The Angels reached a local broadcasting/streaming contract with Diamond Sports Group yesterday, reports Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. The team will remain on the FanDuel Sports Network, the same organization that previously operated under the Bally Sports name. The Angels have not made an official announcement.
Terms of the deal remain unreported. For fans, the biggest development is the introduction of the streaming agreement. Fans in the Anaheim area can access Halos games on the FanDuel Sports app even if they don’t have a television provider that carries the network. The Cardinals reached a similar arrangement, which should dramatically reduce the number of blackouts, with Diamond earlier this week.
Diamond abandoned 11 of its 12 existing TV deals last month. They’ve renegotiated new terms with the Marlins, Cardinals and Angels. Diamond plans to honor its initial arrangement with the Braves. It’ll carry at least four teams next season. The Twins, Guardians and Brewers have announced that they’ll allow MLB to handle in-market broadcasts. The Rangers are still exploring options but do not intend to renegotiate with Diamond.
The Reds are taking that path as well. The Cincinnati franchise revealed in court on Friday that it was unable to come to terms with Diamond (link via Evan Drellich of the Athletic). The Reds gave up their stake in what had been a joint venture with Diamond covering FanDuel Sports Network Ohio. They’ll look for other arrangements. The Rays, Royals and Tigers remain in limbo and could still hammer out new contracts.
That all presupposes that Diamond continues to exist. The corporation still needs approval from the bankruptcy court to embark on a reorganization plan at all. The confirmation hearing is set for next Thursday and Friday. MLB and the Braves leveled formal objections yesterday, expressing their belief that Diamond has “a substantial likelihood” of going under again if the court approves reorganization. In the event the court overrules those objections, the Angels will be back on FanDuel Sports Network for at least another season.