The latest tremor in the regional sports earthquake could result in the end of the NBA on Bally Sports after this season.
The NBA and Diamond Sports Group have reached a tentative agreement that will allow the Diamond-owned Bally Sports RSNs to continue broadcasting NBA games through the end of the current 2023-24 season, after which point those rights will revert back to the league. The news was disclosed in a Sunday court filing. Diamond owns local rights to 15 NBA teams and all of those deals will be terminated after this season regardless of how many years were originally left in their respective terms.
The agreement — which was approved by Diamond’s lenders on Tuesday but still awaits approval by the court — would eliminate the possibility of Diamond relinquishing rights mid-season as it did with the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks of MLB earlier this year, guaranteeing that games would air on Bally Sports without disruption. In exchange for securing stability for this season and flexibility thereafter, the NBA has agreed to reduce Diamond’s rights fee this season by 16 percent, per Sports Business Journal.
The league has also won the right to let each Diamond-affiliated team shop up to 10 regular season games to an over-the-air broadcast partner.
Diamond Sports intends to strike a similar deal with the NHL that would return the rights of 11 franchises to the league following the 2023-24 season, but no such agreement is imminent with MLB, per a Diamond court filing.
The NBA will now be able to include local rights to at least half of its teams in its national media rights negotiation, as multiple reports indicated was its preference. Nothing prevents individual franchises from returning to market seeking a new rights partner, or even striking new deals with the Bally Sports RSNs should they remain in operation. So far, NBA teams leaving the RSN model have opted for a hybrid of broadcast television — albeit with lower rights fees — and direct-to-subscriber streaming.
Should these deals come to fruition, Diamond Sports Group would potentially be without local rights to any NBA or NHL team by Q3 2024. At that point, it would have to renegotiate rights deals on a team-by-team basis if it wanted to continue normal operations in specific markets. For fans, these deals would offer some semblance of stability for the next year while the leagues and owners weigh next steps.
