Diamond Sports Group has renewed its telecast agreements with the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Hockey League (NHL) that will keep around two dozen professional sports teams on its Bally Sports-branded channels.
The new contract was revealed in documents filed with a federal bankruptcy court this week, through which Diamond Sports said the deal covers the 2024-2025 sports season and affords it the ability to extend the deal contingent upon its emergence from bankruptcy.
“We are appreciative of the ongoing collaboration and long-term partnerships with the NBA and NHL,” David Preschlack, CEO of Diamond Sports Group, said in a statement. “These new agreements that cover NBA and NHL linear and [direct-to-consumer] rights are another major milestone and continue Diamond’s momentum toward emergence, which will enable us to provide value for our NBA and NHL partners and continue to serve dedicated local NBA, NHL and MLB fans.”
Diamond Sports, which is owned by Sinclair and Allen Media Group, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last year. The move was meant to help it restructure billions of dollars in debt owed to various creditors, including sports leagues and individual teams. The company is in the process of submitting a plan to emerge from bankruptcy, with some key deadlines approaching in September and October to this effect.
Through Diamond Sports, the broadcasters operate around two dozen regional sports networks that are branded as “Bally Sports” through a licensing deal with the gambling company. The Bally Sports name could be dropped from the channel as soon as November; Diamond Sports is said to be exploring plans with other companies, including FanDuel, about taking over naming rights to the channels.
Since the bankruptcy process began, Diamond Sports has lost the rights to games played by a handful of teams, including the Phoenix Suns, the San Diego Padres and the Arizona Diamondbacks. Many of the teams that were formerly served by Diamond Sports have since signed telecast agreements with local TV broadcasters, some of which have launched mini regional sports networks of their own. In nearly all cases, the games are available to stream through different products, including services launched by the teams themselves.
On Friday, Diamond Sports affirmed its new telecast agreement with the NBA and the NHL covers 13 basketball teams and nine hockey teams, which will continue to be distributed on cable and through the Bally Sports Plus app. As part of the deal, the regional sports broadcaster will no longer offer games from the Dallas Mavericks or the New Orleans Pelicans, Diamond affirmed. The Pelicans previously announced a deal to offer their games through local broadcast stations owned by Gray Media; the Mavericks have yet to reveal their TV plans for the season, which starts in mid-October.
