Major League Baseball warned America’s biggest local broadcaster of professional sports games that it must televise hundreds of upcoming baseball games — and pay the related fees — even though the company is in bankruptcy, Bloomberg News reported. Two weeks before baseball season starts, Diamond Sports Group has not said whether it will televise games for the 14 teams it has contracts with, MLB attorney James Bromley told the judge overseeing Diamond’s bankruptcy case. Through its Bally Sports brand, Diamond is obligated to broadcast an average of 150 games for each of those teams, Bromley said during a court hearing held by video on Thursday afternoon. “We are very concerned because opening day is just two weeks away,” Bromley said. If Diamond fails to pay any of the fees associated with the games, MLB will ask US Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez to take action, Bromley said. Diamond has the money to broadcast all the basketball and hockey games left for the year under its agreements with those sports leagues, company lawyer Andrew Goldman said during the hearing. He didn’t say whether the company plans to broadcast the baseball games. Diamond filed bankruptcy on Tuesday in Houston, with a proposal to cut more than $8 billion in debt by giving ownership of the company to creditors.
