that the team will be playing in a different time zone and schedule them in way that enhances ad dollars. Then they have to make sure they don't step on the content of March that is playing meaningful games. (College BB, NBA, NHL)

100 loss teams don't get to have blanket coverage in spring training by companies on the verge of bankruptcy

However, the biggest costs are the one time setup, getting everyone and the equipment there, then setting it up. The only additional cost for more games is housing the crew that traveled, but that’s not many, as most of the jobs can be hired locally. It actually makes better fiscal sense to stay longer and get more bang for the initial money spent setting up.

I do think the timezone problem is an issue, which actually changes in the middle of spring training, since Arizona doesn’t recognize daylight savings time. Games are on at midday in Cincinnati, not a time when most people can watch.

[Sea Ray]

They have to send a crew to Arizona, equipment too, plus they have to house them. Then they have to adjust to the fact that the team will be playing in a different time zone and schedule them in way that enhances ad dollars. Then they have to make sure they don't step on the content of March that is playing meaningful games. (College BB, NBA, NHL)

100 loss teams don't get to have blanket coverage in spring training by companies on the verge of bankruptcy

It looks like this year we're getting more Spring Training games than we normally get

[Big Klu]

However, the biggest costs are the one time setup, getting everyone and the equipment there, then setting it up. The only additional cost for more games is housing the crew that traveled, but that’s not many, as most of the jobs can be hired locally. It actually makes better fiscal sense to stay longer and get more bang for the initial money spent setting up.

I do think the timezone problem is an issue, which actually changes in the middle of spring training, since Arizona doesn’t recognize daylight savings time. Games are on at midday in Cincinnati, not a time when most people can watch.

Arizona is in the Mountain Time Zone, two hours behind Ohio. So a 1:00 (local time) first pitch is at 3:00 Eastern Time, which means that most Ohioans can catch the end of the game after getting off work. (A much better situation than when the games were starting at 1:00 in Florida.)

By the end of Spring Training, Daylight Savings Time has begun (which Arizona does not observe). Arizona remains on Mountain Standard Time, which is the equivalent of Pacific Daylight Time, so the 1:00 first pitch in Arizona is now at 4:00 in Ohio.

[REDREAD]

edit

[Ron Madden]

Major League Baseball Reportedly Mulls Taking Back Bally Sports TV Rights

Taking back Bally Sports’ local TV rights to teams’ games is one of the options being explored by Major League Baseball, according to a published report.

Diamond Sports Group, the Sinclair Broadcast Group division that runs the Bally Sports-branded regional sports networks, is considering filing for bankruptcy as a payment on its debt approaches.

Sinclair took on about $9 billion in debt when it bought the 19 Fox regional sports networks from The Walt Disney Co. in 2019. Since then, cord cutting has eroded the RSNs subscriber base and rights costs have risen, putting the RSNs in a bind.

In a bankruptcy, Diamond might be able to try to relieve itself of some payments and renegotiate contracts. All of which has Major League Baseball looking at contingency plans, according to Front Office Sports.

“Our strong preference would be for the RSNs to be able to fulfill the agreements they signed with the clubs. However, we need to be prepared if the RSNs are unable to do so,” Noah Garden, MLB chief revenue officer, said in a statement to Front Office Sports. “This is a situation we have been monitoring for a long time. We have been contingency planning to ensure that no matter what happens with the RSNs, fans will be able to continue watching their favorite teams in their local market.”

During its third-quarter earnings report in November, Sinclair said that it hired advisers LionTree and Moelis & Co. to “talk to parties about deleveraging, strategic partnerships and things of that nature.”

According to a report from Bloomberg, under a restructuring plan described by unnamed inside sources, debt would be turned into equity, and Diamond's largest creditors — Prudential Financial, Fidelity, Hein Park Capital Management and Mudrick Capital Management — would become owners of the Bally Sports RSNs.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/oth...ts/ar-AA17b1L6

[Roy Tucker]

https://www.ballysports.com/news/amp...raining-games-

Reds Spring Training Games on Bally Sports Ohio
DAY DATE TIME OPPONENT NOTES
Sat 2/25/2023 3:00 PM @ Cleveland Guardians Bally Sports Great Lakes Production
Mon 2/27/2023 3:00 PM vs. Texas Rangers
Sat 3/4/2023 4:00 PM @ Oakland A's In Las Vegas
Sun 3/5/2023 4:00 PM @ Oakland A's In Las Vegas
Thu 3/9/2023 3:00 PM @ Chicago Cubs MARQUEE Production
Mon 3/20/2023 4:00 PM vs. Los Angeles Angels
Wed 3/22/2023 9:00 PM vs. San Diego Padres

[Always Red]

Interesting thread. I'm currently using FuboTV and received notice that Bally Sports Ohio would be coming later this month. Looked last night, and sure enough, the Cavs game was on. No extra tier to pay, included in regular Fubo, just like it used to be for YouTube TV. With what I've been reading in this thread, not sure how long it will stay on Fubo!

[Bacon]

Bally Sports WILL be declaring bankruptcy next week.
https://cordcuttersnews.com/bally-sp...tcy-next-week/