Diamond Sports Group will air NBA and NHL games, including the Blues, for the 2024-25 season under a plan approved in court Tuesday.
Last month, Diamond filed documents outlining deals that will ensure fans can watch their local teams on television, but the plans weren鈥檛 solidified until Tuesday during a hearing in a Houston federal bankruptcy court.
Diamond 鈥 the parent company of Cardinals and Blues regional telecaster Bally Sports Midwest 鈥 has been in bankruptcy proceedings since March 2023, a result of dwindling cable viewership over the years. Currently, the broadcaster is working on finalizing its reorganization plan to emerge from bankruptcy.
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The newly approved NBA and NHL plans offer certainty to the leagues and their fans that there will be coverage of local teams throughout the entire season, even if Diamond does not emerge from bankruptcy.
Judge Christopher Lopez also approved the rejection of Diamond鈥檚 agreements with the New Orleans Pelicans and Dallas Mavericks, which were set to expire after the 2026-27 and 2029-30 seasons, respectively.
Diamond attorney Joe Graham called that move a 鈥渃ritical building block鈥 to Diamond鈥檚 amended plan. He said the company plans to schedule a confirmation hearing in early or mid-November, which could put Diamond on the path to emerge from bankruptcy before Nov. 30, in time for the 2025 MLB season.
鈥淒iamond also believes that providing this adequate assurance is a sound exercise of business judgment,鈥 Graham told the judge Tuesday. The deal gives the NBA and NHL certainty for the upcoming season, while the bankruptcy case proceeds.
Diamond attorney Andrew Goldman said that these NHL and NBA deals don鈥檛 negatively affect the company鈥檚 dealings with the MLB.
But, during the hearing, MLB lawyer James Bromley raised concerns over what he said is a lack of transparency regarding Diamond鈥檚 deals. He said Diamond鈥檚 plan to appear in court this fall is not set in stone and Diamond shouldn鈥檛 wait until next year to reach a baseball deal.
鈥淲e have to keep in mind that what is being described to the court is a Band-Aid at this point,鈥 Bromley said. 鈥淲e are talking about complete uncertainty with respect to 2025鈥
View life in St. 不良研究所导航网址 through the Post-Dispatch photographers' lenses. Edited by Jenna Jones.
