Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story misstated how many teams Diamond Sports Group is dropping from its portfolio. Diamond rejected the contracts of two teams, and suggested the broadcast futures of nine others could be in jeopardy. The earlier version of this story also incorrectly stated the number of MLB teams whose Diamond contracts expire after the 2024 season; there are four.
Diamond Sports Group appears to be threatening to drop virtually every MLB team in its portfolio besides the Atlanta Braves, barring renegotiation of the deals on more favorable terms. The court hearing on Wednesday where that message was delivered left the baseball television world in some chaos.
Andrew Goldman, a lawyer for the broadcasting company, said during a federal bankruptcy hearing that Diamond plans to assume “a single telecast rights agreement, that of the Atlanta Braves. All of the other teams, all of Major League Baseball’s other agreements, will be rejected under the plan.”
That statement does not mean Diamond — which carried a dozen teams in 2024 — now has only one team in its portfolio for the 2025 season. Two of them, the Detroit Tigers and Tampa Bay Rays, are out for the moment, after Diamond rejected their contracts. But how many MLB teams Diamond will ultimately carry in 2025 is very much up in the air, and Diamond’s message to the league is that it wants to renegotiate the remaining deals.
“For many of these clubs, we’ve got proposals out, we have provided significant diligence and projections, and our management team has had live discussions with every one of those clubs,” Goldman said. “But at the end of the day, the amended plan now puts the decision in the clubs’ hands.”
Four MLB teams with Diamond had their deals expire after this season: the Cleveland Guardians, Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers and Milwaukee Brewers. Those teams could reach new deals with Diamond. (Sports Business Journal reported last week that the Rangers plan to handle telecasts themselves, directly selling the games to distributors separate from MLB.)
That left eight teams still under contract for 2025. On Wednesday, Diamond said it wants to assume (keep) the contract of the Braves, and reject (drop) the contracts of the Tigers and Rays. But the Tigers and Rays, too, could negotiate new deals.
Now, the five other teams Diamond has deals with — the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals and Miami Marlins — technically can’t be assumed or rejected because they’re not a formal part of the bankruptcy proceeding. Those teams are referred to as the “joint-venture teams.”
But Diamond has essentially walked away from a “joint-venture” team before — the San Diego Padres were in that same classification when Diamond decided not to pay the team in the middle of the 2023 season, and the club got its rights back.
“The company is in active dialog with all of our JV partners, who are all aware of the implications of not being able to reach a deal,” Goldman said.
Jim Bromley, a lawyer for MLB, said the league had no idea Wednesday’s news was coming.
“We had no information about what is being done,” Bromley said. “It’s unfortunate that we’ve been sandbagged in this way.”
Diamond and MLB have been at odds throughout the entire bankruptcy process, with MLB consistently raising the most doubts about Diamond’s ability to successfully escape liquidation and reorganize into a viable business. Chest-poking between the two parties has been common.
“As Major League Baseball and its clubs have reminded this court on I think no less than seven or eight occasions … the commissioner’s office has consistently raised two concerns,” Goldman said. “No. 1, the clubs require certainty as to what’s going to happen with their telecast agreements. And number two, have expressed concern over our ability to quote, ‘pay the bills.’
“The amended plan, which we are filing today … conclusively answers both of those questions.”
In court on Wednesday, Goldman said Diamond had largely ceased dealing with the commissioner’s office.
“We have been directly interfacing with all of our baseball partner clubs, not through the commissioner’s office any longer, but directly with them, and the commissioner’s office is aware of that and fully consenting to that,” Goldman said.
Goldman also pushed back against Bromley’s comment that MLB was “sandbagged,” calling it “simply not correct.”
A spokesperson for the commissioner declined comment immediately after the hearing Wednesday.
The drama came Wednesday in a status-update hearing which saw Diamond file a revised get-out-of-bankruptcy plan to the court right when the hearing began.
Diamond’s bankruptcy process might be nearing its end. The company proposed Nov. 14 and 15 dates for its confirmation hearing, where a judge gives final sign-off — or not.
Diamond still has deals in place to broadcast NBA and NHL teams, and while it believes its revised plan will be successful, it also includes a “toggle” to a wind-down — an option to liquidate the company if the plan doesn’t work out.
Said Diamond in a statement issued after the hearing: “Today marks an important step forward for Diamond with the filing of a baseline plan to enable us to emerge from bankruptcy as a viable, go-forward business before year-end. We have delivered proposals to and remain in discussions with our MLB team partners around go-forward plans. We firmly believe that through our linear and digital offerings we have created the best economic and fan-friendly engine for all of our team partners.”
GO DEEPER
MLB says teams carried by Diamond ‘unable to plan’ 2025 revenues, threatens legal action
(AP Photo / Jeff Roberson, File)
