Diamond Sports Group, the owner of the Bally Sports regional sports networks, told a Texas bankruptcy judge that Major League Baseball’s unwillingness to cut a deal to allow for increased streaming rights was a contributing factor in the company’s bankruptcy.
According to Reuters, Diamond Sports Group’s attorney Andrew Goldman told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez that the additional streaming rights to bolster Bally Sports+ is pivotal in the company’s business model moving forward. But MLB has made it difficult to gain traction.
“The (MLB) Commissioner’s office has made it clear that they want to take back the rights and go it alone, which will effectively drive us out of the market if they are successful,” Goldman said.
In the eyes of the league, it isn’t on MLB to sort out the issues in RSNs.
“We are dealing with a broken model, and it is not the responsibility of MLB to fix that model,” league attorney James Bromley said.
Bally Sports RSNs will carry on as usual while the bankruptcy process plays out.
