The saga of baseball on television took another turn Wednesday during a U.S. Bankruptcy Court hearing in Texas. Diamond Sports Group informed their Major League Baseball partners that it plans to end their media contracts for all teams excluding a rights deal with the Atlanta Braves.
Sportico is reporting that Diamond Sports, the owner of the regional Bally Sports brands, revealed they they plan to cut ties with eight clubs including Cincinnati, Detroit, Kansas City, the LA Angels, Miami, Milwaukee, St. Louis and Tampa. Three other teams including the Minnesota Twins, Cleveland and Texas had contracts that expired at the end of September.
The cutting of ties with MLB means the league would be free to make plans for television broadcasts for the 2025 season immediately, if they haven't done so already. Diamond explained that this decision wasn't their "preferred path" but acknowledged their ongoing bankruptcy forced their hand and they needed to allow teams to make their own decisions going forward.
For MLB teams, this shouldn't come as a total surprise. The Twins all season have been planning to move on past Diamond Sports and Bally Sports heading into 2025. Twins President Dave St. Peter acknowledged this past season, with a Comcast blackout mixed in, has been a challenge for fans.
"We've got have a more accessible plan for television which we're excited to announce in the near future," St. Peter told WCCO's Jason DeRusha last week during the team's last homestand.
The judge did schedule a follow-up session for Octobter 9. A final confirmation hearing is expected to take place on November 14.