NBA is prepared to broadcast where Diamond Sports Group can’t. Will things come

As the NBA approaches a new season, releasing its 2023-24 schedule earlier this month and rolling out the matchups to watch over the next year, a nettlesome issue continues to hover over the league and half of its teams.

Diamond Sports Group, the company that operates 19 Bally Sports regional sports networks across the United States and owns the local television rights for 15 NBA teams, including the Mavericks, Clippers, Cavaliers and Spurs, among others, continues to have its future linger in bankruptcy court. That has caused some uncertainty about how those teams will broadcast their games locally during the upcoming season.

Rick Schnall, the new Charlotte Hornets co-owner, addressed the situation this month as he was introduced as part of the investment group that bought the franchise this summer. Asked where fans could watch the team this season, he struggled for a definitive answer.

“We actually don’t know the answer to that question,” Schnall said. “We’re under contract through the (20)25-26 season with Bally Sports, and we expect them to live up to that contract. They’re obviously in Chapter 11; that’s an ongoing negotiation. The NBA is obviously very concerned and very involved in that. There will be a place to watch the Hornets. We think it will be Bally Sports under the terms of the contract, but if not, we will have alternative plans.”

As of now, there is an expectation that games will air on the Bally Sports regional sports networks when the season begins, and the league has been told that Diamond Sports Group has enough capital to honor its contracts and to get through the upcoming season, according to sources briefed on the matter who were granted anonymity so they could speak freely. But the NBA has also begun working on contingency plans in case there are any issues or that expectation does not pan out once the regular season begins Oct. 24.

In case Diamond Sports Group RSNs cannot fulfill their contracts with teams, the NBA is prepared to take over broadcast production and distribution in those markets. The league would then offer a direct-to-consumer streaming option for fans in those markets, as well as some sort of yet-to-be-determined linear option. That model has already been established in cities such as Phoenix and Salt Lake City, where the Suns and Jazz announced deals this summer to move their teams off a cable RSN — and off a Bally Sports RSN in the Suns’ case — and onto an over-the-air broadcast network, along with a streaming choice. There has already been contact by league or team officials with local stations across the country in Bally Sports RSN markets to lay the groundwork in case things go awry.

There is some precedent already this year for a professional sports league stepping in if Diamond cannot fulfill its obligations. Major League Baseball jumped in to broadcast San Diego Padres games this summer when Diamond ceased broadcasting their games.

The approach between the NBA…