MLB: Bally network troubles could lead to end of blackouts
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/mlb/mlb-bally-network-troubles-could-lead-to-end-of-blackouts/2023/02/16/dbae79dc-ae59-11ed-b0ba-9f4244c6e5da_story.htmlDUNEDIN, Fla. — As baseball prepares for a possible local broadcasting crisis, Commissioner Rob Manfred sees an opportunity.
Manfred said Thursday that Major League Baseball can produce games digitally in conjunction with MLB.TV if Bally Sports regional networks are no longer broadcasting them. In fact, he said this is a chance to address the game blackouts that inspire so much anger among fans.
Diamond Sports Group, the parent company of 19 Bally Sports networks, skipped about $140 million in interest payments due Wednesday, starting a 30-day grace period that could be the prelude to a bankruptcy filing.
“I don’t relish any of this,” Manfred said at a spring training media day. “I think it’s necessary to have a centrally based solution to what’s a really serious problem and move us forward to our next stage of delivering games to fans, delivering them where they want to watch them, and without the kind of blackouts that we’ve had in the old model.”
Manfred acknowledged some teams could be at risk of losing revenue, depending on the status of their regional sports networks, and that MLB is prepared to help.
“You know, we have a pretty good balance sheet in central baseball,” he said. “I think it’s safe to assume that we will provide every support that we possibly can to those clubs that are at risk.”
Manfred said MLB’s willingness to step in aggressively if the Bally networks can no longer broadcast is driven partly by the fact that it would give baseball a chance to fix blackout issues. Currently, a game might be unavailable digitally in the market of the competing teams if a RSN has exclusive rights in that area.