While the Arizona Coyotes’ relationship with Bally Sports Arizona is finished, the team is still seeking to be paid by the Diamond Sports Group, the owner of the now-defunct regional sports network (RSN).
Per Bloomberg, the Coyotes alleged in bankruptcy court on Thursday that they were still owed nearly $18 million by Diamond. The company admitted it owes the team “tens of million dollars annually,” but in a Chapter 11 reorganization like the one Diamond is going through, unsecured debt (like rights fees) is typically paid out for “pennies on the dollar.”
Diamond has said it needed to end the deal because its regional sports channel, Bally Sports Arizona, was losing money and telecast agreements with the state’s major professional teams were only getting more expensive. The team said in a bankruptcy court filing on Thursday that it was owed money.
…Diamond has said that rights fees it owed to the Coyotes “total tens of millions of dollars annually and increase yearly.” The hockey team’s claim for repayment is an unsecured debt which, in general, is repaid in Chapter 11 for pennies on the dollar.
Earlier this month, the team and network parted ways, with the Coyotes following the Phoenix Suns, Mercury, and Diamondbacks out the door at the RSN. Following the Diamondbacks’ exit, the Coyotes released a statement saying the team “will continue to evaluate all of our options.” The Coyotes signed a local broadcast deal with Scripps Sports following their departure from Bally Sports Arizona, which would announce its shutdown later in October.
