ST. LOUIS — Diamond Sports Group, the parent company of Cardinals and Blues broadcaster Bally Sports Midwest, is just weeks away from a key hearing in which it will argue it should be allowed to emerge from bankruptcy and continue broadcasting professional sports.
The case hit a deadlock earlier this month when MLB, NHL and NBA demanded detailed financial information from Diamond about his contracts with cable distributors like DirecTV and Charter, information that Diamond said he could not legally release without the companies’ permission or a court order.
Cox Communications and Charter, which pay Diamond to produce professional sports broadcasts, argued in court that the information was confidential and that disclosure could harm their competitiveness. But the Houston bankruptcy court judge overseeing the case said the details needed to be shared to make a strong case for Diamond to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
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During a hearing on Friday morning, the judge indicated he would allow Diamond to release some of the documents.
Judge Christopher Lopez said Diamond would be allowed to release certain financial statistics about its deals with cable companies, and key language in the contracts — the so-called “most favored nation” clauses — would be released anonymously and available only to non-staff lawyers outside the league.
Lopez said if those details remained private, the company would not be able to make the most compelling case for its business plan and would face its confirmation hearing with “one arm.”
“That should never happen,” Lopez said. “Debtors cannot be shackled.”
