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MLB is making preparations to figure this all out, and has formed a committee. I still have a glimmer of hope that this creates some kind of national pool of local TV money and bails us out of the MASN mess.https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/35583277/mlb-forms-economic-group-regional-tv-peril
Had a former colleague who came up with a song to the tune of frere Jacque when our office was analyzing our business processes. “How do we do what we do?I don’t know. I don’t know. Let’s form a committee.How about a task force?They’re nice too. They’re nice too. “.
The 42 professional sports franchises that could be financially impacted with Diamond Sports declaring bankruptcy:MLB (14): Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas RangersNBA (16): Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic, Phoenix Suns, San Antonio SpursNHL (12): Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay LightningMLB Commissioner Rob Manfred told the Associated Press if Diamond Sports is unable to air any games this season, they will take over the distribution via streaming and/or cable. This would enable fans to continue to watch local market games. Moreover, MLB recently announced the hiring of Billy Chambers, a former executive at Sinclair and Fox Sports as EVP, local media. In this new position, Chambers will be charged with finding the “most effective means to distribute games to fans in local markets throughout the country.”Its estimated annual local broadcast revenue accounts for 21% of MLBs overall $10.8 billion. An estimated 90% of RSNs revenue comes from the monthly subscriber fees they charge MVPDs and vMVPDs. These carriage fees are among the highest in the cable industry. Because of its high carriage fees, at times, negotiations have reached an impasse resulting in RSNs being blacked out. Presently, Bally Sports has no carriage deals with DISH, Sling TV and YouTube TV among other distributors. Bally Sports current carriage agreement with Charter CommunicationsCHTR 0.0% is expiring on February 28.
An executive with direct knowledge of the RSNs’ financial dealings confirmed to Sportico that the AT&T outlets in Denver, Houston and Pittsburgh submitted their most recent rights payments to their MLB clubs in a timely fashion, although the disbursements were not commensurate with the contracted rates. The teams impacted by the shortfall are the Colorado Rockies, Houston Astros and Pittsburgh Pirates.
https://www.sportico.com/business/media/2023/wbd-att-rsns-light-on-mlb-rights-payments-1234709889/ATT sportsnets are not making full payments to their teams either.
When the Astros are on the field, AT&T SportsNet Southwest is among the five most-watched RSNs in the country. From their perch within the massive Houston market, the reigning World Series champs generate tens of millions of household impressions each season, trailing only the Yankees, Mets and Dodgers.
If the RSNs go away, i no longer have any need to keep cable TV. Right now the only thing keeping me on FiOS TV are the Nats, Caps, and Wizards.
Recently we learned that Bally Sports is preparing to declare bankruptcy. Now we have learned that Bally Sports has missed a payment to the MLB Diamondbacks team, and this has started a clock that could result in Bally Sports’ losing rights to MLB games.According to Bloomberg, a person with knowledge of the situation said if Bally Sports fails to make a payment to the team by March 17th, 2023, MLB can take them to court and get the media rights back.
Diamond, which operates under the Bally’s name, is expected to use the bankruptcy proceedings to reject the contracts of at least four teams to which it pays more in rights fees than it collects back through cable contracts and ads, two sources close to the situation said.The teams in the red include the Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks, according to one of the sources. Presently, Diamond stands to lose $20 million annually on San Diego alone, the source added.
I wonder if MASN is headed for certain bankruptcy as well, once they're finally told by the courts to pay up, and whether the Diamond Sports bankruptcy will set a precedent for what happens after that.
In some ways I have hope that these developments will create a nationalized plan for local tv and make the MASN disagreement moot. On the other had, it could make the resets even more complicated and drag on the court proceedings for another few decades.
We can only hope MASN fails.
So just a week away from the season and no resolution to the Bally Sports problem?
They’re fighting the Rangers’ attempt to get their rights back. It looks like it will be messy, so I’d expect chaos on opening day weekend
