Despite the bad news for Diamond Sports Group and its Bally Sports regional networks, Sinclair boss Chris Ripley says that the company is still very serious about the sports business. That is true for the regional networks, its stake in the Tennis Channel, and the local broadcast stations it owns.
“Sports is still at the heart of this company,” Ripley said in an interview with Next TV. “Take a look at what drives our business on the local media side and the broadcast side, it’s sports. And we continue to believe that it should be gamified and more highly integrated with sports betting, but also, not-for-money interactivity for virtual goods, or badging, or recognition.”
He described sports as “what’s left that works” for media companies.
Ripley refused to comment on the lawsuit between Diamond Sports Group and Sinclair. Diamond claims that Sinclair held on to $1.5 billion as it spun Diamond into its own company.
He reiterated that the problems Diamond’s Bally Sports Networks are having are not Sinclair’s problems.
“Diamond is on its way,. It has its own management team, it has an independent board. We provide management services, and you know, it will figure out its own way, Largely Sinclair’s passive at this point. We’ve been in that position for quite some time now. And we just have to support Diamond and whatever its future may be. And you know, that’s getting worked out right now. But we’re largely bystanders, and outside viewers just like you.”
With Diamond in bankruptcy, teams across Major League Baseball, the NBA, NHL and WNBA have been looking to end their deals with the company’s regional networks. Ripley says that presents an opportunity for Sinclair’s broadcast stations, which offer more reach to teams looking for a new home for their local media rights.
“I think any sport should be looking at their strategy and including over-the-air broadcast as a significant component,” he said. “It doesn’t have to be everything, but having a component of your sport on the most broadly available and most broadly watched platform will continue to make your sport healthy, and that will only be accelerated by Next-Gen TV.”
He added that the future is bright for local sports broadcasts, particularly as sports betting continues to proliferate across the country. Putting games on local networks with separate FAST channels will allow for “gamified” broadcasts that are more engaging.
