The Major League Baseball logo at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, on May 22, 2022.
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Major League Baseball and the Atlanta Braves have raised questions about the restructuring plans and future viability of Diamond Sports Group, the owner of the largest regional sports network in the United States, according to documents filed in bankruptcy court on Friday.
In their objections, the Braves and MLB said they have “serious concerns” with the current plan because “(Diamond Sports) is likely to again find itself in financial distress and/or bankruptcy court in the near future.”
The document states that both MLB and the Braves have a vested interest in the success of Diamond Sports’ restructuring plan, but they do not believe the restructuring plan currently proposed is feasible.
Representatives for Diamond had no immediate comment on the filing. The company has until Wednesday to respond to the objections. Diamond, meanwhile, will seek approval of its reorganization plan from a U.S. bankruptcy judge on Thursday.
The documents say MLB and the Braves’ concerns stem from a lack of information about the restructuring proposal, which consists of 20 documents totaling 181 pages. Diamond’s lawyers told the court they were limited in the services they could provide, in part because of confidentiality agreements with the company’s distribution partners, such as pay-TV operators.
Additionally, the league and Warriors are asking for more clarity on Diamond’s proposed business partnership Amazon would look like. Diamond’s lawyers previously told the court that discussions with Amazon were ongoing.
MLB and the Braves are also concerned about disruptions to Diamond Sports’ direct-to-consumer plans, a strategy that has become more important as more customers exit traditional cable TV bundles.
This isn’t the first time MLB has wanted more information about Diamond’s financial plans. In October, a lawyer for MLB said at a court hearing that the league wanted to know about the use of digital currency in Diamond’s recent naming-rights deal with FanDuel for Diamond-owned regional sports networks, formerly known as Bally Sports. For more information on languages.
Warriors are part of a publicly traded company Atlanta Braves Holdings after becoming Split stay away from john malone liberal media In 2023, in addition to serving as chairman of Liberty Media, Malone will still be a shareholder of the new company.
Diamond Sports has previously said it would retain its contract with the Braves as part of its bankruptcy plan while trying to renegotiate or waive contracts with the 11 other MLB teams it has deals with.
Friday’s objection does not mean the Braves have given up Diamond’s regional media rights.
The St. Louis Cardinals and Diamond had agreed on local rights terms as of Thursday, and during an October court hearing, attorneys said Diamond was close to a deal with the Miami Marlins.
The Cincinnati Reds said Friday they were exiting the Diamond-owned regional sports network, according to a court filing.
three Of the 11 teams Diamond tried to re-sign, 11 later turned to MLB to produce their local games.
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