Have RSNs Reached The End of The Road?
The news was expected, but to actually hear it is an acknowledgment of the state of the cable television industry.
Bally Sports’ parent company Diamond Sports Group, revealed that it missed an interest payment due to a group of bondholders, which means that they are headed toward a bankruptcy filing.
Bally Sports was, at one point, secure in its position as a sports cable channel unit. It was a regional sports network, RSN, powerhouse back when it was part of the Fox Sports family.
The RSNs were spun off from Fox Sports when Disney acquired the entertainment units of 21st Century Fox, but the Justice Department forced a divesture. As a result, ESPN could not acquire the RSNs, which put them in the hands of the Sinclair Broadcast Group and its subsidiary Diamond Sports in 2019.
The 19 RSNs officially became Bally Sports in 2020 when the casino operator Bally’s Corporation acquired the naming rights in a 10-year deal.
Bally Sports has an arsenal of sports content as it has the rights to MLB, NBA, and NHL teams, as well as rights to college football, basketball, and baseball packages. Still, unfortunately for it, it’s the victim of the success of these leagues mentioned earlier.
With new media rights deals, the leagues demand more money from their broadcast partners, and as a result, these charges are passed on to pay TV distributors, who in turn pass those charges to consumers.
Consumers no longer see the value of these expensive pay-TV packages and have been cutting the chord at a record rate. Pay-TV distributors, in an effort to keep these subscribers, have moved these RSNs to much more expensive tiers, which means their availability is not as widespread as before and is reserved for only those interested in paying for sports.
These moves have reduced the earning potential of the RSNs as their subscriber base has shrunk considerably, which also means their advertising potential becomes limited, shrinks their operating income, and makes it harder to pay their debtors.
Bally Sports has $585 million in cash on hand, so its future is looking extremely shaky. What happens to the leagues should Bally Sports fail?
One avenue they could go is the route the MLS took with its broadcast package. They took it to AppleTV Plus, embracing the power and exclusivity that comes with it.
Bally Sports did have a streaming option in Bally Sports Plus, but with a monthly charge of $20, there were not that many takers.
Aligning with a streaming service may save the leagues, but it may signal the end of the road for RSNs as we know them.
(CNBC, Sports Media Watch, Front Office Sports)
RECAP
The Brand Is Strong For Fox News
The latest court filing from Dominion Voting System's $1.6 billion lawsuit has brought to light the most obvious thing: Fox News cares more about protecting its brand and what viewers think its brand should be than actual news reporting. The filing revealed the internal chaos that was taking place at the network during election night in 2020. Fox News Media CEO, Suzanne Scott, was upset with the network calling Arizona early, a decision spearheaded by its former DC boss Bill Sammon. In a conversation with the network’s communication chief Irena Briganti, Scott called that move “astonishing” and said his job was “to protect the brand.” They were other instances where the focus on the brand was top of mind amongst its primetime anchors and senior executives who saw it as a business decision to protect what Fox News is about. (TVNewser)
CNN’s Don Lemon In Hot Water Over His Sexist Comment
Chris Licht’s reinvention of CNN is proving to be more difficult than he had anticipated. The chairman and president of the news network was forced to turn his attention to his morning show, CNN This Morning, after Don Lemon made sexist remarks regarding when a woman is in her prime. Lemon double-downed on this assertion during the same broadcast, much to the annoyance of his co-hosts, Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins, but was later forced to apologize after enormous backlash. Lemon apologized online and during CNN’s editorial call on Friday morning. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone. I did not mean to offend anyone,” he said. As for Licht, he said Lemon’s comments were “unacceptable and unfair to his co-hosts and ultimately a huge distraction to the great work of this organization.” Licht, who supposedly has a magic touch in producing morning shows, must now devote more time to seeing this show succeed, as it will surely reflect on his performance as CNN’s chief. (New York Times, The Daily Beast)
