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Risk of Bally Sports bankruptcy could upend the regional sports network model

By Mark Brodie
Published: Friday, February 24, 2023 - 11:16am
Updated: Saturday, February 25, 2023 - 9:13am

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Rob Manfred at MLB Spring Training Media Day
Reece Andrews/Cronkite News
Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said in February that the league is prepared to take back the television rights to 14 MLB teams if Diamond Sports Group fails to pay per their contractual obligations.

The network that carries the Suns, Coyotes, Diamondbacks and Mercury games in Arizona is in trouble.

Diamond Sports Group, the parent company of the 19 Bally Sports channels across the country, has missed a payment and could be moving toward bankruptcy. And that has some fans worried about being able to watch their teams’ games.

As Bill Shea explains, all of this is leading the industry to take another look at the regional sports network (RSN) model altogether.

Shea is a senior sports business reporter for the Athletic, and he joined The Show to explain how RSNs ended up in such financial trouble.

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