In a less than surprising move, Diamond Sports Group has now officially filed for bankruptcy. Diamond Sports, who currently owns and operates Bally Sports RSNs, was heavily rumored to be facing financial difficulties, and it was even suggested that bankruptcy could happen as soon as this Friday.
Slightly ahead of schedule, Diamond Sports has now done exactly that. The company itself has confirmed that it has now filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The press release confirms that the company is in the process of finalizing a Restructuring Support Agreement to eliminate over $8 billion of outstanding debt.
The RSA will also result in Diamond Sports becoming a separate company, seemingly distancing itself from Sinclair Broadcast Group. In the meantime, the announcement makes clear that Sinclair will “continue to provide management services during the proceeding and to provide transition services for a period after Diamond emerges from Chapter 11.”
Naturally, this is going to lead to some uncertainty around what happens next to the various Bally Sports RSNs that Diamond Sports controls. While that is something that will remain unknown for the time being, the company explained that the plan is to currently “continue delivering live sports broadcasts to fans.”
Specifically, Diamond Sports has said that “its Bally Sports regional sports networks (“RSN”) will continue to operate in the ordinary course during the Chapter 11 process.”
What that means for the long-term future of Bally Sports is far less clear, and especially for RSNs that are not currently profitable. It was previously been reported that the MLB was planning on making some games available to stream for free while it continued to figure out the next broadcasting move.
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