Red Wings Games to Remain on Bally Sports Detroit for 2024-25 Season
After uncertainty toward the future due to an ongoing bankruptcy filing, Bally Sports' Detroit channel will carry the Detroit Red Wings' regional broadcasts in 2024-25
The broadcasting future of Red Wings games on Bally Sports Detroit got a little more clear Friday, but the signal remains a little grainy.
In an agreement with the NBA and NHL, Diamond Sports Group (owners of Bally Sports) agreed to carry the league's games for the 2024-25 season amid Bally's Chapter 11 bankruptcy case. Detroit and the eight other NHL teams aired on Bally Sports will give up 20% of their rights fees to make the deal work, according to reports by Sportico.
This means that Detroit Red Wings games will stay on Bally Sports Detroit and the Bally Sports Detroit Plus app for 2024-25. So will Detroit Pistons games. No deal has been reported between the MLB and Diamond. The Detroit News' Tony Paul was the first to report Detroit's involvement in the deal.
“We are appreciative of the ongoing collaboration and long-term partnerships with the NBA and NHL," Diamond CEO David Preschlack said in a statement provided to ESPN and other outlets. "These new agreements that cover NBA and NHL linear and DTC [direct-to-consumer] rights are another major milestone and continue Diamond's momentum toward emergence, which will enable us to provide value for our NBA and NHL partners and continue to serve dedicated local NBA, NHL and MLB fans.
“Having completed negotiations with key partners that provide certainty around our content and distribution, Diamond is well positioned for the future. With the support of our creditors, we are focused on finalizing our reorganization plan to support our emergence and presenting that plan to the court in due course.”
Bally Sports' Detroit channel has been airing Red Wings games since March 2021. That's when the Diamond Sports Group subsidiary took over the Fox Sports brand as a byproduct of Disney's merger with 21st Century Fox in 2019. Disney sold the Fox Sports brand to Sinclair Broadcast Group, who kept many of the same products and personalities in the transfer but aired them under the Bally Sports name. That included Red Wings broadcasting duo Ken Daniels and Mickey Redmond, who are among the most popular in the sport and air on the Bally Sports Detroit network.
At the time, this move made Diamond Sports Group the largest regional sports network (RSN) provider in the United States, holding the rights to 39 teams across the NBA, NHL and MLB. But, the company hit financial turmoil when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March 2023, struggling to pay the $9 billion remaining from its acquisition of the Fox Sports assets.
The survival of Bally Sports Detroit broadcasts themselves became dicey when Xfinity blacked out Diamond Sports Group content in May due to contract disputes. This put a number of MLB games and other broadcasts off the air for many consumers, including fans of the Ilitch-owned Detroit Tigers. In late July, the sides came to an agreement that got current Bally broadcasts back on the air as part of an upgraded cable package.
The future of Bally Sports Detroit and other RSNs remains dicey. Investment from Amazon and lenience from the U.S. bankruptcy court has allowed Diamond Sports Group to recover from the past year's decline. But, it's still in the middle of its bankruptcy case. What happens after 2024-25 is dependent on the outcome of the case and what pro sports franchises decide to do.
As far as what that future could look like for the Red Wings. they have many options to consider. They could decide to make a deal with another RSN if Diamond cannot pull through, though the RSN model's lack of security feels like a non-starter. Detroit could opt for in-house broadcasting, following the model of the Seattle Kraken. Or, they could go in an entirely new direction, perhaps leaning further into direct-to-consumer streaming options. All this is to say, the future remains unclear past this season.
For now, the agreement is positive progress that ensures Detroit's teams will remain on the airwaves this season. Diamond Sports Group's bankruptcy case, and the will of the teams it has deals with, will determine what happens in seasons beyond.
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