The Texas Rangers will only lose about $11 million of the local television revenue they were expecting from their 2024 contract with Diamond Sports Group, which owns the Bally regional networks. Per USA Today, the final agreement means the Rangers will receive $100 million in 2024, which is the final year of the deal. The Rangers were set to receive $111 million as part of the 20-year, $3 billion deal they signed with Fox Sports Southwest in 2010. DSG bought the Fox regional networks and inherited the contract in 2019. The Rangers were one of three MLB teams that finally saw their 2024 contracts settled through DSG’s bankruptcy proceedings earlier this month. The other two teams were the Cleveland Guardians and the Minnesota Twins.
The rest of DSG’s clients were settled in January. The Rangers’ deal took the longest because they had a lot to lose if DSG didn’t pay up. What happens to the Rangers’ local rights and the rights of the rest of the teams broadcast by DSG and Bally past 2024 is unclear. DSG was expected to get out of the regional sports game entirely after 2024. Now, Amazon is expected to invest in the space, but only after DSG is able to settle its bankruptcy.
Amazon invested $115 million in DSG in January and could potentially form a new company to manage DSG’s assets. Amazon, which broadcasts the NFL’s Thursday night package, is looking for a larger foothold in live sports broadcasting. MLB has made it clear that it wants to do something with the local teams that are now without a local TV contract. Commissioner Rob Manfred recently announced that he wants to provide a direct-to-consumer option for local broadcasts in 2025. MLB is also assisting at least three teams with local broadcasts this season — San Diego, Arizona and Colorado.
