Diamond Sports is removing MLB teams from Bally Sports' regional networks

Major League Baseball is out of here.

Diamond Sports — the owner of regional sports networks under the Bally Sports brand — announced Wednesday that it plans to drop all MLB teams except the Atlanta Braves from its channels.

Bally Sports has more than a dozen networks across the United States. Diamond reached all 11 teams on air – the Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers – with modified , proposed contracts to determine MLB's future on the networks.

A Diamond lawyer made the comments before a U.S. bankruptcy judge on Wednesday as part of an update on the company's ongoing bankruptcy proceedings and attempt to finalize a restructuring plan.

Some of those teams were already scheduled to have their contracts expire this season, and some contracts are still pending bankruptcy proceedings, a Diamond spokesman said.

The MLB regular season ended earlier this week and the postseason has already begun. Regional sports networks primarily broadcast regular season games.

“To be clear, rejecting these teams is not our preferred path,” Diamond attorney Andrew Goldman said Wednesday. “Our preferred plan is to integrate as many teams as possible into the reorganized (corporate) group.”

He added that the company is still in negotiations with individual clubs, but discussions with the MLB Commissioner's Office have ended.

MLB attorney James Bromley told the bankruptcy judge on Wednesday that it was “unfortunate that we are being cornered in this way,” adding that “some of our clubs are once again left out in the cold.” An MLB spokesman declined to comment .

Goldman said Diamond warned the league of that outcome in August and indicated it was a possibility if the MLB rejected Diamond's latest proposal.

For decades, regional sports networks were a lucrative business model for teams and leagues, and the networks paid high fees to broadcast games. But they have suffered as cord cuts have hit the pay-TV business, leading to fewer subscribers.

That — and the heavy debt load that Diamond has struggled with since Sinclair acquired the company from Disney in 2019 — led the owner of the largest portfolio of regional sports networks to file for bankruptcy in March 2023.

Diamond's lawyers have tried to adjust these rights payments to reflect so-called market rates. As a result, Diamond turned down contracts and saw a number of teams find new TV and streaming homes.

In June, the NBA and NHL expressed concerns about the viability of the Diamond business, particularly with seasons starting this month.

A Diamond lawyer said Wednesday was a “watershed moment” for the company, allowing it to file an amended restructuring plan. While Diamond seeks to exit bankruptcy protection, the possibility of winding down the company remains. Despite it, Lawyers said the company promised the NBA and NHL it would honor their contracts through the end of the season.

“Today marks an important step forward for Diamond with the filing of a baseline plan designed to enable us to emerge from bankruptcy as a viable, sustainable company before the end of the year,” a Diamond spokesman said in a statement. “We have made suggestions to our MLB team partners regarding future plans and remain in discussions with them. We firmly believe that through our linear and digital offerings we have created the best economic and fan-friendly engine for all of our team partners.”

Diamond's disputes with MLB began before the filing.

Diamond has been pushing for some time, unsuccessfully, to retain streaming rights to all MLB teams that air on its networks.

Last year, the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks left their Bally Sports networks and the league instead began producing and distributing the games through pay-TV packages and MLB TV.