Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story misstated the number of teams that would be dropped in 2025. That is currently up in the air.
Diamond Sports Group, the owner of the Bally Sports regional sports networks, has announced a downsizing of its Major League Baseball coverage. The company, currently broadcasting games for 12 MLB teams, has only one team – the Atlanta Braves – in its 2025 lineup, according to a report from The Athletic.
This decision comes as Diamond Sports navigates through bankruptcy proceedings and seeks to restructure its operations. While four teams (Cleveland, Texas, Milwaukee and Minnesota) were already on one-year deals that expired at the end of the 2024 season, Texas is the only one of the three that is looking beyond traditional MLB distributors, according to a report from Sports Business Journal. The other three teams could negotiate a new deal with DSG.
DSG rejected the contract of Tampa Bay and Detroit, but could later renegotiate a new deal for 2025. The other affected teams include Anaheim, Cincinnati, Kansas City, Miami, and St. Louis who are all joint-venture teams with DSG and their futures are all up in the air.
Diamond Sports’ decision to retain only the Atlanta Braves and reject the Detroit Tigers and Tampa Bay Rays highlights the challenging financial landscape for regional sports networks. The company has cited financial difficulties and the changing media consumption habits of viewers as factors contributing to this drastic reduction in MLB coverage.
This move leaves the future of 11 teams in doubt, as they attempt to secure new broadcasting deals for the upcoming season. Options include negotiating new agreements with Diamond Sports at potentially lower rates, exploring alternative broadcasting partnerships, or taking production in-house and utilizing MLB’s Local Media division.
The impact on fans remains to be seen, but it is likely that access to local team broadcasts could become more fragmented and potentially more expensive. This situation underscores the evolving nature of sports media rights and the challenges faced by regional sports networks in the face of cord-cutting and the rise of streaming services.