At some point, we will all be headed back to TV’s with those silly “over the air antennas” as if they are something special. They are just rabbit ears in plastic packaging. 
This week the owner Bally Sports Regional Sports Network (RSN), Diamond Sports Group (DSG), failed to make a US$140M interest payment on its debt.
The DSG decision to skip the payment spells more than just a passing interest in the business of sport.
A total of 19 RSN are under the DSG/Bally Sports umbrella.
The missed payment triggers a 30-day grace period to make the payment right. It also portends bankruptcy for the RSN.
A press release from DSG included the following: “DSG expects business to continue as usual, and it will keep broadcasting quality live sports productions for fans, while addressing it’s balance sheet.”
That will be a neat trick to pull off given that the DSG is a subsidiary of the parent corporation, Sinclair Broadcasting Group which carriers an operating debt of nearly US$9B.
This past weekend Pro Hockey News covered the excreted missed payment by DSG, but with the Wednesday deadline passed, the future of RSN is in question. And with it, are are the futures of Major League Baseball, National Hockey League, National Basketball Association, and countless minor leagues and their franchises.
In the NHL, it has been reported that an emergency meeting of all 32 NHL franchises and commissioner Gary Bettman was held to discuss the bankruptcy and its impact o the league.
Los Angeles, Anaheim, Arizona, Dallas, St Louis, Minnesota, Detroit, Columbus, Nashville, Carolina, Tampa, and Florida are all seemingly on the block for losing television coverage.
On Wednesday, the New York Rangers, playing in Vancouver, were without their Madison Square Garden television broadcast team, who remained in New York to cover the game. The implications for local, regional, and national broadcasting are looking more ominous.
Now, Sportico is reporting that the Warner Brother-Discovery (WBD) RSN has failed to meet its full obligation to three MLB franchises. The AT&T-based RSN in Denver, Pittsburgh, and Houston not quite the agreed amount.
While MLB has suggested it is prepared to take over broadcast functions for any franchise that loses television coverage, Including the Cleveland Guardians, the rest of major and minor sports leagues and franchises are on a cliff. And there is no net or deep water at the bottom.
Debt held by the RSN ownership entities is at the heart of the looming crisis.
The WBD group carries an estimated debt load of nearly US$48B.
Interestingly, AT&T is reported to have shopped its RSN asset four years, according to Sportico. The sale fizzled, and was discontinued when offers were, let’s say shy of the ask.
Brendan Coffey reported on Wednesday that Sinclair, the owner of Bally/DSG RSN, paid JPMorgan Chase $190.2 million dollars last Friday, the payment cashed out the investment bank from its preferred equity position in Sinclair. 
The MLB spring season gets started in mid March, about the time the Bally Sports/DSG bankruptcy reorganization would be due, as well, as its payment obligation. If MLB is to be believed, the season would go off without much of a hiccup, but long term, the loss of revenue will provide a pinch to the league and its teams.
Pro Hockey News will stay with this story as it develops.
Note: Continued thanks to our colleague Chris Riley for making us aware of the issues.
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