The Diamond Sports bankruptcy soap opera is rolling on with seemingly no end in sight. And MLB commissioner Rob Manfred is expressing his disbelief with where we currently are in proceedings.
For months, it looked like Diamond Sports would be relegated to the dustbin of history as the regional sports outlet was struggling through bankruptcy and leagues and teams were preparing to take over their own broadcasts. But an investment from Amazon came at the perfect time and Diamond has been busy getting renewals with various cable and satellite operators… except for Comcast, which has turned everything upside down once again.
That lack of a Comcast deal now has the three major sports leagues they do business with – the NBA, NHL, and MLB – all skeptical of whether or not Diamond’s reorganization plan can actually come together. And earlier this week, Manfred went public with his questions about where the company was openly stating that “there is no plan” and there are no actual deals in place with any of the major leagues.
Via Sportico:
Speaking in New York this afternoon following an MLB owners’ meeting, commissioner Rob Manfred bemoaned the fact that the league has no recourse with which to counter the standoff that has left so many baseball fans out in the cold. “We just don’t have the legal right or the ability to solve that problem,” Manfred said. “We always are concerned when we have fans who are not able to watch games. I mean, it’s a problem.”
Manfred went on to say that he could not make a definitive statement as to whether MLB would decide to oppose Diamond’s formal reorganization plan. “It’s hard to comment on whether we’re going to object or not because there is no plan at this point,” Manfred said. “Their whole plan is, you know, ‘We’re going to get deals with distributors. … We’re going to continue with the other leagues.’ They don’t have a deal with the NBA, they don’t have a deal with the NHL, and they don’t have a deal with us—So, other than that…”
Major League Baseball has long been the biggest opponent to any wide-ranging deal to rescue Diamond as the league has fancied going their own route with local broadcasts and sports rights. But while MLB seemed to be going it alone in their battle with Diamond, they were recently joined by the NHL and NBA in the latest round of legal filings.
While the finalizing of the reorganization plan was originally supposed to move forward in June, this week a six week delay was granted until the end of July for the confirmation hearing that may ultimately decide Diamond’s fate. But unless the company can strike a last minute deal with Comcast for carriage, all of their work over the past year to stay alive may be for naught.
[Sportico]