Quote:
Originally Posted by WhawhaWhat
Per Forbes, the Royals TV deal is 3rd worst in the league only beating Minnesota and Milwaukee. Average TV viewership is 20th in the league. The Royals have an operating income of 32.8 million which is ranked 14th.
They list the Mets as dead last in operating income at -$138.5 mil!
|
You haven't been following the news? The counterparty (Bally Sports, it appears) of the TV deals for 14 teams went bankrupt, so the terms each team had under their deals have been rendered N/A. So really the Royals are now tied with 13 other teams for worst TV deal, because they don't
have one. Or at least it's on the verge of being that way.
Here's your list of teams that really don't have a TV contract anymore:
Quote:
|
Bally Sports broadcasts the Arizona Diamondbacks, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Guardians, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, San Diego Padres, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers.
|
It's a wild and developing story.
Quote:
|
"Despite Diamond's economic situation, there is every expectation that they will continue televising all games they are committed to during the bankruptcy process. Major League Baseball is ready to produce and distribute games to fans in their local markets in the event that Diamond or any other regional sports network is unable to do so as required by their agreement with our Clubs."
|
MLB is making steady plans to do it themselves though, so the 'we expect it to be like normal' may just be legal posturing or public-facing optimism or some such spin. Check this out:
Quote:
|
The details are still a bit hazy, but the league recently started a local media division, fronted by Billy Chambers, Sinclair's former chief financial officer. The short-term plan would be to offer streaming through its MLB.TV app at a yet-to-be-determined price (it'll be cheaper than the current price to stream out-of-market games, according to a league source) and also air games on a yet-to-be-determined cable channel.
|
All excerpts from the below link. The whole thing is worth a read cause it's gonna affect the Royals and as soon as this here coming season. As the article says:
Quote:
|
A lot could happen really fast. Between now and April 30, 13 of the 14 teams under the Bally Sports umbrella are owed their rights fees, an industry source said, potentially forcing a lot of quick decisions from Diamond Sports Group and its creditors.... Skipping payments would allow said teams to break free from their contracts, as MLB commissioner Rob Manfred mentioned last month.
|
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/...ackouts-mlb-tv