BALLY SPORTS

Local TV is a bigger piece of the pie for baseball teams and MLB than for some other sports.

Local media rights through the RSNs account for 23 percent of MLB revenue, according to Sportico research. at’s nearly double the 12 percent and 13 percent local media rights bring in for the NHL and NBA, and nearly 12 times as much as the 2 percent local TV rights generate for the NFL.

at local TV money is vital for the MLB, as national revenue from partnerships with Fox, TBS and ESPN account for 26 percent of the league’s revenue. e NFL (64 percent of its revenue in 2021) and NBA (40 percent of its revenue in the 2021-22 season) earn much more from national broadcast partnerships. e biggest piece of the MLB’s revenue pie, of which the league in 2022 brought in a record $10.9 billion, comes from ticket and suite sales. at number was 31 percent last year.

About 11 percent of MLB revenue comes from team sponsorships, while the remaining 10 percent comes from concessions and parking.

Something will happen soon. Diamond faces an April 30 deadline to pay rights fees to 13 of the 14 MLB teams with which it has deals under the Bally Sports umbrella. Not honoring those payments would be considered breach of contract, which would allow the teams to be released from contracts with Diamond.

Some payments that were due have already not been made and could provide a guide to what’s next.

Diamond Sports last month missed a $140 million debt payment