In a change of plans, Bally Sports operator Diamond Sports is keeping NBA and NHL rights past this season as part of its reorganization plan. Plus: a new name for what was once known as Turner Sports; ESPN hires former Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman; and more.
Diamond Sports will no longer drop NBA, NHL deals
As part of a reorganization plan announced Wednesday that will allow it to exit bankruptcy, Bally Sports operator Diamond Sports will no longer honor prior agreements with the NBA and NHL to exit its existing rights deals after this season, per multiple reports. Diamond will instead continue to hold its existing NBA and NHL rights until those deals were originally set to conclude. (Diamond will also hold onto its existing Major League Baseball rights, as it never reached a similar exit agreement with MLB.)
The reorganization plan, which still needs to be approved by bankruptcy court, will provide Diamond nearly $1 billion in funds between $450 million in financing from its creditors and a $495 million settlement with Sinclair. (Per The Athletic, Amazon’s nine-figure investment in Diamond is included with the $450 million in financing; per ESPN and Front Office Sports, it is in addition to said financing.)
It is not clear how the NBA or NHL will respond to the change of plans. Beyond the relinquishing of rights, both deals also included reduced rights fees for Diamond and flexibility for teams in both leagues to distribute games via over-the-air broadcast affiliates. Three NBA teams — the Hawks, Pelicans and Thunder — have already moved games to over-the-air stations. For the NBA in particular, Diamond holding onto its existing rights complicates the league’s reported plans to bundle local rights into a potential national rights deal with Amazon. (The Athletic 1.17, ESPN 1.17, Front Office Sports 1.17)
WBD rebrands sports division under TNT Sports banner
Warner Bros. Discovery has rebranded its sports division — which for decades was known as Turner Sports — under the TNT Sports banner, per Sports Business Journal and The Hollywood Reporter. The rebrand applies to all WBD sports programming regardless of network, including TBS and truTV. The sports division had been officially known as “Warner Bros. Discovery Sports” (or WBD Sports) since the formation of WBD in 2021, though the “TNT Sports” brand has been used on-air dating back to last fall.
WBD previously rebranded its European BT Sports division under the same TNT Sports name. (SBJ 1.18)
Plus: Raisman, Wainwright, “NFL Today,” Chamblee
— ESPN announced Thursday that it has hired former United States Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman as an analyst for its college gymnastics coverage. Raisman, who is set to debut on Friday’s LSU-Kentucky meet, is just the latest recent national team gymnast to join ESPN’s college coverage, following in the footsteps of Sam Peszek, Bridget Sloan and Alicia Sacramone. Nastia Liukin works NBC’s Olympic coverage. (ESPN PR)
— Former St. Louis Cardinals P Adam Wainwright has joined Fox Sports as a full-time Major League Baseball analyst, it was announced Thursday. Wainwright served as a guest analyst on Fox MLB Postseason coverage three of the past four seasons, including this past October. His list of assignments this season includes the Phillies-Mets London Series game from England in June. (Fox Sports PR)
— Brent Musburger and Jayne Kennedy, the two living members of the original “NFL Today” on CBS, will appear in a documentary about the series titled “You Are Looking Live!” that will debut on the network Super Bowl Sunday. Musburger was the face of CBS Sports until his abrupt firing in 1990. (CBS Sports PR)
— Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee is serving as NBC’s lead analyst on this week’s PGA Tour event in California, part of the rotation of analysts the network is using to replace Paul Azinger in the lead position. (NBC Sports)
