Angels say they don’t expect Diamond Group bankruptcy to disrupt broadcast experience for fans
Attorneys for Diamond Group, which owns Bally Sports West, said in court the company plans to discontinue broadcasts of all MLB teams except the Braves.
The Angels are “in talks to restructure” their deal with Diamond Sports Group to continue broadcasting their games on television, a source said on Wednesday.
The Angels are “confident” that fans will not see any disruption in the way they have been receiving the broadcasts, the source said.
Attorneys for Diamond, which owns Bally Sports West, on Wednesday told a Federal bankruptcy court that the company planned to discontinue broadcasts of all its MLB teams except the Atlanta Braves. Diamond currently has deals with eight teams for next season, including the Angels and Braves.
Diamond could then strike new deals, or change the terms of their current ones, to continue with some of those teams.
The Angels, a source said, are among the teams in talks with Diamond about continuing their partnership under different terms.
It remains to be seen whether those new terms will cause a reduction in revenue — and thereby payroll — for the Angels. The team is hopeful there won’t be a “dramatic decrease” in revenue, the source said. The restructured deal could be done within a couple months, the source said.
The landscape of sports television has been shifting because more and more viewers are abandoning cable in favor of streaming services, which has put a pinch on companies like Diamond.
Diamond already stopped broadcasting the Padres and Diamondbacks, and MLB took on production of those broadcasts.