A judge voided the Phoenix Suns’ recently announced deal to change its local television broadcaster, ruling that the agreement violated the rights of its current broadcast partner: the bankrupt owner of the Bally Sports brand of local sports channels, Bloomberg News reported. Judge Christopher Lopez ruled that the owner of the Suns and Women’s Basketball Association’s Mercury weren’t permitted to enter into new agreements with television channel owner Gray Television Inc., including a separate webstreaming deal with Kiswe Mobile Inc., while Bally Sports owner Diamond Sports Group LLC tries to shed debt in chapter 11 and work out a potential path forward with the NBA, Major League Baseball and National Hockey Association. The Suns’ new deals with Gray and Kiswe violated the bankruptcy injunction protecting Diamond Sports that prevents leagues and sports teams from interfering with its existing broadcast rights during its chapter 11 case, Judge Lopez said. Before announcing the deal on April 28, the Suns were warned that the agreement would violate the injunction, known in bankruptcy court as the automatic stay, and deprived Diamond Sports of valuable rights, Diamond Sports’s lawyer Brian Hermann said in a hearing Wednesday.
