FanDuel Sports Network has parted ways with one of its top production executives, Michael Connelly, a move that comes as the regional sports company’s parent is emerging from nearly two years in Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Connelly, a longtime industry veteran, was until this morning senior vice president and Executive Producer for FanDuel Sports Network. Sources differed on the context of his departure, with one saying his leaving was a mutual decision unrelated to looming cost cuts, while another said he was laid off as part of that cutting.
“A couple of weeks ago, David Preschlack (CEO of FanDuel Sports Network parent Diamond Sports Group) approached his executive production team and said, ‘Hey, we’re at about $180 million on the production budget right now. I need to get this down to 150,’” said the source who claims Connelly left involuntarily.
Diamond in a statement said, “As part of our reorganization, we are reassessing our organizational needs in order to modernize a company that has remained unchanged for decades. The needs and opportunities we face today demand a forward-looking approach, and we are fully committed to evolving to meet them with purpose and clarity.”
The Diamond representative said Preschlack was not available to talk. The spokeswoman did not confirm or deny Connelly’s ousting, or whether cost cuts would happen. Those cuts could take various forms, like reducing the number of cameras at games, lightening the talent in the broadcast booth, and expunging sideline reporters, just to name a few.
A federal bankruptcy judge last month approved DSG’s Chapter 11 plan which faced only one technical objection. MLB pulled its own objection last minute, but for months the league had argued it had no confidence that Diamond’s plan was financially feasible.
Diamond has local rights to 13 NBA teams, eight NHL clubs, and six MLB franchises across 16 RSNs, so if FanDuel Sports Network is cutting back on production expenses, that could be a concern for those clubs. Sources at MLB and the NBA responded they had not heard of such cuts.
Diamond’s plan projects the new FanDuel Sports Network will be profitable by 2027, with streaming customers rising from 500,000 now to 2.4 million then. The forecast includes millions of lost linear customers as the secular decline of traditional TV continues apace.
Connelly, who declined to speak with Awful Announcing, started at Fox Sports West as executive producer in 2003. Between 2006 and 2011 he was general manager of Fox Sports Arizona (in 2019 Fox sold the RSNs to Disney, which sold them to Sinclair, Diamond’s outgoing parent company).
In 2011 he was promoted to executive producer for all the Fox RSNs, a title he had as of this morning. During Sinclair’s messy breakup with Diamond, Connelly became a point of contention. In Chapter 11, Diamond sued Sinclair, and in one reply brief, the mother company accused its bankrupt unit of poaching Connelly.
“Diamond has acknowledged that it is contractually prohibited from soliciting Sinclair employees in the Adversary Complaint,” Sinclair wrote in the 2023 brief. “Given this former employee’s knowledge of Sinclair’s business and operations, Diamond is now in a position to use that information to Sinclair’s detriment.”
Diamond is expected to fully emerge from Chapter 11 as soon as this month. Below are the FanDuel Sports Network teams.
- NBA: 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.
- NHL: Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues and Tampa Bay Lightning.
- MLB: Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, St. Louis Cardinals, Detroit Tigers and Tampa Bay Rays.
