Bally Sports RSNs Are Reportedly Preparing For Bankruptcy

[lordodogg]

The RSN system is just broken

Personally, I don't think it is broken. They are just channels that show local teams in your area because you live in their market. It's that simple. If you think I'm crazy for that opinion, it's probably because I have DirecTV where here in NEPA I get all NY RSNs (YES, SNY, MSG) plus the Pittsburgh sports channel (SNPT). I don't care for NBCS-Philly, I hate the Philly teams.

 

[Bruce]

Personally, I don't think it is broken. They are just channels that show local teams in your area because you live in their market.

Every market will soon have the same problems with the RSNs, you cannot defeat the math.

It's that simple. If you think I'm crazy for that opinion, it's probably because I have DirecTV where here in NEPA I get all NY RSNs (YES, SNY, MSG) plus the Pittsburgh sports channel (SNPT).

DirecTV has their own problems, for example, that link I provided above showed they lost another 500,000 subscribers last quarter, they are losing about 2 million a year, in about 2 years they will be unprofitable.

But the NY Teams RSNs will soon be having the same problems as all the others, very expensive contracts, not enough subscribers to pay the bills.

I don't care for NBCS-Philly, I hate the Philly teams.

Not the point, just showing what is happening to them will be happening to all the others.

Why do you think why so many sports are moving to streaming, the old way is failing, so the leagues are looking to streaming for their overpriced ways.

Look at Nascar, could not get the rights fees they wanted from Traditional TV, moved to streaming, now receiving 40% more then the last contract with Fox.

 

[lordodogg]

But the NY Teams RSNs will soon be having the same problems as all the others, very expensive contracts, not enough subscribers to pay the bills.

They're owned by the teams either in part or whole. Like YES and SNY are respectively majority owned by the Yankees and Mets, while MSG is owned by the Dolans who also own the arena of the same name as well as the Knicks and Rangers.
So I'm sure they'll survive for a long while. I'm probably the one keeping them alive anyway (or at least trying to keep them alive) because of how much I watch them.

 

[Bruce]

They're owned by the teams either in part or whole. Like YES and SNY are respectively majority owned by the Yankees and Mets, while MSG is owned by the Dolans who also own the arena of the same name as well as the Knicks and Rangers.

They still need people to pay the bills.

So I'm sure they'll survive for a long while. I'm probably the one keeping them alive anyway (or at least trying to keep them alive) because of how much I watch them.

Wishing it will not keep them alive.

Right now only 51 Million Household out of 131 Million in the United States subscribe to a Paid TV Service that has the RSNs.

That is only 39% of the Households, that numbers gets less by every year, for example Cable/Satellite has already lost about 5.5 Million this year, with one more quarter to report.

Now streaming Live TV is gaining subscribers, but they do not carry the RSNs ( except for Fubo, but they only have a million total subs vs YTTV with 6.6 million subs).

 

[savarese04]

Personally, I don't think it is broken. They are just channels that show local teams in your area because you live in their market. It's that simple. If you think I'm crazy for that opinion, it's probably because I have DirecTV where here in NEPA I get all NY RSNs (YES, SNY, MSG) plus the Pittsburgh sports channel (SNPT). I don't care for NBCS-Philly, I hate the Philly teams.

it's super broken. as someone who lives in an area with one of the better managed, team owned RSNs (NBCS Bay Area), even I could see the writing on the wall. Think of it this way, you have an ENTIRE channel dedicated to 3 hours of content a day. that's not sustainable. when the RSN model started, the OTA channels were squeezed for slot availability, so this made sense. You had those channels filled wall to wall from 6-11pm Sunday-Friday with with sitcoms, dramas, and late night tv every week. Nobody wanted to supplant a ratings juggernaut like Friends or Seinfeld with sports, nor should they have. Even summer reruns performed well because it was a chance to catch episodes you missed.

Today though? there are no ratings juggernauts and there isn't enough content to fill up the OTA channels. Summer is a wasteland because you can catch the shows you missed anytime on streaming. The sports content needs to move back to OTA and go back to living on ad fees.

 

[comfortably_numb]

The sports content needs to move back to OTA and go back to living on ad fees.

Amen.

 

[lordodogg]

Think of it this way, you have an ENTIRE channel dedicated to 3 hours of content a day.

It's not exactly 3 if you count the pregame and postgame shows. SportsNet Pittsburgh has hour long pregame and postgame coverage before and after every Penguins game here, and most hockey games are about 2.5-3 hours in length.
There's also things like doubleheaders and having to show both basketball, hockey, and baseball (or any combination of these) in the end of March/start of April when the seasons overlap.

 

[Bruce]

The sports content needs to move back to OTA and go back to living on ad fees.

There are no ad fees to live off anymore, only per sub fees.

The only sport getting good rates is Football, some College and all of the NFL, but none of that is on the RSNs.

Most NHL games get less then 100,000 viewers per game, the Tampa Bay Lightning gets 50,000 here.

Even the NY Yankees were averaging 400,000 viewers on Yes last season, out of a Metro area of 20 Million.

The World Series averaged 4 Million Households, out of 131 Million in the United States.

Sports (except Football) do not get good ratings and Advertisers have noticed.

The other problem is the OTA stations would want more in per sub fees because of carrying sports.

