Comcast pulls Bally Sports channels, imperiling US broadcaster's
restructuring
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[May 02, 2024]
By Dietrich Knauth
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Cable provider Comcast stopped broadcasting
Bally Sports channels on Wednesday, taking some MLB games off the
air and imperiling the bankruptcy restructuring of the sports
channels' operating company.
Diamond Sports, a Sinclair subsidiary that broadcasts nearly half of
all MLB, NHL and NBA games, has said that its bankruptcy
restructuring depends on renewed deals with three major cable
partners, including Comcast, that provide 80% of the company's
revenue.
"It's disappointing that Comcast rejected a proposed extension that
would have kept our channels on the air and that Comcast indicated
that it intends to pull the signals, preventing fans from watching
their favorite local teams," Diamond said in a statement.
Diamond said it hopes to continue negotiations with Comcast, the
second-largest cable provider in the U.S., after its current deal
expired at midnight on Tuesday.
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Comcast said it has been "very flexible" with Diamond Sports during
its bankruptcy, but talks on a new deal had reached an impasse.
"We'd like to continue carrying their networks, but they have
declined multiple offers," Comcast said in a statement.
Diamond operates 18 Bally Sports channels that broadcast baseball,
hockey and basketball games in their local areas. MLB teams, which
are about a month into the season, are affected immediately as games
become unavailable to Comcast subscribers.
Diamond currently has broadcast rights for 12 MLB teams including
the 2023 World Series champion Texas Rangers, the Atlanta Braves and
the St. Louis Cardinals.
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Small toy figures with laptops and smartphones are seen in front of
displayed Comcast logo, in this illustration taken December 5, 2021.
REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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Diamond filed for bankruptcy in March 2023, caught
between expensive broadcast rights agreements and a drop in revenue
due to cord-cutting by sports viewers. The sports broadcaster wants
to restructure and eliminate over $8 billion in debt. A streaming
deal with Amazon.com signed in January would provide the company
with additional funding.
Diamond has reached long-term agreements with its other critical
cable partners, DirecTV and Charter. Diamond and DirecTV announced
their new deal on Wednesday, after Diamond's Comcast deal ended.
DirecTV said on Wednesday that it looked forward to working with
Diamond "for years to come" and called Diamond's sports channels "a
key component of our live sports offering."
Diamond is trying to finalize new long-term deals with cable
companies, the NHL and NBA before a June bankruptcy court hearing on
its restructuring.
Diamond is not negotiating new deals with MLB teams, instead seeking
to keep its current MLB contracts unchanged during the bankruptcy.
(Reporting by Dietrich Knauth, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and
Cynthia Osterman)
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