Minnesota Twins broadcasts are set to remain on Bally Sports North through the rest of the season.
The station’s parent company, Diamond Sports Group, made the second of two payments to the Twins last week, which ensures Bally will carry Twins games through the remainder of the season.
The television home of the Twins was in doubt due to Diamond’s ongoing bankruptcy proceedings. The Twins, and several other MLB teams, battled Diamond Sports Group in bankruptcy court earlier summer in a dispute about how much Diamond had to pay for broadcast rights. The judge ruled in favor of fully payment, and that remaining 25% has been paid.
“Knowing that I think the contract rate is the reasonable and the right rate, the way that teams are locked in, the evidence that’s presented before me, I’m going to find that the fees are the actual necessary cost of preserving the state,” said U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez during the June 1 ruling. “The teams can keep the 75 percent I believe they’ve already received and they should get the [remaining] 25 percent.”
Information unveiled during the court hearings revealed that the Twins were owed $54.8 million for the season from Diamond. Twins broadcasts would have reverted to the Major League Baseball if Diamond was unable to pay.
Diamond/Bally Sports have a contract with the Twins that ends after this season, so the 2024 television home of the Twins remains an unknown.
According to Twins President Dave St. Peter, DSG offered a five-year deal that would pay the Twins approximately $54 million in 2024, with 1% escalators bringing the fee to around $56 million by 2028. The Twins did not accept the offer.
