Diamond Sports Group, the regional sports operator hoping to emerge from bankruptcy, reached agreements with the Texas Rangers, Cleveland Guardians and Minnesota Twins on linear-cable contracts for the 2024 season, providing temporary cost certainty for three Major League Baseball teams previously in limbo.
The deals are still pending the approval of a bankruptcy judge who is expected to rule Feb. 9. Assuming the agreements are finalized, Diamond has vowed to broadcast games for the 12 MLB teams that would remain within its portfolio for entire 2024 season.
What follows is still unclear.
Two weeks ago, Diamond announced that it had secured $450 million from creditors to fund a reorganization plan that would include an additional $115 million from new minority investor Amazon that would provide direct-to-consumer access to the teams for which Diamond maintains streaming rights.
Diamond had previously agreed to temporary wind-down plans with the NBA and the NHL, whereby rights would revert back to those leagues at the conclusion of its respective 2023-24 seasons; it was in the late stages of a similar deal with MLB. The new restructuring support agreement with Amazon, if approved, would supersede that and revert contracts to their original form. Diamond, however, maintains streaming rights for only five MLB teams, all of which reside in smaller markets. The NBA, meanwhile, has the option of taking its streaming rights back after this season.
A judge is expected to rule on Diamond's restructuring support agreement Feb. 26. Diamond would then have until March 22 to finalize its plan and present it to the court.
Diamond and MLB declined to comment on new terms for the Rangers, Guardians and Twins, but streaming rights are not included in the new agreement. The Rangers' prior deal ran through 2034 and was expected to pay them about $110 million this season, sources said, while the Guardians made a reported $55 million last year on a contract that runs through 2027. The Twins' deal, reportedly a 12-year, $480 million contract, expired at the conclusion of the 2023 season.
In addition to those three, Diamond, which runs broadcasts under the name Bally Sports, retains the linear rights to the following nine MLB teams in 2024: Detroit Tigers, Miami Marlins, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, Tampa Bay Rays, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, Los Angeles Angels and Atlanta Braves.
In a statement, a representative for Diamond Sports Group wrote: "We are pleased to have reached agreements with the Cleveland Guardians, Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers that work for all parties and enable us to continue delivering high-quality, live game broadcasts on Bally Sports to dedicated fans through the 2024 season."