After Diamond Sports, owner of 18 local sports networks aligned with the Bally Sports Network, filed for bankruptcy in March 2022, they’ve been searching for investors. Well, as part of a restructuring agreement with Amazon, Diamond Sports may have found their temporary savior. As part of the deal, Amazon will be able to provide access to Diamond Sports’ content through Prime Video, according to an Associated Press report.
The complexity of this bankruptcy case cannot be understated. Apart from Amazon, Diamond also has a separation agreement in place with Sinclair, which bought regional sports networks from the Walt Disney Co. in 2019 for approximately $10 billion. Sinclair will pay Diamond Sports $495 million and provide ongoing use of its equipment and service to support Diamond Sports’ reorganization.
Will Prime Video air local sports teams in 2024?
Yes. Although they do not seem to have access to the entirety of Diamond Sports’ catalog yet, they do have the direct-to-consumer rights to MLB teams such as the Tampa Bay Rays, Kansas City Royals, Detroit Tigers, Miami Marlins, and Milwaukee Brewers.
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Diamond recently agreed to terms with the NBA and NHL to keep rights to televise local games through the end of the 2024 season. Thanks to the $450 million that is being invested by creditors, Diamond Sports will operate beyond 2024, but the company will need approval from a federal bankruptcy judge in order to make that happen.
What does this mean for MLB’s immediate broadcasting future?
Diamond currently has the broadcasting rights to 11 MLB teams. MLB and Diamond were in discussion to create a deal that would include a 12th team — the Minnesota Twins, whose contract with Diamond Sports ended after the conclusion of the 2023 season. After 2024, all 12 of those teams would have received their broadcasting rights back. However, the deal Diamond made with Amazon puts them back in the driver’s seat of these negotiations.
Diamond is now likely to retain its long-term contracts that it has with nine MLB teams: the five teams that Amazon bought the rights to plus the Los Angeles Angels, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, and Atlanta Braves.
A lawyer for Diamond, Andrew Goldman, added that the company looks to broadcast Texas Rangers, Cleveland Guardians, and Minnesota Twins games as well in 2024. Should any of those teams be unwilling to have their games broadcasted under the terms determined by Diamond, Diamond will not force their hand. Instead, Goldman claims the company is interested in discussing long-term plans will all three teams.
How does the new deal affect the major sports?
As more information becomes available, it has become increasingly clear that the NHL, NBA, and MLB were each caught by surprise by news of this deal and are currently weighing all of their options. With Diamond’s contracts with the NHL and NBA set to expire after this current season, Amazon was expected to be a major bidder to purchase a package of NBA franchise broadcasting rights. The new agreement with Diamond Sports does not give the NBA as much liberty to shop packages around anymore.
Jim Bromley, an MLB lawyer, told The Athletic, ‘All of this came as a surprise, we knew nothing about it.’ He continued, ‘Until yesterday we were operating with the assumption that we were mediating… and nearing the conclusion of an agreement that was heavily negotiated.’
To sum it all up
Essentially, Diamond Sports had no bargaining power with any of the pro sports leagues that it was working with in 2024: the NBA, NHL, and MLB. Each of those leagues wanted their contracts with Diamond to expire by the end of 2024 so that they could shop the broadcasting rights to other competitors, of which Amazon was expected to be a major player and likely recipient.
Amazon’s agreement with Diamond puts a damper on the leagues’ plans. The entity that was likely to bid highest is now in partnership with the company they are currently working with. The NHL, NBA, and MLB have lost most of their leverage in broadcasting negotiations and will likely have to settle for a much smaller sum than they previously anticipated and will likely have to keep working with Diamond Sports beyond 2024.