MLB Legal Action Involving Bally Sports Potentially Impacts Texas Rangers

Major League Baseball filed an emergency motion on Wednesday in an effort to compel Diamond Sports Group to pay the rights fees it owes to two teams, The Athletic reports.

Those teams – Cleveland Guardians and Minnesota Twins – have contracts with DSG-owned Bally Sports, which has broadcast agreements with 14 MLB teams, including the Texas Rangers.

Earlier this week the Sports Business Journal reported that DSG skipped its payments to the Guardians and Twins as it navigates Chapter 11 bankruptcy. DSG is now in a 15-day cure period which allows them to pay the money owed, even though it’s late.

It’s believed the Guardians’ annual fee is $55 million and the Twins’ is $42 million.

The filing is seen as important because it could be a precursor to the Guardians and the Twins getting their television rights back from DSG. MLB has asked for an order to be issued by April 13 that would either compel the payment or allow the two teams to take their rights back.

Should the teams get their rights back, it would allow them to broadcast games on their own. MLB has pledged to support broadcasting those games to as much of the team’s local audience as possible. Analysts within the broadcast industry believe that MLB’s ultimate goal is for all of those teams to get their rights back.

With DSG in bankruptcy, it’s not clear how it will reorganize. To date, it has made the rights payments to several teams, including the Los Angeles Angels, Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, Miami Marlins, Tampa Bay Rays, Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers. DSG also made its payment to the San Diego Padres at the end of its cure period after skipping the payment.

The only team that has not reportedly been paid is the Arizona Diamondbacks. Because that payment was due before DSG moved into bankruptcy, the Diamondbacks are listed as a creditor in the bankruptcy.

The Rangers are expected to get their first payment of the 2023 season this month. If the franchise doesn’t receive that payment, DSG would enter a similar cure period. The Rangers previously informed DSG that the franchise would file to get its rights back if the company became insolvent.

Access to Rangers games locally has been source of contention for Dallas-Fort Worth based viewers. BSSW cannot be seen on most major linear cable plans and Rangers games are not available on the Bally streaming app as MLB has not given DSG those rights. Bally Sports recently struck a deal with Fubo.tv for streaming.

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