Amazon will invest in Diamond Sports as part of bankruptcy restructuring agreement

abcnews.go.com:

Amazon will partner with Diamond Sports as part of a restructuring agreement as the largest owner of regional sports networks looks to emerge from bankruptcy

Amazon will partner with Diamond Sports as part of a restructuring agreement as the largest owner of regional sports networks looks to emerge from bankruptcy.

Diamond owns 18 networks under the Bally Sports banner. Those networks have the rights to 37 professional teams — 11 baseball, 15 NBA and 11 NHL.

Diamond Sports has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the Southern District of Texas since it filed for protection last March. The company said in a late 2021 financial filing that it had debt of $8.67 billion.

The terms of the agreement were announced by Diamond Sports on Wednesday morning and then presented before Judge Christopher Lopez at an afternoon hearing in Houston.

“There's lots to digest, especially when you consider where things were the fourth quarter of last year,” Lopez said at the end of the hearing. “It is certainly a very interesting development to say the least. The thought the company is moving in this direction is a positive development.”

Diamond Sports had been negotiating deals with all of the leagues, which would have been completed by the end of the coming baseball season.

The NBA and NHL both said they have received the documents and were reviewing them before discussing next steps with Diamond. Major League Baseball was more pointed in its evaluation.

“There is a lot to digest. It is unable to be digested because it hasn't been purchased, cooked or served. When we get to that point, we will look at it and figure out whether it is able to be digested," MLB lawyer James Bromley said during the hearing. «We will refrain from adding