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☆ Diamond Sports, largest owner of regional sports networks, files for bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Diamond Sports Group, the largest owner of regional sports networks, filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, toppled by a more than $8 billion debt load. Diamond, like other regional sports networks, has been focused on growing its streaming presence. As of Tuesday, Diamond said, it was still finalizing the restructuring support agreement with creditors. The plan could see Diamond separate from Sinclair to become a standalone operation, Diamond said. And, while Diamond obtained streaming rights for all of its NBA and NHL teams last year, it has been working on a team-by-team basis for MLB.

The fortunes of MLB players are tied to team revenues, and players are closely watching any changes to sports TV. Two of the largest regional sports broadcasters in the U.S. are on the verge of unraveling, an event that is expected to alter how professional teams are funded and how fans tune in to the games. Diamond Sports Group LLC , which carries the games of more than 40 major sports teams across the country on its Bally Sports-branded networks, is expected to file for bankruptcy in coming weeks, which people involved expect to lead to a renegotiation of rights fees—a significant part of teams’ revenue.

☆ ESPN wants to be the hub of all live sports streaming — even if it helps its competition
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Alex Sherman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Disney 's ESPN wants to be the hub for all live sports streaming — even for its competition. Still, ESPN has broached the idea to the major sports leagues and media companies to gauge their enthusiasm, the people said. If a customer already subscribes to a given service, ESPN would collect no money and just provide the link as a courtesy, people familiar with the matter said. ESPN may also alert users to games that air on linear TV, cementing its new role as the TV guide of live sports, the people said. Discovery has alerted leagues it plans to exit the RSN business altogether, according to The Wall Street Journal.

☆ MSG Networks to launch streaming service for Knicks, Rangers games
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

MSG Networks, James Dolan's cable-TV channels that feature local New York and New Jersey professional sports games, is launching its own streaming service. MSG Networks also said it recently launched a free, ad-supported streaming TV, or FAST, channel called MSG SportsZone, which is available nationally on Vizio televisions and the Plex streaming platform. The FAST channel features MSG Networks' programming centered around sports betting and classic games. MSG+ will only be available in the region that already carries its MSG Networks on cable-TV. MSG Networks' new streaming service will also allow fans to purchase single game streaming feeds for $9.99 per game.

☆ Warner Bros. Discovery plans to stop broadcasting regional sports as financial troubles grow across industry, reports say
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

AT&T Sportsnet channels owned by Warner Bros. The channels in question are still branded as AT&T Sportsnet after WarnerMedia's assets, previously owned by AT&T, were acquired by Warner Bros. Warner Bros. The Sports Business Journal also reported that the network told teams it will allow them to continue using Warner Bros. Warner Bros.

☆ MLB Commissioner says league is prepared to step in to broadcast games — and maybe even end blackouts — as Bally Sports heads toward bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Aaron Mcdade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said the league is prepared to broadcast games itself if necessary. A restructuring or termination of the league's broadcast agreements could also end controversial "blackouts." MLB is prepared to take over broadcasting the regular season games, which start March 30, Manfred said. Sinclair Broadcasting Group, one of the largest broadcasters of local news across the country, bought the rights in 2019 to broadcast much of America's regular season games for the MLB, NBA, and NHL. Manfred said he hopes digital offerings and future broadcast deals would allow a fan to pay to stream their home team's games without worrying about "blackouts."

☆ Here's who's keeping top payment players like Stripe, PayPal, and Square ahead of the competition
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Fun fact Friday: The only letter of the alphabet that doesn't appear in a US state name is "Q." There are plenty of reasons to want to get in (money changes hands A LOT, whether it's between people, companies, or both). This list from Insider's Bianca Chan and Paige Hagy looks at the people pushing top payment companies to stay ahead of the innovation curve. Bianca and Paige spoke to more than a dozen industry insiders to identify executives who are making sure companies like PayPal, Stripe, Apple, and Visa are keeping the competition at bay. Click here to check out eight executives ensuring the top payment players stay ahead of the competition.

Sinclair acquired the portfolio of regional sports networks from Disney in 2019 for $10.6 billion, including roughly $8 billion in debt. Diamond Sports' portfolio includes Bally Sports Detroit, Bally Sports Florida and Bally Sports Southwest. Its networks are home to more than half of MLB, NHL and NBA teams in the U.S., Diamond says. As consumers flee traditional pay-TV bundles, cable networks, particularly the regional sports networks, have felt the brunt of it. Concerns that Diamond could forgo paying the rights payments while under bankruptcy protection have been discussed at the leagues, the people said.

☆ Why the future of Sinclair's Bally Sports Regional Networks matters to every pro league and stakeholder in the TV sports business
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Sinclair bought its regional sports networks, now branded as Bally, from Fox after it sold assets to Disney. Four years later, the 19 networks now carrying the Bally Sports brand name are likely headed for a Chapter 11 reorganization. "We see downside risk increasing as Pay TV subscribers shift away from the linear bundle. Questions are swirling over how Diamond Sports will continue to pay rights fees to the sports leagues during a reorganization process. Symson said local rights are up in some markets and Scripps is ready to engage.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: Aerojet Rocketdyne, Tesla, Mesa Air and others
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Peter Schacknow | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Aerojet Rocketdyne rose 2% in the premarket, while L3Harris fell 1.7%. Meta fell 1.4% in premarket action. Warner Music Group (WMG) – Warner Music shares rallied 3% in the premarket after Atlantic Equities upgraded the stock to overweight from neutral. The firm said Warner Music has shown that it can continue to deliver growth in streaming despite a difficult economic backdrop. Moderna (MRNA) – The vaccine maker jumped 3.8% in premarket trading after Jefferies upgraded the stock to buy from hold, noting a robust pipeline beyond Covid treatments.

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Disney, Tesla, Mesa Air and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Check out the companies making the biggest moves midday Monday:Disney — Disney fell 3.6% after its film, "Avatar: The Way of the Water" fell short of box office expectations. The highly-anticipated movie brought in $134 million, less than the $175 million expected by analysts and under the $135 million to $150 million range Disney had forecast. Casino operators — Wynn Resorts fell 4.2%, while MGM Resorts lost 2.9% and Las Vegas Sands dropped 1.6%. Mesa Air Group — Shares of the airliner jumped 5% after Mesa Air announced it is finalizing a deal to run regional flights for United Airlines, while ending its partnership with American Airlines. Warner Music Group — Shares gained 2.5% following an upgrade to overweight from Atlantic Equities.

☆ Meet 9 top media bankers transforming the M&A landscape and driving deals for Warner Bros. Discovery, Legendary, Amazon, and more
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

2022 kicked off with some huge transactions, from AT&T's WarnerMedia spin-off to private equity scooping up content players. Brad Pitt's production company, Plan B, and Diamond Sports Group both recently tapped big banks to explore their options. Not surprisingly, WarnerMedia was at the heart of the richest transaction fee waterfall for big banks in 2022. Moelis and LionTree were just tapped to help figure out what's next for Sinclair's Regional Sports Networks, Diamond Sports Group, while Brad Pitt's production company, Plan B, also hired Moelis to shop the production company, according to Variety. There's lots of dry powder still in private equity, Navid Mahmoodzadegan, co-founder and co-president at investment bank Moelis, told Insider.

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