NBC Sports Wants Back In With The NBA
Its theme song is one of the catchiest and easily recognizable, but NBC Sports has not used it in years as it hasn’t held the rights to this sport. All that might change as NBC Sports now wants back in with the NBA, and its famous theme song may once again be in rotation. The sports network has not had the NBA rights for more than 20 years but is ready to throw its hat in the ring ready to battle with existing right holders Warner Bros. Discovery Sports, ESPN, and newcomers in AppleTV Plus and Amazon. NBC Sports’ interest may stem from the fact that its parent company, NBCUniversal, wants to create additional value for its Peacock streaming service, and adding another marquee sports league to its existing arsenal could be seen as one way of doing just that. NBC Sports is looking for a package that will let them air some regular games exclusively on Peacock, with the playoffs airing on its broadcast network NBC. All this cannot happen until WBD Sports and ESPN’s exclusive negotiation windows expire in April 2024, or they decide to waive them before that. (TechRadar)
QUICK RECAP
Legendary MLB broadcaster Tim McCarver passes away at 81. (New York Post)
Former NBC News spokesperson Andrew Freeman passes away. (TVNewser)
Shani George named vice president of communications at CNN. (Charlotte Klein/Twitter)
Former New York Yankee player Derek Jeter joins Fox Sports’ MLB coverage. (Fox Sports Press Pass)
Yamiche Alcindor to depart from PBS’ Washington Week. (Variety)
CNN's The Lead with Jake Tapper's executive producer Frederico Quadrani let go due to an inappropriate relationship. (Page Six)
Super Bowl LVII: The highest rated in three years. (Sports Media Watch)
Super Bowl LVII: Super Bowl (113 million viewers) and the halftime show (118 million viewers) shine bright for Fox Sports. (Fox Sports Press Pass)
Super Bowl LVII: The NFL is still in love with its own coverage. (The Guardian)
Super Bowl LVII: The reviews are in Fox Sports’ Kevin Burkhardt, and Greg Olsen soared. (Awful Announcing)
Super Bowl LVII: The reviews are in Fox Sports’ Kevin Burkhardt, and Greg Olsen soared. (Sports Illustrated)
Super Bowl LVII: The reviews are in Fox Sports’ Kevin Burkhardt, and Greg Olsen soared. (New York Post)
Super Bowl LVII: Fox Sports’ streaming app had minimal latency delay during the big game. (The Streamable)
Super Bowl LVII: Fox Sports debuts new graphics package and score bug. (Awful Announcing)
Super Bowl LVII: Fox News’ Harris Faulkner on her big game experience. (TVNewser)
Super Bowl LVII: Former ESPN President, John Skipper, proposes that the big game could be a PPV event. (Mediaite)
Profile: MSNBC's Chris Jansing on showcasing her network’s hard-news roots. (Variety)
Profile: CNN's Wolf Blitzer on his working relationship with The Situation Room's executive producer Emily Atkinson. (TVNewser)
Profile: MSNBC's Jonathan Capehart on his show expanding to Saturdays and Sundays. (Washingtonian)
Profile: MSNBC's Ali Velshi on his move back to weekdays. (TVNewser)
Profile: Ari Melber is slowly becoming the new face of MSNBC. (Mediaite)
Paramount Plus gets to 56 million subscribers and announces a price hike as it integrates with Showtime. (Fierce Video)
XFL on ESPN debuts new graphics package and other improvements. (Awful Announcing)
CNN's primetime to have CNN Primetime. (Variety)
PGA Tour, NHL, NFL, UFC, NASCAR, and PTI ratings round-up. (Sports Media Watch)
NBC News’ Today Show introduces a new 7:30 am set-up. (NewscastStudio)
During the virtual town hall, CBS News’ Neeraj Khemlani doesn’t rule out the possibility of layoffs. (New York Post)
XFL Today, a weekly show, will air on ESPN's digital platforms (social media, YouTube, and the ESPN app). (Awful Announcing)
What is Disney going to do about its Hulu streaming service? (Vulture)
AppleTV Plus announces new MLB broadcast team. (Awful Announcing)
As streaming cools off, more companies lay off staff. (Los Angeles Times)
Charges dropped against NewsNation's Evan Lambert. (TVNewser)
Netflix goes in on sports documentaries. (New York Times)
NBC Sports extends Tour de France rights till 2029. (NBC Sports Group Press Box)
DirecTV pushes back against Newsmax's accusations. (NextTV)
Chris Cuomo’s show is not making waves at NewsNation. (The Washington Post)
Showtime makes changes to its executive ranks as it gets ready to be integrated into Paramount Plus. (The Hollywood Reporter)
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A MarkHenry Media LLC publication - Issue #113 - 2023