Bally Sports’ parent company expected to retain Rangers broadcasts, make rights payment

The next big day in the Rangers battle for local TV rights is Thursday, but it could be a little anticlimactic.

All indications are that Diamond Sports Holdings, the bankrupt parent company of Bally Sports Southwest, will pay the Rangers the broadcast rights due on June 15. If so, that seems to fix that, at least for the rest of the season. And, yes, that means the Rangers broadcast situation will remain the same.

Diamond is no longer behind on payments to the Rangers, which was a major point of contention as the club tried to force Diamond to turn down the rights. Diamond missed the April 15 payment, prompting Rangers to decide to join several other clubs in seeking to forfeit Diamond’s rights.Diamond has been doing well with the Rangers since then, two sources familiar with the matter told reporters. dallas morning paper.

If Diamond was willing to leave the Rangers, it likely would have done so, rather than pay. Diamond didn’t pay the San Diego Padres earlier this season and relinquished his rights. Padres broadcasts have been replaced by MLB.

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It amounts to a win for the Rangers, giving them some degree of cost certainty ahead of the MLB trade deadline, during which time it may be difficult to increase team salaries based on previous budgets.

How that will affect fans’ ability to watch team broadcasts remains unclear. Diamond and its line of Bally-branded regional sports networks simply don’t have deals with many cable providers. Diamond wants to add direct-to-consumer streaming capabilities, as that market appears to be growing at the expense of cable, but MLB has long held those rights, and it seems unlikely the league will be able to do so without significant compensation. waive these rights.

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