DIAMOND Sports Group will continue to carry local game broadcasts for 20 National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Hockey League (NHL) teams in the 2024-25 season.
Diamond reached agreements with the NBA and NHL that were disclosed Friday in filings with the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.
The subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group had been operating the Bally-branded regional sports networks that carried NBA, NHL and Major League Baseball games in many markets around the country. Diamond filed for Chapter 1 bankruptcy in March 2023 and were ordered that spring to pay four MLB teams 50 percent of unpaid media rights fees that were owed to them.
The behind-the-scenes business troubles at Diamond led to uncertainty about where teams would be able to broadcast their games when not on national television.
In the NBA, Diamond will continue to carry local broadcasts for the Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs.
In the NHL, the group will keep broadcasting the Anaheim Ducks, Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues and Tampa Bay Lightning.
Diamond will no longer go forward with the Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans, the latter of whom recently reached a deal with New Orleans’ local Fox affiliate to air games. The Mavericks were long considered likely to part with Bally, and Dallas’ NHL team, the Stars, previously split from Diamond in favor of starting their own streaming platform.
“We are appreciative of the ongoing collaboration and long-term partnerships with the NBA and NHL,” Diamond Sports CEO David Preschlack said in a statement.”
Diamond’s next bankruptcy hearing is scheduled for Sept. 3. — Reuters
