Regional sports network headed for bankruptcy and there could be NHL salary cap implications
Today's news broke that Bally Sports, a regional sports network, is preparing for bankruptcy and will affect twelve NHL networks. As it appears, the company named Diamond Sports Group LLC, which manages Sinclair, is reported to be up to $8.6 billion in debt. A bankruptcy could mean trouble for the NHL, with Sinclair owing approximately $55 million in sports media rights.
With this news, Sinclair will likely seek to end deals and contract negotiations with teams across the NHL to cut back on potential payments. As for the twelve teams it affects, the list is as follows: The Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks, Arizona Coyotes, Dallas Stars, St. Louis Blues, Minnesota Wild, Detroit Red Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets, Nashville Predators, Carolina Hurricanes, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Florida Panthers. Here is how they did last year.
The Los Angeles Kings - 6th, $1.3B: operating income of $88M
Detroit Red Wings - 11th, $1,03B: operating income of 62M
Tampa Bay Lightning - 14th, $1B: operating income of $27M
Dallas Stars - 18th, $925M: operating income of $43M
St. Louis Blues - 19th, $880M: operating income of $56M
Minnesota Wild - 22nd, $850M: operating income of $40M
Nashville Predators - 23rd, $810M: operating income of $35M
Anaheim Ducks - 26th, $740M: operating income of $7M
Carolina Hurricanes - 28th, $640M: operating income of $19M
Columbus Blue Jackets - 29th, $620M: operating income of $31M
Florida Panthers - 31st, $550M: operating income of $5M
Arizona Coyotes - 32nd, $450M: operating income of $6M
Of the teams listed above, Forbes released their list of NHL team values in December of 2022, showcasing how much each organization is valued. From a more interesting scope in this situation, the twelve teams mentioned above generally do not generate much revenue, being seen as non-revenue generating teams minus Detroit and Los Angeles. As for the Red Wings and the Kings, they were ranked among the top eleven NHL markets.
As it stands currently, the resulting issues of bankruptcy, which seems highly probable at this point, could have implications on the salary cap due to found cuts in revenues within these organizations.
With the likelihood of bankruptcy, this could open the door for other television programs to acquire the broadcasting rights for the affected teams. Now the question is, who steps in? Two likely candidates could be through FOX sports or NBC, who may both want to jump back into the mix. Really, though, it's anyone's guess at this point.
