Attorneys for Major League Baseball and Diamond Sports Group revealed in court this morning that DSG and the Marlins reached a new broadcasting arrangement for the 2025 season (link via Evan Drellich of the Athletic). The Marlins did not announce the deal, nor has anyone reported specifics on the rights fees.
The Fish were one of 12 teams whose local broadcasts were carried on Diamond’s Bally Sports networks this past season. Diamond announced today that it has agreed to a naming rights deal with the sports gambling company FanDuel. The Bally Sports networks will be rebranded as FanDuel Sports networks, though there’s otherwise little change for consumers.
Amidst its ongoing bankruptcy proceeding, Diamond announced in early October that it would abandon its contracts with every team aside from the Braves. Of the 11 clubs that were dropped, the Twins, Guardians, Rangers and Brewers announced they would look elsewhere. The other seven indicated they might renegotiate deals with Diamond at a diminished rate.
Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald writes that Diamond paid the Marlins around $50MM to carry games in the Miami area this past season. It’s not clear how much of a cut the Fish will take next year. Various teams have pointed to TV revenue issues as reasons for reducing player payroll. The Marlins don’t have much to cut at this point. They did virtually nothing last offseason, spending $5MM in free agency. They’re now amidst a complete rebuild and presumably aren’t going to spend more than a few million dollars this winter either.
The other six teams that remain in limbo are the Reds, Rays, Tigers, Angels, Cardinals and Royals. Diamond still needs to demonstrate to the bankruptcy court that it has a viable plan to move forward and avoid liquidation. Drellich notes that confirmation hearing is set to begin on November 14. Assuming the court approves the plan, Diamond will move forward with at least the Braves and Marlins for the ’25 season.