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Diamond expects to lose some MLB rights after bankruptcy

Tim Baysinger
Mar 15, 2023

Photo: Mark Cunningham/MLB Photos via Getty Images

Diamond Sports Group expects to come out of its bankruptcy process with fewer teams' rights, with the cuts coming from its baseball roster, a source familiar with the situation tells Axios.

Why it matters: As the largest owner of RSNs, what happens with Diamond could trigger a domino effect for the rest of the industry.

Driving the news: Diamond announced the bankruptcy filing late on Tuesday, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.

  • Diamond will separate from Sinclair Broadcast Group and become a stand-alone company. The move is part of a debt-for-equity swap.
  • Sinclair created Diamond after it acquired the 19 regional sports networks from Disney, which it divested as part of its Fox acquisition in 2019.

Of note: Diamond currently owns the streaming rights to five MLB teams. The source added that Diamond expects to retain the sports rights for the 16 NBA and 12 NHL teams it currently owns.

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