FanDuel already enjoys status as the No. 1 sportsbook based on U.S. market share. Now it is expanding its strong reach and brand to the nation’s largest collection of regional sports networks.

According to industry sources, the company is currently finalizing a deal to become the title sponsor of Diamond Sports Group’s RSNs, formerly known as Bally Sports. The agreement has been in the works for several months, but DSG notified the U.S. Bankruptcy Court on Monday of its efforts to rebrand the networks without mentioning FanDuel by name.

“The Debtors are close to reaching agreement with a third party on the terms of a name and trademark rights agreement with respect to the Debtors’ RSNs,” DSG said in a court filing. “The proposed agreement will establish a new naming rights partner for the 2024-2025 NHL and NBA seasons while providing the Debtors with a long-term naming rights partner when the Debtors are ultimately able to emerge as a going concern.”

The deal involves FanDuel acquiring a “single-digit percentage of equity” in a reorganized DSG, with performance-based warrants that would allow that ownership stake to be doubled.

The court filings come as DSG approaches a scheduled Nov. 14 hearing on its bankruptcy plan of organization, which would allow the company to continue operating as a viable business. As part of this ongoing effort, a status conference is scheduled for Wednesday, and at another such conference last week, DSG announced that it intends to abandon nearly all of its MLB rights agreements. This dramatic move threatens to have a significant impact across baseball.

It’s not yet clear how a FanDuel-branded RSN set will interact with the sportsbook’s already extensive content operations, as FanDuel TV points out.

Money matters

DSG, meanwhile, has detailed its financial position as its scheduled confirmation hearing approaches. Under recently renegotiated rights deals that include lower rights fees, DSG said it owes the NBA and the 13 basketball teams it broadcasts $253.1 million for the 2024-2025 season, and the NHL and nine of its Teams are set to receive nearly $135 million.

However, should DSG be forced to liquidate and cease operations, the NBA would instead receive a sum between $163.7 million and $187.9 million, while the NHL would gain between $87.3 million and $100.2 million.

As part of DSG’s efforts to secure its baseball contracts, the company has just $16.4 million in outstanding MLB commitments.

An estimate from Moelis, DSG’s investment bank, puts the enterprise value of a reorganized DSG at $600 million to $1 billion. That figure is just a fraction of the RSNs’ $10.6 billion value just five years ago, when they were acquired by DSG parent company Sinclair. Aside from the fact that DSG now covers fewer teams – either because some clubs have exited the company or because they have voluntarily opted for other broadcast options – the dramatic loss in value highlights the impact this cord-cutting and wholesale disruption of the media industry is having on RSN’s business have devastated.

DSG, meanwhile, confirmed that Amazon is no longer a potential investor, although the online retail and streaming giant continues to negotiate a more conventional deal to distribute RSN’s content on Prime Video. However, DSG warned: “The Debtors’ ability to reorganize as a going concern will depend on their ability to raise additional exit financing commitments.”…Although the Debtors are in discussions with multiple potential sources of financing, there can be no assurance that the Debtors will honor their commitments can.”