DSG says it won’t broadcast 11 MLB teams in ’25

Diamond Sports Group, the bankrupt operator of Bally Sports channels, said it will stop broadcasting games in 2025 for 11 of the 12 Major League Baseball teams it currently televises.

Diamond announced the decision Wednesday in court, saying it would continue carrying Atlanta Braves games next season.

Seven of the remaining 11 teams — the Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Rays — were under contract with Diamond for 2025. Those teams will have to either negotiate a new deal with Diamond or find a different operator.

The other four teams carried by Diamond this season — the Cleveland Guardians, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers — had deals with Diamond that expired after the 2024 season.

According to The Athletic, representatives from Major League Baseball said that they were “sandbagged” by Diamond’s announcement and that they did not have sufficient time to prepare a response.

“We have no information about what is being done,” MLB attorney Jim Bromley said at the court hearing, according to The Athletic. “We’ve had no opportunity to review, and now we’re in front of the court and being asked to make our comments.”

A source with Diamond told ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez that the company is still hopeful of agreeing to new terms with the 11 other teams and has previously submitted proposals to each of them. MLB, however, has consistently called Diamond’s viability into question and has not shown a willingness to negotiate new rights deals since the company went into Chapter 11 reorganization nearly 19 months ago.

A confirmation date has been set for Nov. 14 and 15 in bankruptcy court in Houston.

Diamond secured new contracts consisting of lesser rights fees with the NBA and the NHL on Aug. 23, shortly after agreeing to a new carriage agreement with Comcast, which placed Diamond channels on its most expensive tier.

Diamond currently holds the rights to 13 NBA teams and eight NHL teams, having recently dropped the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Diamond wrote: “Today marks an important step forward for Diamond with the filing of a baseline plan to enable us to emerge from bankruptcy as a viable, go-forward business before year-end. We have delivered proposals to and remain in discussions with our MLB team partners around go-forward plans. 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.”

MLB holds long-term plans to house liner and direct-to-consumer rights under a national umbrella, seeing it as a long-term pivot to a cable model that has become increasingly volatile. Assuming none of the 11 teams in danger of getting dropped by Diamond agree to new deals, MLB — which took over broadcasts for the San Diego Padres and the Arizona Diamondbacks after they were dropped last year — could technically hold the rights to nearly half the league.

With local media making up about 20% of team revenues in the aggregate, Diamond’s plans will create increasingly more financial uncertainty for teams — the type that might once again impact offseason spending.

ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez contributed to this report.