A day after reaching an agreement in principle with DirecTV on a new longterm pay TV carriage deal, bankrupt regional-sports-network distributor Diamond Sports Group has announced another big carriage renewal.
But it's not with Comcast, whose incumbent deal with Diamond expired Tuesday. (Update, that negotiation seemed to go south after this post was initially filed.)
Diamond instead announced that it has come to terms with Cox Communications, the privately held, Atlanta-based cable company that's believed to have around 2.6-2.9 million remaining video customers left.
Also Read: Everything You Need To Know About the Bally Sports Bankruptcy
“This multi-year agreement with Cox is a significant milestone for Diamond’s go-forward business as we continue to execute the steps necessary to complete our reorganization. We are pleased to continue partnering with Cox to provide high quality local sports broadcasts to passionate fans," said David Preschlack, CEO of Diamond, in a statement.
Suzanne Fenwick, Senior Vice President, content acquisition for Cox Communications, added: “We are delighted that we could find a reasonable path to extend our partnership with Diamond Sports. We look forward to continuing to deliver regional sports content to our subscribers.”
You can read the full press release here.
Diamond, a subsidiary set up by Sinclair Broadcast Group to operate the Ball Sports local cable channels, could emerge from a lengthy bankruptcy process at a hearing set for June 18.
In order for that to happen, its creditors and league partners will need to see that it's pay TV contracts are all renewed.
In addition to DirecTV, Diamond announced that it had re-upped with Charter earlier this month.
With Comcast shifting regional sports networks to more expensive tiers recently, negotiations probably aren't going to be easy.
Perhaps a good omen for Diamond's Comcast negotiations: Cox is renewing Bally Sports channels on its Contour TV Preferred and Contour TV Ultimate platforms. Both video systems rest on technology platforms developed and maintained by Comcast.
