The Desk appreciates the support of readers who purchase products or services through links on our website. Learn more...

Major League Baseball prepared to broadcast Diamondback games

Photo of author
By:
»

mkeys@thedesk.net

Share:
The coverage map of Sinclair’s regional sports channels Bally Sports. (Image courtesy Sinclair Broadcast Group, Graphic by The Desk)

Officials with Major League Baseball (MLB) have told a federal court overseeing the bankruptcy case involving Sinclair Broadcast Group’s Diamond Sports that the professional sports league is prepared to take over the broadcast production and distribution of games played by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

In a notice filed with the court this week, MLB said it is negotiating with pay television providers, including satellite and streaming service DirecTV, to distribute Diamondbacks games in their local market, and was likely not going to object to a request by Diamond Sports to back out of their contractual agreement to produce and distribute games on their Bally Sports network.

Diamond Sports filed an emergency motion with the federal court in June, asking a judge to nullify its contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks. The motion argued that the contract no longer made financial sense to Diamond Sports. Before a judge could rule on the issue, Diamond Sports and the Diamondbacks asked to postpone the matter.

The Diamondbacks are listed among one of Diamond Sports’ largest creditors, with more than $30 million owed in rights and other business-related fees. Diamond Sports filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March, and documents submitted to the bankruptcy court revealed the precise amount it owes to the Diamondbacks and other business ventures.

In a separate filing this week, DirecTV asked the bankruptcy court to reduce retransmission consent fees owed to Diamond Sports for the continued carriage of its Bally Sports channel focused on Arizona if MLB takes over the rights to the Diamondbacks games. The satellite and streaming company argued the channels would not be worth as much without the pro-baseball games, and is seeking an adjustment of fees accordingly.

Diamond Sports operates nearly two dozen Bally Sports-branded networks, including Bally Sports Arizona, which are distributed on DirecTV and AT&T U-Verse.

Never miss a story

Get free breaking news alerts and twice-weekly digests delivered to your inbox.

We do not share your e-mail address with third parties; you can unsubscribe at any time.

Photo of author

About the Author:

Matthew Keys

Matthew Keys is the award-winning founder and editor of TheDesk.net, an authoritative voice on broadcast and streaming TV, media and tech. With over ten years of experience, he's a recognized expert in broadcast, streaming, and digital media, with work featured in publications such as StreamTV Insider and Digital Content Next, and past roles at Thomson Reuters and Disney-ABC Television Group.
TheDesk.net is free to read — please help keep it that way.

We rely on advertising revenue to support our original journalism and analysis.
Please disable your ad-blocking technology to continue enjoying our content.

Learn how to disable your ad blocker on: Chrome | Firefox | Safari | Microsoft Edge | Opera | AdBlock plugin

Alternatively, add us as a preferred source on Google to unlock access to this website.

If you think this is an error, please contact us.