Diamond Sports Group, the bankrupt operator of Bally Sports channels, has dropped the Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans from its NBA teams broadcast list, but it has reached new deals with the NBA and the NHL to ensure that it will air games for teams at least through the upcoming 2024-25 seasons.
Diamond Sports Group now carries games for 13 NBA teams and nine NHL teams after dropping the Mavericks and Pelicans
The agreement includes adjustments to linear and direct-to-consumer rights. After dropping the Mavericks and Pelicans, this leaves the company with 13 NBA teams and nine NHL teams.
“We have reached a new agreement with Diamond Sports Group for the 2024-25 season in which Diamond RSNs will telecast local games for 13 NBA teams,” the NBA said in a statement.
“The Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans declined to continue distributing their games on Diamond RSNs and will share more details soon on how to watch games for the upcoming season in their respective markets. This new agreement is subject to approval by the bankruptcy court.”
Statement from David Preschlack, CEO of Diamond Sports Group: pic.twitter.com/TolBMQrQOF
— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) August 23, 2024
Bally Sports Southwest was the network carrier for Mavericks games. It is unknown where Dallas games will be broadcasted for the upcoming 2024-25 season. Mavs games will appear on national TV 30 times in 2024-25. The team referred inquiries Friday to the league.
An option for Dallas would be partnering with the Stars. The NHL team ended their rights agreement with Bally and will launch a direct-to-consumer streaming app, Victory+. This will allow in-market fans to watch games for free this season.
The Pelicans reportedly have a deal to be broadcast over the air next season, on WVUE-TV.
Among the NBA teams in Diamond’s portfolio are the Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, and San Antonio Spurs
These 13 NBA teams remain in Diamond’s portfolio: Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic, and San Antonio Spurs.
The following nine NHL teams are currently under Diamond: Anaheim Ducks, Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues, and Tampa Bay Lightning.
Diamond also has 12 MLB teams under its portfolio, but three of them — the Texas Rangers, Cleveland Guardians, and Minnesota Twins — signed one-year contracts before the start of the season.
Diamond’s confirmation hearing will determine whether the company will emerge from bankruptcy. The date of the hearing was initially pushed back from June 18 to the end of July.
However, it has since asked for more time after a surprise agreement was negotiated with Comcast. This ended a three-month-long dispute which had taken MLB teams off the air. Diamond channels were blocked for Comcast Xfinity subscribers in the middle of baseball season.
New deals will end at the conclusion of the leagues’ 2024-25 seasons if Diamond does not emerge from bankruptcy
According to ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez, while a new confirmation date has not been set, the process is now expected to be prolonged long enough to cut into the upcoming NBA and NHL seasons and parts of the MLB’s offseason.
If Diamond does not emerge from bankruptcy, the new deals will end at the end of the leagues’ 2024-25 seasons. Of course, the new deals are still pending a judge’s approval.
Additionally, Diamond is scheduled to present its new deals to a bankruptcy judge on Sept. 3.
“We are appreciative of the ongoing collaboration and long-term partnerships with the NBA and NHL,” Diamond CEO David Preschlack wrote in a statement.
“These new agreements that cover NBA and NHL linear and DTC [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.
“Having completed negotiations with key partners that provide certainty around our content and distribution, Diamond is well positioned for the future. With the support of our creditors, we are focused on finalizing our reorganization plan to support our emergence and presenting that plan to the court in due course.”
Bally Sports is not listed on NBA teams’ 2024-25 schedules
The NHL regular season begins Oct. 8, and the NBA will follow on Oct. 22.
Moreover, Diamond only has the DTC rights for five smaller-market MLB teams. Details of the new NBA and NHL deals were undisclosed. The linear agreements vary on a team-by-team basis. Though, DTC rights are granted by the leagues on behalf of all the teams.
NBA fans are still concerned that they will not be able to watch their favorite team’s games in the near future. Bally Sports was not listed for the teams above when they released their 2024-25 NBA schedules. This was the case for both preseason and regular-season games.
Unfortunately, that will remain the case until the decision reaches approval through the bankruptcy court.
Bally Sports filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2023. This is often referred to as reorganization bankruptcy. The process allowed Diamond to continue running its business with court approval to borrow money.
