A Major League Baseball logo at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, May 22, 2022.
Ronald Martinez | Getty Images
Major League Baseball and the Atlanta Braves have raised issues with the restructuring plan and future viability of Diamond Sports Group, the country's largest owner of regional sports networks, according to a bankruptcy court filing Friday.
The Braves and MLB said in the appeal that they have “serious concerns” about the current plan because “there is a substantial likelihood that this will happen.” [Diamond Sports] will again find themselves in financial distress and/or in bankruptcy court in the near future.”
The filing states that both MLB and the Braves have a vested interest in seeing Diamond Sports succeed with a restructuring plan, but they are not convinced that the currently proposed restructuring plan is viable.
A representative for Diamond did not immediately comment on the filing. The company has until Wednesday to respond to the objection. Meanwhile, Diamond will seek approval of its restructuring plan from a U.S. bankruptcy judge on Thursday.
MLB and the Braves' concerns stem from a lack of information about the restructuring proposal, which according to the filing consists of 20 documents totaling 181 pages. Diamond's lawyers have said in court that there are limitations to its offerings, in part because of confidentiality agreements with the company's distribution partners, such as pay-TV operators.
Additionally, both the league and the Braves have called for more clarity on what commercial partnership Diamond is seeking Amazon will look. Diamond lawyers had previously stated in court that discussions with Amazon were still ongoing.
MLB and the Braves are also concerned about confusion over Diamond Sports' direct-to-consumer plan, a strategy that has only become more important as more customers opt out of traditional cable packages.
This isn't the first time MLB has wanted more information about Diamond's financial plans. In October, an MLB lawyer said in a court hearing that the league wanted additional information about language used in a recent naming rights deal Diamond made with FanDuel for the regional sports networks Diamond owns, formerly known as Bally Sports .
The Braves are part of a publicly traded company Atlanta Braves Holdings after the John Malone spinoff Liberty Media in 2023. Malone remains a shareholder in the new company and chairman of Liberty Media.
Diamond Sports previously said it will maintain its contract with the Braves as part of its bankruptcy plan while it seeks to renegotiate or terminate its contracts with 11 other MLB teams with which it has contracts.
Friday's objection doesn't mean the Braves have turned away from Diamond over her regional media rights.
On Thursday, the St. Louis Cardinals and Diamond agreed to terms for their local rights, and in a court hearing in October, lawyers said Diamond was close to a deal to play for the Miami Marlins.
The Cincinnati Reds said Friday they were leaving their regional sports network owned by Diamond, according to a court filing.
Three of the 11 teams with whom Diamond attempted to rework contracts have since turned to MLB to produce their local games.
Comments are closed.