The organization has announced plans to start offering viewers the option to purchase NBA and NHL matches a la carte ahead of a bankruptcy judge reading that will decide the fate of the Diamond Sports Group RSNs. Starting Dec. 5, Diamond’s just rebranded FanDuel Sports Networks system will start streaming personal activities at$ 6.99 a roll. By way of contrast, a monthly subscription to the streaming service finds$ 19.99 per billing cycle. Among the NBA teams that will be available under the fresh single-game program are the Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic and San Antonio Spurs. Hockey fans, however, properly training the pay-per-play choice as a means to keep tabs on the Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues and Tampa Bay Lightning. In advance of Thursday’s set confirmation hearing in federal court in Houston, Diamond’s MLB plans are a little grimmer because the company is frantically negotiating right agreements with a few venues. Next month, Diamond announced its intention to retain” a single broadcasting deal, that of the Atlanta Braves”, while rejecting the majority of its active MLB deals. However, neither the league nor the NL East franchise are satisfied that Diamond has created a “realistic road map to future operations,” as stated in a recent court filing. In a letter to the company’s reorganization plan, MLB and the Braves cited “grave concerns that… there will likely find themselves once again in financial distress and/or bankruptcy court in the near future.” In addition, Diamond was accused of omitting “any materials regarding their as-yet unsigned Amazon commercial partnership.” Despite the Braves ‘ reservations, Diamond has negotiated renewals with the St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins. The Cards agreed to maintain their in-market games on FanDuel Sports Network Midwest for three years, including DTC streaming rights. As part of the deal, which was formalized late last week, St. Louis agreed to a 20 % reduction in its rights fees. The October Marlins renewal, meanwhile, was not predicated on a significant fee cut. One of the five MLB teams with which Diamond had previously struck a streaming deal is Miami. The Milwaukee Brewers, a different team that already had a DTC agreement, joined the Cleveland Guardians and Minnesota Twins as they attempted to transfer their lot to MLB Media last month. Prior to the company’s bankruptcy in March 2023, the three remaining clubs, the Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, and Tampa Bay Rays, had agreed to transfer their DTC rights to Diamond. This is still a mystery. Late last week, the Cincinnati Reds officially took a break from Diamond. Judge Christopher Lopez of the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas will oversee Thursday’s hearing. While his approval of the re-org plan would give the RSNs a new lease on life, Diamond’s subsequent long-term prospects are n’t all that sunny. Since 2019, cord-cutting has robbed the RSNs of as many as 25 million subscribers, and the headlong rush to uncouple from the traditional pay-TV bundle continues to pick up speed. As of the conclusion of the second quarter of 2024, the bundle’s penetration of all U. S. TV homes has shrunk to just 40 %, just 10 years ago, that figure was locked in at a stable ( and comparatively spectacular ) 86 %. At the midway point of this year, the number of U. S. homes that subscribed to the legacy cable/satellite/telco-TV bundle had fallen to 49.8 million, down 12 % versus the year-ago 56.8 million and off 42 % compared to the analogous period in 2019. The issue is that the majority of those so-called skinny bundles do n’t have distribution agreements with the RSNs when virtual MVPDs like Hulu Live and Sling TV are thrown into the pay-TV mix.