Sports are in high demand, with the NFL season at its prime and the NBA season kicking off. This means streaming platforms are fighting for broadcasting rights and land commercial agreements with sports networks to grow their viewership.
No one is more passionate than committed sports fans and streaming platforms know it. The streamers have capitalized on this fanbase by charging customers an extra fee to watch their favorite teams on the field.
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Diamond Sports Group is a media and entertainment company known as the largest regional sports network operator in the U.S.
Being such a big sports network operator, it may come as a surprise that the company has been struggling financially. However, with the high demand for sports, this company may soon return to profitable numbers as it just closed a significant deal with a huge streamer.
Diamond Sports filed for Chapter 11 and just exited bankruptcy
In March 2023, Diamond Sports Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as it had accumulated $8.67 billion in debt.
At the time of the filing, Diamond Sports owned 19 networks under Bally Sports and had the rights to 42 professional-level sports teams, including 14 MLB, 16 NBA, and 12 NHL teams.
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After filing, the company started a reorganization plan, now operating under its subsidiary, FanDuel Sports Network, formerly Fox Sports Network. This change reduced its coverage to 16 networks and 27 sports franchises, including six MLB, 13 NBA, and eight NHL.
This restructuring plan to exit bankruptcy was presented on Thursday and approved 20 months after the company's Chapter 11 filing. The company successfully reduced its debt to $200 million.
Amazon closes a multi-year streaming deal with Diamond Sports
On Wednesday, Diamond Sports announced it had reached a multi-year commercial agreement with Amazon (AMZN) to stream its 16 regional sports networks on Amazon's Prime Video platform in 31 states.
The networks will be available as an add-on subscription to Prime video members who live within each team’s designated geographic area.
“Our partnerships with Prime Video and FanDuel combine with our agreements with team, league and distribution partners to support a transformative reorganization of our business, and a leading linear and digital offering that will continue driving long-term value and enhanced experiences for our partners and fans,” said Diamond Spots CEO David Preschlack.
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The agreement is not exclusive to Amazon, which allows Diamond Sports to pursue more streaming deals and continue its pre-established partnerships.
Although the financial terms of the agreement were not publicly disclosed, Amazon will soon reveal further details on the price of this new add-on.
However, this isn't Amazon's first investment in Diamond Sports. In January, it reached a deal with the company to stream local games during the MBL season.
Nonetheless, this new multi-year agreement expands its partnership with the sports network and covers even more terrain in its sports offerings.
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