As I Lay Diamond

CLEVELAND, OHIO - FEBRUARY 20: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announces the Kobe Bryant MVP Trophy during the 2022 NBA All-Star Game at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse on February 20, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
John Ourand
April 12, 2024

The Diamond post-bankruptcy saga continues, with all the landmines that we’ve been predicting and some that we have not. To wit: The business plan that company executives will present to a bankruptcy court judge in just six days, on April 17, includes only one long-term contract in hand—a deal with Charter Communications. (I’m told that talks with Comcast and DirecTV are progressing, that ubiquitous deal term of art.) None of this uncertainty is surprising. Distributors have well-earned reputations as brutal negotiators, and wouldn’t neglect the opportunity to steal a cane from an old man—or fleece a regional sports network emerging from bankruptcy.