A U.S. bankruptcy judge ruled in favor of Major League Baseball and four of its teams in Houston on Thursday, forcing Diamond Sports Group, which runs broadcasts under the name Bally Sports, to fully pay the contracts in question.
Diamond, navigating through bankruptcy proceedings, argued it should pay the Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Guardians, Arizona Diamondbacks and Texas Rangers less than what the current deals call for, arguing that the rapid rate of cord cutting has significantly devalued the assets.
But Judge Christopher Lopez, presiding over a case that lasted two full days and included testimony from MLB commissioner Rob Manfred, ultimately stated: "I think the contract rate is the right answer here.