Just yesterday, we reported that Bally Sports owner, Diamond Sports Group, officially filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. If DSG thought that calm the nerves of the teams it has rights too, they thought wrong. Now, the Texas Rangers are looking to break up with DSG and Bally Sports.
The Rangers notified DSG that in the event of the company’s insolvency, it would have a right to terminate its contract and that the company’s bankruptcy filing could trigger that termination right. Diamond is hoping to keep the Rangers on their network, and has said that it has never missed a scheduled rights payment to the Rangers. DSG and ARC Holdings – which is the company that oversees Bally Sports Southwest – have made it pretty clear that they will do whatever it takes to hold onto the Rangers.
It’s up to the courts
Now, it’s going to be up to the courts, whether or not the bankruptcy creates the ability for the Rangers to legally terminate the deal. But, the Rangers have said their games will continue to air on Bally Sports Southwest in the meantime.
The team said in a prepared statement that “we expect that there will be no disruption in the televising of Texas Rangers games for the upcoming season. We are confident that a long-term solution will be accomplished for the RSN issue.”
DSG already gave up its rights to four MLB teams earlier this week – Arizona Diamondbacks, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians and the San Diego Padres. So if they lose the Texas Rangers too, that would be roughly half of their teams gone. That won’t help DSG turn a profit anytime soon.
Could this happen with other teams? It’s possible. While we don’t know if other teams have the same contracts with DSG or Fox Sports before it, it’s likely that they are all very similar. This really feels like the end of RSNs, in the US. But what could the future mean?