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According to a court filing on Friday, the Cincinnati Reds and Diamond Sports Group have agreed to terminate their relationship. As part of the agreement the team has sold back its 20% stake in Diamond’s Ohio regional network for $1. It appears the team will be headed under the Major League Baseball umbrella for a television partnership.
According to the filing, “The Settlement Agreement will effectuate the transfer of the Reds Member’s membership interest in the Cincinnati JV [Joint Venture] to Diamond Ohio for nominal consideration [$1]. This will facilitate the orderly winding-up and ultimate dissolution of the Cincinnati JV by Diamond Ohio. As noted above, neither the Settlement Agreement nor the ultimate dissolution of the Cincinnati JV will have any effect on the remainder of Diamond Ohio’s business or the operation of the Diamond Sports Ohio RSN.”
The Reds have declined commenting until the settlement agreement is approved by the court. There will be another hearing on the matter later this week.
It was reported the Reds deal with Diamond Sports Group paid the team around $60 million per season. The team was expected to lose at minimum, 20%, on a new restructured deal with DSG. Instead, they will now be one of at least seven teams who will work with MLB, which in addition to the Reds includes the Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers, Cleveland Guardians, Minnesota Twins, Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres.
The teams which look like they will stay with DSG are the Miami Marlins, St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels and Tampa Bay Rays.