The station in Arizona was a must carry situation, they asked to be on YTTV, now they have the Phoenix NBA Team, they went to YTTV because of that, said we would like a per sub fee now, YTTV said nope, dropped them.

 

[comfortably_numb]

There are no ad fees to live off anymore, only per sub fees.

If no one is paying, then they get no fees. Doesn't matter whether it's 4 million viewers or 131 million.

 

[AZ.]

Well if RSN are broken what the hell do we call our local stations who have gained 2800% increases in about 20 years?

 

[lordodogg]

Amen.

OTA sports isn't entirely dead. WQMY 53 (MyNet) and WSWB 38 (CW) here still air Mets and Phillies games that air respectively on WPIX in NYC and WCAU in Philly, who respectively are produced by SNY and NBC Sports Philly.
They also used to air the WPIX/WWOR yankees games (produced by YES) until those moved to Prime in the 2022 season.

 

[Bruce]

MLB had a filing ahead of Friday’s court date-

MLB said in a filing submitted on Wednesday that it believes Bally Sports will shut its business down at the end of the 2024 MLB season. Because of that belief, MLB argued that the channel doesn’t need extra time to prepare and present its plan to get out of bankruptcy.

“The clear intention of the Debtors to wind down in less than a calendar year is reason to compel the Debtors to assume or reject the Telecast Rights Agreements now,” it said.

MLB Says It Believes Bally Sports Will Shut Down in 2024 | Cord Cutters News

This Friday, December 15, 2023, is an important day for Bally Sports, as a judge will hear arguments about the future of the embattled regional spots network. One of these issues is the MLB’s request to be paid in full by Bally Sports or terminate their TV contract. MLB said in a filing...

cordcuttersnews.com

 

[lordodogg]

12/15 has come and gone already, any updates?

 

[Bruce]

12/15 has come and gone already, any updates?

Delayed until Jan. 8-9, MLB and Diamond are negotiating, some areas will be dropped, Ohio looks to be a goner, unless there are some major reductions for the rights.

Bally Sports Ohio lost $17 Million in 2023, expected to be $25 Million in 2024.

Texas Rangers are also expected to be dropped unless they make a new deal, because of this-

The Rangers originally signed a 20-year, $3 billion deal in 2010 with Fox Sports Southwest, which was purchased by DSG and became Bally Sports Southwest in 2019. It is believed the Rangers were owed $111 million in 2023.

There were paid in full, but paying another over $100 Million might be too much for Diamond.

The only area I know to be profitable is Florida, I wonder if it is because there is a high population of older folks here, usually they have a Traditional TV Provider, so more people paying per sub fees.

 

[lordodogg]

https://www.wsj.com/business/media/amazon-in-talks-to-invest-in-diamond-sports-b07af4d9

Keep in mind, Amazon is one of the YES Network’s minority owners, Diamond is also a minority owner of them.

 

[Bruce]

https://www.wsj.com/business/media/amazon-in-talks-to-invest-in-diamond-sports-b07af4d9

Reads like a fantasy from Diamond.

Amazon does not need them to make streaming deals, first Diamond does not have the streaming rights to half the MLB Teams.

MLB has already said they will not sell the rights to Diamond, they have their own venture planned.

All Amazon has to do is wait until the MLB season is over, then make their own deal with them.

Lastly, Bally Streaming only has 300,000 subscribers, not enough of the population will support this, so extremely unprofitable.

And since each team makes the deal regarding TV Rights, not MLB, makes this more unlikely.

 

[Bruce]

Also, Diamond has cried wolf before, said they were in negotiations with YTTV to carry the RSNs again, YTTV actually commented on Reddit, said they had no interest.

 

[savarese04]

Reads like a fantasy from Diamond.

Amazon does not need them to make streaming deals, first Diamond does not have the streaming rights to half the MLB Teams.

MLB has already said they will not sell the rights to Diamond, they have their own venture planned.

All Amazon has to do is wait until the MLB season is over, then make their own deal with them.

Lastly, Bally Streaming only has 300,000 subscribers, not enough of the population will support this, so extremely unprofitable.

And since each team makes the deal regarding TV Rights, not MLB, makes this more unlikely.

If Amazon is indeed kicking tires, I see it more as an acqui-hire/asset play. Amazon is definitely looking to get into sports more deeply, be it CFB, major pro league, partnerships or what not. What Diamond has here is 1) on-air talent that they can grab before anyone else and 2) studio space/technology that's probably much cheaper to grab off the bankrupcy market than to build it out themselves.

 

[Bruce]

If Amazon is indeed kicking tires, I see it more as an acqui-hire/asset play. Amazon is definitely looking to get into sports more deeply, be it CFB, major pro league, partnerships or what not. What Diamond has here is 1) on-air talent that they can grab before anyone else and 2) studio space/technology that's probably much cheaper to grab off the bankrupcy market than to build it out themselves.

That is the only way I see it, but investing in or being the White Knight that saves them, doubtful.

But even so, would MLB Teams want to give Amazon/Diamond the rights.

Aleo, even Amazon should know just not that many will subscribe, not just Ballys having less then 300,000, but ratings for Sports ( except for Football) are in the Toilet.

When the last Word Series only averages 4 Million Household ( out of 131 Million in the United States), that tells a story.

 

[comfortably_numb]

When the last Word Series only averages 4 Million Household

The last one.. doomsday much?