MLB has filed an emergency motion to require Diamond Sports Group — the parent company of the Bally Sports-branded regional sports networks — pay its scheduled rights fees to the Minnesota Twins and Cleveland Guardians.
The league is seeking an order that would require the company to either make the payments to the AL Central squads or terminate the contracts so the franchises could regain control of the rights.
In the filing, MLB claims Diamond Sports Group only gave the Twins and Guardians one day’s advance notice that it would not be making the scheduled payments. The league argues that Bally Sports North and Bally Sports Great Lakes “continue to use the Clubs’ valuable intellectual property every day”.
“By continuing to broadcast Guardians and Twins games, they generate post-petition revenue, yet boldly refuse to pay the Clubs,” the filing reads according to a report from The Athletic.
Additionally, Diamond Sports Group has not paid the Arizona Diamondbacks, but that occurred before the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Therefore, the Diamondbacks are listed as a creditor.
The filing was largely redacted, keeping rights fee payments out of the public eye. However, other reports claim the Guardians are owed $55 million annually, while the Twins’ fee is reported at $42 million.
Other teams, including the Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers claimed they “reserved their rights to join in the motion if Diamond also fails to pay them in the future.”
MLB would like a decision by Thursday, April 13th.
