The Diamond Sports-MLB Crisis: Could ESPN Take Over the Bally Sports Games?

By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man –Follow me on X.

TV Answer Man, my question is whether ESPN could take over the local broadcasts for the Bally Sports teams that Diamond Sports is getting rid of. Is that likely? — Jim, Phoenix.

Jim, Diamond Sports, the owner of the Bally Sports regional sports networks (RSN), yesterday filed an emergency motion as part of its bankruptcy reorganization that says it plans to drop carriage of all MLB teams except the Atlanta Braves on December 31, 2024. The company, which declared bankruptcy in March 2023, said it would try to negotiate new deals at reduced rates with at least some of the teams. But if it fails, Diamond Sports says it will terminate the MLB contracts which it can under bankruptcy law.

The teams that could become TV free agents are the Tampa Bay Rays, Detroit Tigers, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals and Los Angeles Angels. Diamond Sports also broadcast the 2024 games of the Texas Rangers, Cleveland Guardians and Minnesota Twins but their contracts have already expired.

The news has prompted considerable speculation regarding what will happen with the teams’ broadcasts in 2025. MLB could produce and distribute the games, as it did for the Padres, Rockies and Diamondbacks when Diamond Sports ended its agreements with those clubs. It’s also possible that the teams could seek deals with local channels as a handful of NBA and NHL teams did when they lost their RSN agreements. But one intriguing possibility is ESPN taking over the games as part of its ESPN+ streaming service.

ESPN+, a national service, could use geotargeting technology to provide the teams in their respective markets and the network’s chairman, Jimmy Pitaro, said last month that he’s interested in obtaining the rights.

“If Major League Baseball is able to put together a group of teams, we would love to sit down with (MLB execs)…and do a larger deal that, quite honestly, would be simpler than having to do individual team deals,” he said. “Team-specific deals are definitely on the table.”

At this point, it’s up to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred to determine what is the best solution for the league and the individual teams. Diamond Sports? Local channels? ESPN or perhaps Amazon? Which one will bring in the most revenue and provide fans with the greatest availability?

And the teams need to decide if they want to be part of a group or make individual deals.

Depending upon how it goes, it’s quite possible that ESPN+ will emerge as the new regional home of at least some Bally Sports teams in 2025.

Jim, hope that helps. Happy viewing and stay safe!

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The TV Answer Man is veteran journalist Phillip Swann who has covered the TV technology scene for more than three decades. He will report on the latest news and answer your questions regarding new devices and services that are changing the way you watch television. See the bio for Phillip Swann here.