After announcing 11 games would air locally on KTLA Tuesday, the Los Angeles Clippers and Bally Sports are continuing to negotiate a new contract after the previous deal between the pair expired earlier this summer.
According to a report from Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times, says that discussions between the two entities have and will continue, noting that only 39 of the club’s games for the upcoming season are available to Bally Sports. The Clippers will play on TNT, ESPN, ABC, or NBA TV 32 times in the 2022-2023 season, in addition to the 11 games that will air exclusively on KTLA.
The Bally Sports regional sports networks have experienced some hardships recently. According to a report published yesterday, the Sinclair-owned Diamond Sports, which owns 21 regional sports networks, could be faced with bankruptcy in “three to six months” if a buyer isn’t found. Some teams report nearly 30% of all revenue from local television rights, which the Bally Sports-branded channels claims wouldn’t be required to pay under bankruptcy protection. The New York Post reported MLB, NHL, and NBA could join together to buy the networks. 14 MLB teams, 12 NHL teams, and 16 NBA teams air their games locally on the Bally Sports networks.
