Ahead of season openers in October, there is a possible deal in sight between the NBA, the NHL and Bally Sports North’s parent company Diamond Sports Group.
The New York Post reports that Diamond Sports has made an offer to the two leagues that would keep its regional sports network stay on Comcast and DirecTV for another year, with the leagues having to accept a 20% cut in rights fees in exchange.
The newspaper reports that the leagues are leaning towards accepting the reduced fees – which it says would cost the NBA $120 million alone, but would allow Diamond to survive another year.
While that means potentially costing the Wolves and Wild millions of dollars, it at least keeps the local broadcast situation stable, meaning games are likely to appear on Bally Sports North for at least another 12 months.
Minnesota Wild owner Craig Leipold admitted earlier this week: “If they pull out, we are ready to go within 24 hours with another option. But we hope that doesn’t happen because the best option for us would be staying with Bally’s.”
The Wild opening game on Oct. 12, while the Wolves open their season Oct. 25.
