What is future for TV’s Bally Sports Wisconsin?
Diamond Sports Group, the organizing force behind the channel that carries Brewers and Bucks games on Bally Sports Wisconsin, announced it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on March 14.
It was an anticipated maneuver for the Sinclairowned broadcast company, which has been in a dire financial position seemingly from the moment in 2019 that Sinclair purchased a slate of regional sports networks (RSNs) airing games for 14 Major League Baseball teams.
Included in the release are the details of how Diamond will approach its bankruptcy and restructuring, including spinning off from Sinclair to become a standalone company. But the real question fans have: How will broadcasts be impacted? Will the Brewers still air on TV?
“Diamond Sports Group’s bankruptcy declaration today is an unfortunate development that we have been expecting,” said a release from Major League Baseball. “Despite Diamond’s economic situation, there is every expectation that they will continue televising all games they are committed to during the bankruptcy process. Major League Baseball is ready to produce and distribute games to fans in their local markets in the event that Diamond or any other regional sports network is unable to do so as required by their agreement with our Clubs.
“Having streamed live games on MLB.TV for more than 20 years and produced live games for MLB Network since 2009, we have the experience and capabilities to deliver games to fans uninterrupted. In addition, we have hired additional seasoned local media professionals to bolster our capabilities in anticipation of this development. Over the long term, we will reimagine our distribution model to address the changing media climate and ultimately reach an even larger number of fans.”
Will the Brewers still be on TV in the upcoming season?
It sure sounds like business as usual to open the season.
Diamond CEO David Preschlack said the company “will continue broadcasting games and connecting fans across the country with the sports and teams they love. With the support of our creditors, we expect to execute a prompt and efficient reorganization and to emerge from the restructuring process as a stronger company.”
Although MLB has been preparing for this reality and has positioned itself to take control of broadcast rights for impacted teams, John Ourand of the Sports Business Journal reported that viewers shouldn’t expect immediate changes, and that the bankruptcy filing merely marks the start of a process, and Diamond will still be capable of making rights payments to at least some teams.
Ourand added that even with Diamond missing a payment to the Arizona Diamondbacks, that didn’t automatically trigger a change in rights ownership, and MLB would still need to get the rights back in bankruptcy court. That process takes time, and the Brewers were not among the four teams (Diamondbacks, Padres, Guardians, Reds) Ourand cited as in immediate danger of not getting paid. In any event, Arizona appears to be the sole outlier for now.
Josh Kosman of the New York Post further pointed out that Diamond planned to play out the rest of the NBA season, including through the first round of the playoffs, per usual. The later rounds of the NBA playoffs are broadcast nationally.
Kosman also mentioned that MLB plans to take over broadcasts from Warner Brothers Discovery, which announced it was cutting its rights payments to the Astros, Pirates and Rockies airing on AT&T SportsNet, but that takeover wouldn’t happen in time for Opening Day.
Nothing is certain, but it stands to reason that, when the season begins March 31, the Brewers game will still be airing on Bally Sports Wisconsin.
But how long will that last? And what happens next?
It’s anyone’s guess how the timeline all plays out specific to the Brewers broadcasts. But when it does, MLB is prepared to produce the games themselves and offer them on both linear television and with a streaming option.
Today, fans purchasing the MLB app can get any game out-of-market, but not the Brewers inside Wisconsin’s borders. According to Kosman, not only would Brewers fans theoretically be able to access Brewers games inside Wisconsin using the app, but MLB would offer in-market consumers their team’s games for free in the short term until the league negotiates with cable and satellite companies directly for lower contracts.
What would result from those negotiations on linear television? Would the games air on some sort of regional version of the MLB Network? Would they air on a different channel entirely? Those specifics remain up in the air, but the commitment is there from MLB to get broadcasts on good-old-fashioned TV.
Kosman said that even if MLB comes to an agreement with a cable provider, it would still offer the “over-the-top” app service (in-market games on the MLB app) available for around $15 a month, less than the $20 fans spent per month for access to the Bally Sports Wisconsin app.
How is the NBA in a different boat?
Ourand said NBA executives want to keep the current model as intact as possible to continue receiving some local-rights fees until the national rights are up for renewal in two years.
“It’s in the NBA’s best financial interest to try to keep Diamond afloat until that time,” Ourand wrote.
It’s unclear if that means that, at some point in the future, Bally Sports Wisconsin will continue to air Bucks games while Brewers games air on a different network.
Will the announcers stay the same in the event of MLB’s takeover?
Most of the familiar faces on the Brewers broadcasts are team employees and would be working the broadcast no matter where the game airs. Kosman further reported that MLB planned to keep local announcers intact whenever they take over broadcasts.