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15 March 2023
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The parent company that owns Bally Sports and broadcasts Kansas City Royals games has filed for bankruptcy.
Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc.’s regional sports business, Diamond Sports Group LLC, entered chapter 11 bankruptcy Tuesday, with more than $8 billion in debt, according to FOX Business.
Sinclair is expected to give up almost all of its equity in the restructured Diamond, which said Tuesday it is finalizing a restructuring agreement with creditors, FOX Business reports.
Diamond Sports, under the name Bally Sports, broadcasts games for about half the teams in Major League Baseball and the NBA. It also handles broadcasts for about a third of NHL teams.
The company is working on local-streaming rights for nine teams, including the Royals. It already reached deals for five other MBL teams.
It’s an issue the Kansas City Royals are closely monitoring.
“MLB has been focused on this and has a variety of contingencies in place to make sure fans have access to our games. We’ve had numerous conversations with MLB, and there is no higher priority,” the Royals said in a statement.
Earlier this month, MLB announced it was preparing for a possible takeover of local broadcasts for a total of 17 teams, including the Royals.
Diamond Sports Group also owns rights to the broadcasts for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, St. Louis Cardinals, San Diego Padres, Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers.
Diamond Sports Group skipped about $140 million in interest payments due Feb. 15, and has nearly $1 billion in rights payments, mostly to baseball teams, due in the first quarter this year.