{"id":233476,"date":"2022-09-22T15:49:28","date_gmt":"2022-09-22T20:49:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=233476"},"modified":"2022-09-23T12:11:36","modified_gmt":"2022-09-23T17:11:36","slug":"ballys-rsns-could-be-acquired-by-three-sports-leagues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ballys-rsns-could-be-acquired-by-three-sports-leagues\/","title":{"rendered":"Bally\u2019s Sports Networks Could Be Sold to Pro Leagues"},"content":{"rendered":"

Major League Baseball (MLB), the NBA, and the NHL are said to be readying a joint bid for the regional sports networks (RSNs) bearing the Bally\u2019s (NYSE:BALY) name.<\/p>\n

\"Bally's
A map of Bally’s RSNs. MLB, the NBA and the NHL could buy the networks. (Image: Wall Street Journal<\/em>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Rhode Island-based casino operator does not own the RSNs. Rather, those assets are controlled by Sinclair Broadcast Group (NASDAQ:SBGI). In November 2020, Bally\u2019s announced it would pay $85 million<\/a> over 10 years to put its name on the RSNs, marking one of the splashiest media\/sports wagering accords at the time.<\/p>\n

Nearly two years later, the networks remain in a financially precarious situation. While that has nothing to do with Bally\u2019s, the pro sports leagues see an opportunity to acquire what could be valuable assets at discounted prices.<\/p>\n

\n

Sinclair acquired the 21 RSNs from Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) for $10.6 billion in 2019 as part of the latter\u2019s efforts to divest some assets to gain regulatory approval for its acquisition of 21st<\/sup> Century Fox. At the time, the networks, which bear the Fox Sports name, were reportedly valued at at least around $16 billion.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

But soon after the buyout, cable TV giants, including Charter Communications and Comcast, began slashing the fees they were willing to pay for sports amid rampant cord cutting. Meanwhile, satellite TV provider Dish dropped out of regional sports networks altogether, sparking losses for the so-called RSNs that haven\u2019t let up since, The New York Post<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n

Diamond Sports, which runs the RSNs, is in a financial bind, and creditors could compel the firm to sell the networks to raise capital.<\/p>\n

Leagues Could Prop Up Bally\u2019s RSNs<\/h2>\n

The Post<\/em> notes a buyout of Diamond Sports could command as much as $3 billion and that Sinclair is willing to fork over equity in the RSN operator to creditors, which would pave the way for a sale to the aforementioned trio of leagues.<\/p>\n

The RSNs have broadcasting rights for 12 NHL, 16 MLB, and 17 NBA franchises, so there\u2019s clear reasoning for the leagues to be interested in a deal. How Bally\u2019s fits into the equation remains to be seen.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Financially, the casino operator is on the hook for the $85 million licensing fee, and Sinclair can own up to 30% of the gaming company\u2019s equity if certain objectives are met. It\u2019s unclear if that part of the agreement will remain in place if the RSNs are sold.<\/p>\n

It also remains to be seen if the leagues will maintain the relationship with Bally\u2019s,<\/a> or pursue a more lucrative branding agreement.<\/p>\n

RSNs Sports Betting Reach not Impressive<\/h2>\n

In theory, Bally\u2019s attaching its name to the RSNs can be seen as a marketing tool to drive foot traffic to the company\u2019s casinos and generate more sports wagering<\/a> clients.<\/p>\n

However, the bulk of the RSNs bearing the Bally\u2019s brand is in states where sports betting currently isn\u2019t permitted and is unlikely to be anytime soon.<\/p>\n

\n

Even when excluding Bally\u2019s Sports Ohio<\/em> because sports wagering will soon be permitted in that state, the Arizona and Detroit RSNs and those that reach into Iowa and Indiana, the remaining RSNs\u2019 penetration in states where mobile sports wagering is currently permitted isn\u2019t impressive.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Several other RSNs are available in California, Florida, Hawaii, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah. Except for California, it\u2019s unlikely the other states\u2019 current sports wagering policies will change over the near term, and California\u2019s fate is left in the hands of voters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Major League Baseball (MLB), the NBA, and the NHL are said to be readying a joint bid for the regional sports networks (RSNs) bearing the Bally\u2019s (NYSE:BALY) name. The Rhode Island-based casino operator does not own the RSNs. Rather, those assets are controlled by Sinclair Broadcast Group (NASDAQ:SBGI). In November 2020, Bally\u2019s announced it would […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":233477,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32093,1,1074],"tags":[81966,81967,80968],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBally's RSNs Could Be Acquired By Three Sports Leagues<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Bally's RSNs are rumored to be for sale and three pro sports leagues could be the buyers.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bally's RSNs Could Be Acquired By Three Sports Leagues\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Bally's RSNs are rumored to be for sale and three pro sports leagues could be the buyers.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ballys-rsns-could-be-acquired-by-three-sports-leagues\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-09-22T20:49:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-09-23T17:11:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/bally.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Todd Shriber\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@etfgodfather\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Todd Shriber\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ballys-rsns-could-be-acquired-by-three-sports-leagues\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ballys-rsns-could-be-acquired-by-three-sports-leagues\/\",\"name\":\"Bally's RSNs Could Be Acquired By Three Sports Leagues\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ballys-rsns-could-be-acquired-by-three-sports-leagues\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ballys-rsns-could-be-acquired-by-three-sports-leagues\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/bally.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-09-22T20:49:28+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-09-23T17:11:36+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85\"},\"description\":\"Bally's RSNs are rumored to be for sale and three pro sports leagues could be the buyers.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ballys-rsns-could-be-acquired-by-three-sports-leagues\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ballys-rsns-could-be-acquired-by-three-sports-leagues\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/ballys-rsns-could-be-acquired-by-three-sports-leagues\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/bally.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/bally.jpg\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":720,\"caption\":\"A map of Bally's RSNs. 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