Diamond Sports Group, which still owns the broadcast rights to several MLB teams, is still in the throes of bankruptcy. They are due to present a restructuring plan to the court on July 29th. Comcast, a key source of income to Diamond and important partner to MLB, is reportedly in negotiations with Diamond to bring the RSNs including Bally Sports South. NextTV with the update:
Comcast and bankrupt Diamond Sports Group have returned to the negotiating table, two and a half months after the latter’s Bally Sports regional sports networks were pulled off the pay TV operator’s Xfinity TV programming grid in a carriage dispute. The 15 Bally Sports channels carried by Comcast were removed at the end of April, with Diamond Sports unwilling to cede to the cable company’s demand that its RSNs be moved to the more-expensive “Xfinity Ultimate” tier.
During the last round of bankruptcy proceedings, Diamond was unable to materially change the payments due to MLB teams. In the past 13 months, they have continued to negotiate with the NBA and NHL as well. Diamond has also reportedly found a new naming partner in Fanduel, providing an injection of cash. It did not come in time to save Bally broadcasts for the Arizona Diamondbacks, who are currently being broadcast by MLB.
Hopefully, Diamond and Comcast will come to an agreement and the Braves, Hawks, Hornets, Grizzlies, Hurricanes, and Predators will be restored to Comcast. Or if we’re really lucky, the empire currently covered in duct tape and bitterness known as Diamond will collapse on itself and the Braves can finally be seen on MLB.tv in the southeast US.
