Bally Sports parent misses debt payment, considering bankruptcy

[JimGinSP]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/news/regional-network-diamond-sports-misses-140m-debt-payment-to-bondholders/ar-AA17wCQO

Not sure how news like this affects valuation arguments within the MASN case.   At first blush it appears sports networks are not the cash cows one might think.  On the other hand Sinclair / Atlantic possibly just got into trouble by overpaying for the networks they bought.  

[Can_of_corn]

That isn't how they got into trouble.

Some nice resources are available that explain what happened.

[JimGinSP]

6 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

That isn't how they got into trouble.

Some nice resources are available that explain what happened.

Lots of reporting out today with background. Twin Cities Business published this piece today regarding the overall situation and specifically the Twins since their contract is currently up for renewal.   
https://tcbmag.com/the-bally-sports-mess-explained/
Bally/Atlantic/Sinclair might not have “overpaid” but they did choose to overleverage.   
 

[Frobby]

From ESPN:

Diamond Sports Group's unraveling could open an opportunity for MLB to take control of all its rights and potentially end blackouts once and for all, which has long been a central focus for the league. But going direct-to-consumer would not allow MLB to match the money it currently generates through the cable model.

"Not in the short term," Manfred said.

It could, however, be a short-term fix while the dust settles on Diamond Sports Group's restructuring. If the company misses any payments to teams, those teams will have the option to terminate their contracts, Manfred said.

"In the event that MLB stepped in, what we would do is we would produce the games," Manfred said. "We would make use of our asset, the MLB Network, to do that. We would go directly to distributors -- meaning Comcast, Charter, the big distributors -- and make an agreement to have those games distributed on cable networks. My expectations is that as part of the negotiation, there would be a negotiation over price. And that probably gets back to the question about, you know, what the economics would look like, but we would also be seeking flexibility on the digital side."

[CharmCityHokie]

5 hours ago, Frobby said:

From ESPN:

Diamond Sports Group's unraveling could open an opportunity for MLB to take control of all its rights and potentially end blackouts once and for all, which has long been a central focus for the league. But going direct-to-consumer would not allow MLB to match the money it currently generates through the cable model.

"Not in the short term," Manfred said.

It could, however, be a short-term fix while the dust settles on Diamond Sports Group's restructuring. If the company misses any payments to teams, those teams will have the option to terminate their contracts, Manfred said.

"In the event that MLB stepped in, what we would do is we would produce the games," Manfred said. "We would make use of our asset, the MLB Network, to do that. We would go directly to distributors -- meaning Comcast, Charter, the big distributors -- and make an agreement to have those games distributed on cable networks. My expectations is that as part of the negotiation, there would be a negotiation over price. And that probably gets back to the question about, you know, what the economics would look like, but we would also be seeking flexibility on the digital side."

Manfred definitely sounds worried about retaining/gaining new fans by providing easier access to games...and by fans I mean major cable networks and dollar bills. 

[btdart20]

MLB Monitoring Diamond Sports Group Uncertainty - MLB Trade Rumors

Our Man fred ---

“Obviously, our first choice would be that Diamond pay the clubs what they’re contractually obligated to pay them, but because I guess I’m a contingency planner by nature, we are prepared no matter what happens with respect to Diamond to make sure that games are available to fans in their local markets,” Manfred said. “We think it will be both linear in the traditional cable bundle and digitally on our own platforms, but that remains to be seen. … Our first hope is that Diamond figures out a way to pay the clubs and broadcast the games like they’re contractually obligated to do.”

STL's DeWitt

“It’s a concern and a fluid situation, there’s no question about it,” he said last week (link via Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch). “Something is going to happen sooner rather than later. It’s a big part of our revenue stream. We have nice rights fees. The (RSN) model is at risk. We’re operating like, no, it’s going to stay, but the reality is there’s going to be change.”

* The Angels, Braves, Brewers, Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Guardians, Marlins, Padres, Rangers, Rays, Reds, Royals, Tigers, and Twins are all broadcast by Bally.