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The relationship between the bankrupt Diamond Sports Group and the Arizona Coyotes has already been severed by a court, but is still not over yet.
Less than a month after the bankrupt parent of Bally Sports rejected its local rights to the NHL club, ushering in a dramatic new era in Phoenix sports television, the Coyotes filed a formal claim with a U.S. bankruptcy court in Texas for $17.9 million in unpaid rights fees.
The claim is similar to one for $24.6 million that the Coyotes’ crosstown neighbor, MLB’s Arizona Diamondbacks, filed with the court in August, less than four weeks after their rights were also dropped by DSG. Both clubs, however, will face an uphill climb recouping most, if not all, of that money.
The teams’ repayment claims are considered unsecured debt — and such claims in bankruptcy proceedings are often repaid at a small fraction of the original value.
Mounting Pressures
The Coyotes’ claim is just the latest in a growing series of pressures on DSG as it seeks to reorganize.
DSG continues to fight a multipronged struggle against its creditors, leagues, distributors, and even its own parent company, Sinclair Inc. More clues on that reorganization effort are expected in the next month as Sinclair reports its next set of quarterly earnings on Nov. 1 and DSG follows suit on Nov. 28.
The Coyotes have finalized plans with Scripps Sports to show their games locally on that company’s Antenna TV network.
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