After a whole lot of saber rattling, the remainder of the 2023 Texas Rangers season will remain on Bally Sports Southwest.
The Dallas Morning News reports that the Rangers received their fourth and final scheduled rights payment from the Diamond Sports Group this week.
The final payment does not include modifications to the contract, including digital rights for Rangers games to air on Bally Sports+.
Diamond missed its first payment to the Rangers back in April, which it eventually made in full, and followed up with two on-time payments in full.
Two teams, the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres, have been dropped by Diamond Sports this year. This comes despite rumblings that as many as six teams could have been dropped this season, including the Guardians, Reds, and Twins. The Rangers were paid properly and on time after the initial woes, as were the Twins and Reds. The Guardians and Diamond have been going on a month-to-month basis.
In bankruptcy court this week, Diamond sought a mediator for its negotiations with creditors. With just six weeks left in the MLB season, Diamond has vowed to air the remainder of the MLB games it owns the rights to this season. The situation is more unclear with the upcoming NBA and NHL seasons, despite the wider digital rights Diamond owns for Bally Sports+, and we’re not looking forward to meticulously tracking payments throughout the fall and winter.
About Joe Lucia
I hate your favorite team. I also sort of hate most of my favorite teams.