from Josh Kosman of the New York Post,

alks for MLB, the NBA and NHL to acquire the nation’s dominant owner of regional sports networks are faltering — raising the likelihood of a bankruptcy filing that could hasten a nationwide migration of sports fans away from cable TV, The Post has learned.

As exclusively reported by The Post, Diamond Sports Group — which operates 21 Bally Sports-branded regional sports networks, or RSNs, that account for more than half the local broadcast markets around the country — has been in talks this fall to sell itself to the sports leagues for as much as $3 billion including debt.

But Diamond — a unit of Sinclair Broadcast Group — surprised investors on Nov. 28 by slashing its outlook for this year’s profitability in half as cord-cutting continues to dog the industry. Accordingly, the leagues no longer are willing to pay a premium in a buyout — and creditors are instead bracing to take their chances in bankruptcy court in the first half of next year, according to sources close to the talks.

That means Diamond’s slew of unprofitable broadcasting contracts will likely be rejected — and its decades-old, cable-TV-based business model will go out the window as deals are cut to stream lives games online, sources said.

continued