MLB to take over Diamondbacks broadcasts after termination of Diamond Sports deal

As initially reported by Anthony Crupi for Sportico, this was expected as the two sides were unable to come to an agreement over a reduced rights fee for Diamond Sports to continue broadcasting games on the regional sports network. On June 29, both sides postponed a bankruptcy hearing to continue negotiating a deal to keep games on the air, which clearly never game to be. Judge Christopher Lopez, who has been presiding over Diamond Sports' bankruptcy proceedings, was expected to approve the dissolution of the contract, which means that local broadcasting rights have been reverted back to Major League Baseball.

In Crupi's report, he states that DSG's deal with the team was one of its more expensive, owing the D'Backs $61.2 million in 2023 alone. It was a carryover from when Fox Sports served as the team's regional broadcaster and would have ended in 2035.

MLB will begin producing Diamondbacks broadcasts, starting with the first game of their road series against the Atlanta Braves. MLB has a similar arrangement with the division rival San Diego Padres, who had a similar impasse with DSG back in May. On the league's website, executives lamented Diamond Sports' inability to make a deal that would have kept Diamondbacks' games on Bally Sports:

“As Major League Baseball has proven with the Padres, we’re ready to produce and distribute games to fans, including Diamondbacks games starting today,” said Noah Garden, MLB Chief Revenue Officer.  “While we’re disappointed that Diamond Sports Group failed to live up to their contractual agreement with another Club, we are taking this opportunity to reimagine the distribution model, remove blackouts on local games, improve the telecast, and expand the reach of Diamondbacks games by 4.7 million homes.”

DSG's Bally Sports Arizona now only has broadcasting rights to Arizona Coyotes games after the Phoenix Suns and Mercury were allowed to complete a deal with local broadcaster Gray Broadcasting to show games on over-the-air free television. With the NHL in its offseason, Bally Sports Arizona has essentially (but not literally) gone dark until the preseason begins in September. However, it's hard to envision the NHL allowing the Coyotes to remain on the channel after the NBA, WNBA and MLB have bailed.

Diamond Sports Group filed for bankruptcy in March in hopes of either lowering rights payments to its creditors - multiple teams in MLB, the NBA, WNBA and NHL - or terminating some agreements it felt were too expensive in light of how cord-cutting has roiled cable and satellite operators over the years. It blames MLB for not granting the media company the streaming rights that would have enhanced its direct-to-consumer package and ideally offset losses in the linear realm.