As the Diamond Sports Group bankruptcy saga reaches it conclusion, Rob Manfred says Major League Baseball is eyeing a long-term media rights plan.
\"I think the good news is that we did a pretty good job in terms of maximizing the economics for the clubs,\" Manfred said. \"We never lost a game. And we have a lot of flexibility come 2028, which was our primary focus.\"
A bankruptcy judge approved Diamond\'s reorganization plan last week, setting the country\'s largest operator of regional sports networks to emerge from bankruptcy 20 months after initially filing for Chapter 11.
Diamond moves forward with at least six teams, while MLB, at the moment, possesses the local media rights for seven teams.
The six clubs that negotiated new deals with Diamond will all have their contracts expire by 2028, when MLB\'s major national deals with ESPN, Fox and Turner are slated to end.
MLB hopes to have roughly half its teams\' broadcast rights to negotiate with companies then. The league\'s ultimate goal is to hold linear and digital rights for all 30 clubs to have available for negotiations with networks.