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Could the Arizona Diamondbacks reunite with Bally Sports?
A new court filing from Diamond Sports Group, the regional sports network’s bankrupt parent, suggests it’s possible.
Less than a week after DSG filed an emergency motion in U.S. bankruptcy court in Texas to reject its rights deal with the Diamondbacks, a hearing on that motion originally set for Thursday has been adjourned to July 17. Diamondbacks president/CEO Derrick Hall and DSG CEO David Preschlack issued a joint statement saying the parties “decided to postpone [the] hearing due to ongoing and positive discussions toward finding a solution.”
The comment notably changes DSG’s tone from last week, when it described the unprofitable Diamondbacks rights deal as “unnecessary and burdensome.”
Bally Sports Arizona will continue to show the team’s games in the interim.
DSG recently made a rights fee payment to the Texas Rangers but still has upcoming fees due to the Diamondbacks, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, and Minnesota Twins. Following MLB owners meetings earlier this month, league commissioner Rob Manfred said “we’re kind of going day-to-day” on the troubled RSN front.
If DSG abandons any of its MLB team rights, the league would step in to produce and distribute the games, similar to what it’s doing now for the San Diego Padres.
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