Wanna Bet? Texas Rangers TV Carrier May Get New Name

If Diamond Sports Group can emerge from bankruptcy with its RSNs intact, the network may have a new name.

Feb 28, 2023; Dallas, Texas, USA; A view of the Bally Sports logo and NBA basketballs during warmups before the game between the Dallas Mavericks and the Indiana Pacers the American Airlines Center. / Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

Diamond Sports Group revealed on Wednesday during a Chapter 11 bankruptcy hearing that it is nearing a deal with a new naming rights sponsor for its regional sports network.

Currently called Bally Sports, which includes the Bally Sports Southwest channel that carries Texas Rangers games, DSG may enter into a deal with sports online gambling site FanDuel as part of its emergence from bankruptcy.

Sportico reported that DSG’s counsel revealed the potential deal during the hearing but didn’t name the company. Bloomberg reported on Monday that DSG and FanDuel were close to a deal.

DSG entered into the naming rights deal with Bally, but as part of the bankruptcy agreement it can sever the deal with Bally after this season.

The agreement is not final. DSG’s counsel told the court that it would file the approval motion for the deal in the next several weeks. The court must approve the deal and is still in the process of approving DSG’s final bankruptcy.

It marks another chapter in the winding case that has been in bankruptcy court for more than a year and involves the broadcast rights of 18 MLB, NBA and NHL teams.

Before the Rangers’ season began, it appeared there was a deal in place for DSG to bow out of owning the Bally networks after the 2024 baseball season and return broadcast rights to the 12 MLB teams that currently have deals.

That would have allowed the Rangers to get their full broadcast rights back for 2025.

Amazon stepped up as an investor in DSG before that deal was finalized for a reported $115 million, an investment that may allow DSG to remain in business.

Amazon also broadcasts the NFL’s Thursday night package and could secure part of the NBA broadcast rights in current negotiations.

Meanwhile, DSG and Comcast reached an impasse on a broadcast contract last month and a substantial portion of its 13.6 million subscriber base is locked out of watching local broadcasts.  DSG has contracts with Charter, DirecTV and Cox.

MLB lawyers have previously described its partnership with DSG as “undependable.”

---

You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard

Catch up with Inside the Rangers on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and Instagram.