In a recent bankruptcy court filing, it was revealed that the Dallas Mavericks and the New Orleans Pelicans will be leaving their regional sports networks owned by Diamond Sports. This move has left fans of both NBA teams wondering how they will be able to watch their local games in the upcoming season. While the teams have not officially announced where their games will be aired, both franchises have a history of televising their games with local broadcasters.
The New Orleans Pelicans have reportedly reached an agreement with Gray Television to air their games this season. This information was confirmed by a source close to the team, although representatives for Gray and the Pelicans have declined to comment on the matter. In the previous season, the Pelicans broadcasted 10 matchups on Gray’s local stations. On the other hand, the Dallas Mavericks, who made an appearance in the NBA Finals last season, had a 13-game agreement with Tegna’s Dallas-Fort Worth stations. As of now, there has been no response from the Mavericks and Tegna regarding who will broadcast their local games.
The Dallas Mavericks and the New Orleans Pelicans are just two of the latest teams to shift the majority of their regular-season games from their Diamond-owned regional sports networks. These networks fall under the Bally Sports brand. Diamond Sports has been in the midst of a bankruptcy process for the past 18 months, and along the way, various NBA, WNBA, and NHL teams have opted to switch from regional sports networks to local broadcasters.
Financial Settlements
As part of the terminations with the Mavericks and Pelicans, Diamond Sports will receive $1.3 million and over $297,000 in repayments, respectively. This separation comes as Diamond continues to finalize broadcast and streaming rights agreements with the NBA and NHL for the upcoming season through its bankruptcy proceedings, pending court approval. Diamond Sports CEO David Preschlack expressed gratitude for the partnerships with the leagues, highlighting these deals as significant milestones in the company’s journey out of bankruptcy protection.
Challenges Faced by Diamond Sports
Diamond Sports is among the companies that have suffered due to the decline of cable TV. Despite launching a sports-only streaming service for select teams in 2022, the company’s massive $8 billion debt forced it to file for bankruptcy. With the NBA and NHL seasons approaching, Diamond is under increased pressure to form a viable business plan and demonstrate its ability to meet the necessary rights payments. Additionally, Diamond recently struck a deal to bring its networks back to Comcast’s cable TV customers after the Bally Sports networks went dark on Comcast, the third-largest distributor for Diamond, earlier in the year.