Diamond Sports Group, the parent company of Bally Sports regional networks (which carries Minnesota Twins, Timberwolves and Wild games), appeared in a bankruptcy hearing on Wednesday. ‘Productivity’ can be a relative term, and that’s exactly what we saw play out in the courtroom today.
DSG (Diamond Sports Group) does not know if it is going to emerge from its Chapter 11 bankruptcy successfully. There are too many variables in play still, they claim. Thus, in the hearing Wednesday, they asked for and received another indefinite extension on their requirement to submit a plausible plan to emerge from bankruptcy.
Diamond has now indefinitely pushed that date back, with [their attorney] saying multiple times the company is aware of a need to be hasty.
“If we conclude that we cannot reorganize the business, which is a possibility, we will similarly pivot quickly,” Hermann said. “That is not our focus today, but that is a possibility and that’s not lost on us.”
The Athletic
Comcast + DSG talks good news for Minnesota Twins fans…?
In other words, we still do not know if Bally Sports North will be a thing in this market, after the baseball season. Seems like a pretty unproductive legal session, right? Well maybe not. Today’s outcome (or lack-there-of) means the Twins will likely remain on BSN for the duration of the 2024 season.
But one of the attorneys of Diamond Sports Group did bring some good news with him into the courtroom today , claiming during the proceedings that DSG is nearing a new deal with Comcast, after their previous deal expired at the end of May and has yet to be renewed.
“We believe that we have made substantial progress on resolving our issues with Comcast, and we have the intention of fully documenting and executing an agreement with Comcast to broadcast our RSNs in the very near term.”
Diamond Sports Group attorney, Brian Hermann (via The Athletic)
What does this mean for Timberwolves, Wild?
Diamond Sports Group told the judge today that they are also in active discussions to re-up on deals with their NHL and NBA teams, which include the Minnesota Timberwolves and Minnesota Wild.
It’s important to remember, however, that DSG owns the streaming rights included in their contracts with DSG. With many of the MLB teams under their umbrella, including the Twins, that is not the case.
Related: Falvey Confirms Minnesota Twins’ Plans at Trade Deadline
So while a new contract between Comcast and Diamond Sports would fix streaming and viewing problems for residential Xfinity customers, it will not solve the larger issue for cord cutters who do not want to subscribe to cable, DirecTV or Fubo .
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