ARLINGTON, Texas — Major League Baseball is prepared to spend another year broadcasting games for at least two teams—including the National League pennant-winning Diamondbacks—amid uncertainty about the regional sports network model, commissioner Rob Manfred said on Friday before Game 1 of the World Series.
Diamond Sports Group, a subsidiary of Sinclair that owns Bally Regional Sports Network and until recently held the rights to air the games of 14 MLB teams, went into Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in March. In May, Diamond lost the rights to the Padres after failing to pay them their rights fees, and MLB took over broadcasts. It charged fans $19.99 per month—or $74.99 for the rest of the regular season—to watch games on MLB.com and also aired games on cable through additional channels. In July, MLB went through the same process with the Diamondbacks, whom Diamond had also failed to pay.
“We will be in a position that we can handle up to 16 teams next year,” Manfred said. He added that despite his unhappiness with the process, he believes that the league’s future is in streaming.
