Diamond Sports, the bankrupt regional sports channel giant, sued the Phoenix Suns and Mercury and their two media partners in bankruptcy court Wednesday morning, seeking to block the teams’ efforts to form a new media outlet. Diamond also filed an emergency motion for a stay to prevent the Suns’ efforts. Here’s what you need to know:
- The development comes less than a week after the Suns announced a partnership with Gray Television and Kiswe Mobile to create new distribution channels for Suns games starting in the ’23-‘24 season.
- Diamond’s move is not a surprise, as it met the Suns’ April 28 announcement with a statement that the move breached Diamond’s RSN agreement and bankruptcy law.
- Diamond, which is in Chapter 11 proceedings, wrote it warned the Suns and Gray before the announcement of these issues, and also now alleges tortious interference against Gray and Kiswe, which is a streaming company.
- Diamond is seeking for the court to void the Suns’ agreement, and award damages, possibly including punitive.
What they’re saying
“The Suns’ failure to comply with their contractual duties, and Diamond Arizona’s potential loss of approximately 70 games of NBA content provided by the Suns each season, puts Diamond Arizona’s business at significant peril,…
