The Arizona Diamondbacks could be looking for a new home on television soon. Diamond Sports, which owns Bally Sports, the network that broadcasts Diamondbacks’ games, asked a judge to reject its television contract with the team in an emergency motion Thursday, according to Front Office Sports.
Diamond Sports filed for bankruptcy in March, and is allegedly more than $8 billion in debt. In June, the company was ordered to pay out its television contracts with the Diamondbacks, Cleveland Guardians, Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers in full.
Diamond Sports filed an emergency motion Thursday asking a judge to reject that contract. The company was reportedly supposed to make its next payment to the Diamondbacks on July 1.
The move signals that Diamond Sports will no longer honor the television deal with the Diamondbacks, putting game broadcasts in limbo. It’s not the first time Diamond Sports has abandoned an MLB team in the middle of a deal. The company did the same thing with the San Diego Padres. MLB took over the production and distribution of Padres games in May after Diamond Sports failed to make a payment to the league.
The Diamondbacks could be in for the same treatment. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in February the league would take over team broadcasts if Diamond Sports failed to deliver on its contract. At one point in early 2023, Diamond Sports owned the broadcast rights of 14 MLB teams.
The news comes with the Diamondbacks in the midst of their finest season since 2019. Entering Thursday, the team is 45-30 and sits in first place in the National League West. The team last posted a winning record in 2019, when it went 85-77 and finished in second place. The Diamondbacks last won their division in 2011.