MLB Promises Texas Rangers Games Will Be Televised
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Major League baseball is assuring fans of teams like the Texas Rangers with broadcast contracts with Diamond Sports Group that their games will televised this season, even if the company files for bankruptcy.
“If any of the RSNs (regional sports networks) are no longer able to produce local games, we will be in a position to step in to produce and distribute those games with linear and direct-to-consumer options,” Noah Garden, the chief revenue officer for MLB, told Front Office Sports on Friday
Garden added that MLB did not anticipate a change in what baseball fans would pay to watch games in that situation.
There are nuances, though. Garden said it’s not clear if they’ll be able use local broadcast crews in all markets. Some of that will be up to how any bankruptcy is approached. MLB’s plan would be to offer a linear and a direct-to-consumer streaming option to help navigate MLB blackout rules.
In other words, it’s fluid, but MLB sounds prepared to step in and help.
RSNs, the main networks that carry local sports programming, are in trouble.
Diamond Sports Group may file for bankruptcy as early as mid-March. That decision has importance to 14 MLB teams, including the Rangers. Diamond Sports Group owns and operates the 21 Bally’s Sports regional networks nationwide.
Bally’s Sports Southwest, formerly Fox Sports Southwest, owns the local broadcast rights to the Rangers, Dallas Mavericks and Dallas Stars.
Diamond Sports Group last month skipped its $140 million interest payment, triggering a 30-day grace period as the company plots its next move.
The Rangers are set to receive $100 million for 2023 in quarterly payments starting in March. If DSG is unable to make rights fee payments, it could impact how the Rangers are able to pay player salaries.
After Diamond Sports Group skipped the interest payment, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred assured baseball fans that if Diamond Sports Group falls into bankruptcy that games for those teams affected will be broadcast.
Warner Brothers Discovery threw more uncertainty on the world of Regional Sports Networks when Sports Business Journal reported that WBD has informed its clients that it intends to pull out of the RSN business in a matter of weeks.
WBD’s RSN networks are branded AT&T SportsNet, which are positioned in the Denver, Houston and Pittsburgh markets, and has a state in Root Sports in Seattle. So WBD’s decision impacts 10 MLB, NBA and NHL teams, with the Astros, Mariners, Pirates and Rockies the MLB teams impacted.
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