Diamond Sports Group (DSG) has now rebranded as Main Street Sports Group (Main Street), as the final part of the US regional sports broadcast operator’s emergence from bankruptcy.
The firm’s financial restructuring has now been completed, as per an announcement yesterday, following a lengthy process that followed DSG first declaring bankruptcy, and commencing Chapter 11 proceedings, in March 2023.
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David Preschlack, Main Street Sports’ chief executive, said: “Emerging from this process is the culmination of over 20 months of incredibly hard work to transform our business and position us to better serve passionate local fans across our markets. I am deeply grateful to everyone who made this restructuring possible – our new owners, partners, advisors, and especially our dedicated employees.
“With a stronger balance sheet, key partnerships, and supportive new owners, we are modernizing our business to thrive in a changing media landscape.”
The new financial plan was confirmed by the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas on November 14, and through the restructuring, the firm has reduced its pre-petition debt of $9 billion, to $200 million.
Main Street is now the local broadcast home for 13 NBA basketball teams, eight NHL ice hockey sides, and eight MLB baseball teams.
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By GlobalDataWhen DSG entered bankruptcy, it owned 19 networks under the Bally Sports banner and had the rights to 42 professional teams (14 MLB, 16 NBA, and 12 NHL).
The Main Street brand name was originally created in May 2019, as a vehicle through which Sinclair Broadcast Group could buy those regional sports networks (RSNs) from The Walt Disney Company.
Most recently, DSG struck a multi-year deal with the Amazon Prime Video streaming service to provide local access to its 16 RSNs.
Under the terms of the agreement, DSG’s FanDuel Sports Networks will be available via Prime Video in 31 states as an add-on subscription for customers living within each team’s region. The local RSN content will include live games and pre-and post-game programming, while Amazon will market the availability of FanDuel Sports Network content on Prime Video.
Those RSNs were rebranded in mid-October, through a naming rights deal with US sports betting firm FanDuel.
DSG and Sinclair bought the regional networks from Disney for nearly $10 billion in 2019. Disney, at that time, was required by the Department of Justice to sell the networks for its acquisition of 21st Century Fox’s film and television assets to be approved.
Over recent months, DSG has been renegotiating its various local deals with a wide range of US sports teams. October saw the firm void the contracts of the Detroit Tigers and Tampa Bay Rays MLB franchises.
Main Street has now declared itself as having emerged with “a healthy capital structure,” adding that it is “well positioned, with valuable professional team rights across MLB, the NBA, and NHL, to elevate the fan experience and drive incremental value for its team, league, and distribution partners.”
A range of funds now hold equity stakes in Main Street, including those managed by PGIM Fixed Income, Hein Park Capital Management LP, Discovery Capital Management, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP, Alta Fundamental Advisers LLC, as well as others.
