The bankruptcy court proceedings have been heard around the world. The concerns of Diamond Sports Group, formerly a subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcasting and owner of several regional sports networks known as Bally Sports Network, may finally be over. A huge cash influx from Sinclair ($495 million to settle the lawsuits) plus an additional investment from Amazon ($115 million for a 15% stake) will tie up the bow and — once approved by a federal judge — will end its proceedings in Texas. The move came as a surprise to MLB, aborting their now indefinitely postponed negotiations for a one-year deal, while keeping the door open for the Twins to return with an additional broadcast spot.
As Jon Bones suggested, such an outcome could give the Twins what they want with the option of not using cable, as well as an influx of cash to add to the payroll. But should the Twins want the trade? There are several reasons to consider how this new dynamic will impact both the Twins and MLB's plans to adapt to the future of streaming.
Firstly, a return to Bally will now likely require a multi-year deal, rather than a single year as originally expected. Although legal experts are still weighing the details, precedents and ramifications, the deals the NHL and NBA struck for one season appear to have been scrapped in favor of their previous arrangements. While both leagues will likely return to talks with Diamond, that certainly limits their plans for the 2024-25 season.
The same goes for Rob Manfred, who has been taking steps to promote MLB cable rights back to the league and increase leverage for future negotiations with a streaming operator or perhaps their own service. Before this week's announcement, MLB had already rejected Amazon's plan due to its multi-year structure, in favor of a one-year deal with Diamond. That would have given Manfred more than half the league's contracts to work with and build her own network starting in 2025. Instead, the current long-term contracts Paley holds won't expire, and the only way forward is to secure either one. rights to each franchise one by one or pay a large fee.
Where are the twins then? They returned to the negotiating room alongside the Cleveland Guardians and Texas Rangers. According to Diamond's lawyers, the company will allow the three teams to walk or engage them in a long-term discussion. It appears any one-year deals may be out to pasture.
But Amazon fixes everything, right? The biggest direct implication in all of this is that by circumventing a deal with MLB, Amazon acquired the digital rights to five teams that had already sold those rights to Bally's, with plans to add them (in addition to the NBA and NHL) to Premier in the future. Amazon believes it can transform Bally's from a $49 million-a-year streaming company into a $700 million company.
The Twins — who are working under a Feb. 1 deadline — could follow that path. After all, every cable cutter in Minnesota can access the team for the cost of a Prime subscription.
But does Amazon actually fix the problems presented by the cable? Prime Video costs $8.99 per month right now (although Amazon often hides this price, hoping you'll pay for full Prime services at $14.99 per month). Consumers only had to add $3 per month to avoid ads. Diamond and Amazon said that the prices of the sports package will be announced at a later time. There is nothing preventing those prices from rising. The reason Amazon has been the target of so much scrutiny is that its monopolistic practices eliminated competition by lowering prices, before raising them, and there is every reason to believe its investment in Bally's will follow the same scenario. Amazon may still offer more stuff, but as many have suggested, that may end up in the same place as a cable bundle, with the same costs associated with it. Cable initially brought freedom of choice, but it ended up becoming a prison. If Twins viewership becomes tied to Amazon, think about the leverage the company would have, and how many viewers it could turn away in the process.
The other question is quality. Bally has proven her ability to provide reasonably solid broadcasting during her short tenure in Minnesota (thanks in part to the amazing crew at IATSE Local 13, which has remained largely intact during the transition from Fox Sports). But what about Amazon? Vikings fans may remember some issues from this season.
This brings us to other developments. After months of back-and-forth, radio and digital audio giant Audacy has filed for restructured bankruptcy along with its creditors. Audacy not only owns the Twins' radio partner WCCO, but also owns the digital audio rights to all 30 teams through the MLB At Bat app. This app, in particular, has been one of the worst digital nightmares imaginable for fans across the league.
The Philadelphia-based giant, which was formerly known as Entercom and rebranded as Audacy in 2021, became the second-largest radio station ownership group in 2017. In the years since, it has focused on growing its podcast and gambling networks. Most of these decisions came at the cost of declining content, despite strong revenues at WCCO and radio's surprising resilience while the podcast market essentially became a bubble (with the exception of Gleeman & The Geek).
At least for now, Twins fans shouldn't expect any changes to WCCO's radio broadcasts of games. An Audacy spokesperson noted that their various businesses should not have any operational impact from the restructuring. For their part, MLB could not be reached for comment.
But the audacity is a cautionary tale: When a digital company makes baseball a priority, it doesn't automatically lead to the enjoyable customer experience we might tend to expect. It may also be a sign of what Amazon will do. Amazon has not established itself as a welcome partner in the digital streaming space. And while it may not always be best to combine, MLB itself knows best how to give fans what they want. After all, the league built MLB.TV, one of the best streaming services available — one that has shown very few issues for fans (and technology so good that Disney eventually bought it out of the league).
The Twins are running out of options and running out of time. Diamond and Amazon have maximum leverage against a team desperate for money. But signing a deal with Diamond today could end up being a deal with the devil tomorrow. The Twins have been waiting since moving from Fox Sports to Bally to escape their clutches. Now it looks like they are about to get back together with their ex. Let's hope we don't regret it.
