Bally Sports owner misses $140M payment, future in limbo

Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Diamond Sports Group, which owns Bally Sports, missed a $140 million interest payment and could file for bankruptcy, the company announced Wednesday in a news release.

The development could impact media rights deals with multiple professional sports leagues as MLB prepares to start its 2023 season. The debt payment was due Wednesday.

Diamond Sports Group -- a subsidiary of the Sinclair Broadcast Group -- is the country's largest owner of sports channels on cable TV. The company will have a 30-day grace period to resolve the debt or could choose Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

"The company intends to use the 30-day grace period to continue progressing its ongoing discussions with creditors and other key stakeholders regarding potential strategic alternatives and deleveraging transactions to best position Diamond Sports Group for the future," Diamond Sports Group said.

Diamond Sports Group, under its Bally Sports banner, holds the broadcast rights for 14 MLB teams. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred previously said that the league, which holds digital broadcast rights for 13 of those 14 teams, could step in if necessary. Manfred also said that Bally Sports accounts for about $1 billion in MLB revenue each season.

Diamond Sports Group's Bally Sports networks also hold rights to 16 NBA teams and a dozen NHL teams.

Sinclair closed on a $10.6 billion deal to buy 21 Fox regional sports networks in 2019 from the Walt Disney Co. Sources told the Hollywood Reporter and Bloomberg that the Diamond Sports Group has $8.6 billion in outstanding debt.