Comcast and Diamond Sports Group Carriage Talks Devolve Into Blackout

After a spree of odds-defying dealmaking that resulted in what had seemed be an unlikely but imminent emergence from bankruptcy restructuring, Diamond Sports Group's luck may have run out. 

Comcast released a statement early evening Tuesday indicating negotiations on a new long-term carriage agreement have not been successful so far, and that it expects the Bally Sports regional channels Diamond manages to come off its video platform when the calendar month of April — and its current deal with Diamond — ends at midnight. Networks and teams affected by the outage in Xfinity markets include the Atlanta Braves on Bally Sports South, the Minnesota Twins on Bally Sports North and the Detroit Tigers on Bally Sports Detroit.

Also read: Diamond Sports Group Announces Another Big Pay TV Renewal … But No, It's Not with Comcast

“We have been very flexible with Diamond Sports Group for months as they work through their bankruptcy proceedings, providing them with an extension on the Bally Sports Regional Networks last fall and a unilateral right to extend the term for another year, which they opted to not exercise,“ Comcast said. ”We’d like to continue carrying their networks, but they have declined multiple offers and now we no longer have the rights to this programming. We will proactively credit our customers for the costs associated with them — most will automatically receive $8 to 10 per month in credits.”

Diamond responded with this statement: “It’s disappointing that Comcast rejected a proposed extension that would have kept our channels on the air and that Comcast indicated that it intends to pull the signals, preventing fans from watching their favorite local teams. Comcast has refused to engage in substantive discussions despite Diamond offering terms similar to those reached with much larger distributors of ours. We are a fans-first company and will continue to seek an agreement with Comcast to restore broadcasts, and at this critical juncture for Diamond, we hope that Comcast will recognize the important and mutually beneficial role Diamond and RSNs play in the media ecosystem. In the meantime, fans in Comcast regions can access our networks through subscriptions to Fubo, DirecTV or DirecTV Stream, or through our direct-to-consumer offering, Bally Sports Plus, for the teams for which Diamond retains DTC rights.”

Also Read: Everything You Need To Know About the Bally Sports Bankruptcy

According to CableTV.com, 13 of the remaining 17 Bally Sports channels are listed as being carried in Comcast Xfinity-branded "Popular" tier -- the company's most basic pay TV plan. Comcast has, of late, negotiated deals with RSNs that have moved local sports channels to its more expensive "Ultimate" bundle. 

Renewing its pay TV contracts is a core component of Diamond’s effort to emerge from a 15-month restructuring process that began in March of last year. In order to approve its restructuring plan — a gambit that could happen as soon as June 18 — Diamond’s creditors and league partners need to see that its core distribution capabilities are intact. 

Things had been going well: Diamond announced a carriage renewal for the Bally Sports channels with Charter earlier this month, and new deals with DirecTV and Cox Communications this week. 

Comcast and Diamond had already agreed to a temporary extension last fall. 

And for its part, Comcast — which reported the loss of 487,000 video customers in the first quarter — has been taking a tougher stance lately in negotiating carriage for regional sports networks, relegating them to a pricier tier or icing them out altogether.

Is this just a bump in the road from which Diamond can quickly recover?

Not to get hyperbolic or anything, but at least one TMT-focused equity analyst is signaling the end times for the RSN business.