Bally Sports North, Diamond close to finalizing divorce with Twins

If the Twins decide to leave Bally Sports North this winter and find a new TV partner, it appears they will have plenty of company.

Diamond Sports Group, parent company of the Bally-branded regional sports network, told a federal bankruptcy judge Wednesday morning that the new plan for reorganization currently includes only one MLB team, the Atlanta Braves.

Though they hope to negotiate new contracts with the other 11 partners they once had, “they can, as of the end of the year, make other plans for the 2025 season,” said Andrew Goldman, attorney for Diamond. “For many clubs, we’ve got proposals out. We have had live discussions with those clubs. … But if they can’t reach an agreement with us, they can make other plans for the 2025 season.”

The Twins, whose long-term contract with Bally Sports expired a year ago, already had that option and the team has been investigating other television partners, including having its games produced and distributed by MLB itself. Having more teams available to join that endeavor, which currently only includes the Diamondbacks and Padres, might make it more appealing to consumers.

The question, however, is how much revenue the team can generate from streaming rights and over-the-air broadcasts. Their expired contract with Bally’s paid the Twins more than $54 million annually, the team revealed in court last year, but as consumers abandon cable and satellite TV, Bally’s is no longer able to afford such large payments.

MLB’s attorney, James Bromley, said he could not assess Diamond’s new plan because it had not been disclosed to the league until Wednesday morning. “Some of our clubs are being left out in the cold once again,” he complained.

The Bally’s brand will soon change, Goldman said in court, because the network is “on a path to getting a new naming-rights partner very soon.” The renamed regional networks will still televise their NBA and NHL partners, including the Timberwolves and Wild, under their reorganization plan, which they expect to be approved by the bankruptcy court by the end of 2024.