On November 15th a federal judge approved Bally Sports’ request for more time to file its plan to reorganize and re-emerge from bankruptcy, even as the troubled company indicated it would seek to file a third extension down the line, according to a person familiar with the situation. Now Bally Sports has asked for that extension that would give it until May 28th, 2024 for some of its deadlines to find a way to exit bankruptcy.
“The Debtors seek entry of an order, substantially in the form attached hereto, extending by 120 days the periods within which the Debtors have the exclusive right to file a chapter 11 plan, through and including March 28, 2024 (the “Filing Exclusivity Period”), and solicit acceptances thereof, through and including May 28, 2024 (the “Solicitation Exclusivity Period,” and, together with the Filing Exclusivity Period, the “Exclusivity Periods”), without
prejudice to the Debtors’ rights to seek further extensions of the Exclusivity Periods.” Bally Sports parent company Diamond Sports said in a filling today.
Back ont he 15th, the judge did approve a deal between the NBA and Bally Sports’ parent company, Diamond Sports Group, the person said. The deal was announced earlier this month and covers 15 teams through the 2023-2024 season. Hower Bally Sports was unable to reach a deal with the MLB and no deal has been announced yet for the NHL.
The current deadlines include November 29 to file its reorganization plans and January 29 to get approval, now it seems Bally Sports is hoping the judge agrees to extend the deadline.
Potentially derailing things is an objection filed by Sinclair, the former parent of Bally Sports, who noted the tentative cooperation agreement doesn’t include a quarter of a billion dollars in fees owed to the media giant, according to Awful Announcing. The objections relate to the master service agreement between Bally Sports and Sinclair.
In addition, a lawyer for the MLB said it would present its own offer sheet proposal to Bally Sports, indicating the two sides haven’t come to a deal yet. The MLB is reportedly hoping to force Bally Sports to fully agree to its current contracts or to cancel.
Bally Sports is also working to strike a deal with the NHL to keep some or all of its teams on its RSNs.