The Big Lead

MLB News: Marlins, Diamond Sports Group strike new deal: report

By J.P. Hoornstra

Sep 1, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Miami Marlins in-game reporter Craig Minervini holds a microphone with a Bally sports mic flag before the game against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park.
Sep 1, 2024; San Francisco, California, USA; Miami Marlins in-game reporter Craig Minervini holds a microphone with a Bally sports mic flag before the game against the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
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Diamond Sports Group has reeled in another big fish for its Major League Baseball portfolio.

As expected, the Miami Marlins and FanDuel Sports Network have an agreement that will keep the team on the recently rebranded regional sports network next season and maybe beyond, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.

The Marlins are the third team, joining the St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves, confirmed to be continuing with its traditional RSN in the wake of parent company Diamond Sports Group declaring bankruptcy.

At a bankruptcy hearing in October (as reported by The Athletic), a lawyer for Major League Baseball said Diamond would be continuing its relationship with the Marlins and Atlanta Braves. The lawyer, James Bromley, added the league would to try to fight Diamond’s continued relationship with the Braves.

Since then Diamond has also announced a new deal with the St. Louis Cardinals at a reduced rate compared to their previous contract, which did not include in-market streaming.

A key difference between the Marlins' and Cardinals' deals, according to Jackson: the Marlins did not need to accept a large rights fee reduction, while the Cardinals did.

In St. Louis, the FanDuel Sports Network affiliate will continue carrying the NHL's St. Louis Blues. In Miami, however, Jackson notes the NBA's Miami Heat will no longer be available on the FanDuel affiliate network, while the Marlins and the NHL's Florida Panthers will.

Jackson adds that it remains to be seen "when or if Amazon will acquire rights to stream NBA and MLB games carried by the FanDuel sports regionals nationally." Those talks have been ongoing, he notes, and there is optimism a deal will get done.

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