Thanks for correcting me, Bilbo. I was trying to remember exactly what happened with the Padres & Diamondbacks back in 2023.

Diamond Sports, parent company of Bally Sports, missed a payment in March that year and entered a grace period. Diamond Sports eventually paid a rights fee to the Padres March 29, but the end for what was called Bally Sports San Diego came May 30 that year. MLB Advanced Media, parent company of MLB Network, took over the Padres' broadcast & distribution rights there following the Padres/Marlins' game in Miami.

The Diamondbacks, along with the Phoenix Suns & Phoenix Mercury, bolted what was called Bally Sports Arizona in April 2023, about 3 months after Diamond Sports filed for bankruptcy in February that year. The RSN there lost a lot of money for their pro sports teams there.

While the Suns & Mercury signed OTA deals with Gray Television, the Diamondbacks followed the Padres and signed on with MLBAM to handle production & distribution there.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred ultimately wants to centralize local broadcast rights, but as the Sun-Times' Jeff Agrest is quick to point out at the end of this Marquee story, the Cubs' own deal with Marquee and Sinclair Broadcast Group will make such a plan difficult.