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James Dolan's MSG Networks reaches deal to avoid bankruptcy
MSG Networks on Friday announced a deal with its lender JPMorgan that allows the regional sports channel to avoid bankruptcy — and potentially pave the way for a merger with the YES Network. Under terms of the out-of-court debt restructuring, MSGN — which carries the Knicks, Rangers, Islanders, Devils, Sabres and Gotham FC — slashes a JPMorgan loan to $210 million from more than $800 million. In exchange, Knicks owner James Dolan — whose Sphere Entertainment owns and controls MSGN — has agreed to reduce the rights fees that MSGN pays the Knicks and Rangers, increasing the network’s ability to make its interest payment, the sources said.
Mike Vorkunov: MSG Networks will cut media rights fee by 28% to Knicks this season and by 18% to Rangers as part of a deal with its creditors. The media rights deals with both teams now runs thru the 2028-29 season. MSGN had $829.5 million in debt come due in Oct. 2024 and has been in negotiations on it since. MSG Networks has been negotiating with its creditors for months, and floated chance of bankruptcy if no deal. Knicks and Rangers will no longer get annual rights fee escalators. MSGN gets right of first refusal at deal's end. Knicks and Rangers get about $180 mil. in rights fees this year.
New York sports fans who subscribe to Optimum can finally rejoice. MSG Networks was back on Altice-owned Optimum in time for Saturday’s Rangers-Sabres game after the two sides came to a new agreement to put MSGN’s channels back on the airwaves. Optimum stopped carrying Knicks, Rangers, Islanders and Devils games for its estimated 1 million New York City-area customers on Jan. 1. After weeks of fighting, the two sides reached a multiyear deal that gives Optimum the ability to sell lower-priced packages without MSG, which was on its basic tier, a source told The Post. MSG Networks is lowering the price it charges Optimum per subscriber from about $10 to $8, the source said.
While guesting on “The Chris Rose Rotation,” Lowe momentarily left the frame and returned with the World Series ring he won in 2023 with the Rangers. Lowe then took a swipe at the 25-year-old Lakers guard for being a ringless Dallas star during his time with the Mavericks. “I'm sure your guests come back with surprises because Luka [Doncic] is not sporting one of those,” Lowe said while flaunting his World Series ring. “Luka's not sporting one of those. You know, no knock. He had a fabulous Dallas sports career, but yeah.”
To make a deal happen, sources speculate that MSG will take cash from a new, outside investor to refinance the crippling debt load — and hand over a stake in the cable business in return. No deal would impact Dolan’s ownership of the Knicks and Rangers, the sources added. Chatter is now circulating that one possible solution would be to partner with Amazon, whose Prime video service already has a deal with Diamond Sports, the nation’s largest operator of so-called RSNs, or regional sports networks, to broadcast games for pro sports teams nationwide.
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The ongoing saga between MSG Networks and Altice — the parent company of Optimum — has taken another turn, with talks off and the sides exchanging scathing statements Friday night as users still can’t watch local games. According to MSG Networks, Altice walked away from negotiations after pulling its last proposal as the search for an agreement that would include allowing Optimum customers to regain access to Knicks, Rangers, Islanders and Devils games dragged on.
Diamond Sports Group fortified its likely reemergence from bankruptcy on Friday by reaching terms with the NBA and NHL to broadcast local games for 22 teams this coming season across both leagues. But, although the announcement exuded optimism, the financial viability of Diamond beyond 2025 remains open-ended. Filings on Friday with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas simultaneously revealed that Diamond -- in an effort to limit costs -- has cut ties with the Mavericks, who sources said will either become the fifth NBA team to broadcast games over the air or possibly join a burgeoning Texas Rangers venture to create a new Southwest-based RSN. The Suns, Jazz, Pelicans and Trail Blazers are the other NBA teams that intend to broadcast games free over the air in 2024-25.
The NBA and NHL schedules don’t overlap in an easy way for Tyler and Quentin to see each other play live. “We kind of have to keep tabs on each other from afar,” Tyler said. But Quentin playing in New York to begin his career helped when the Canucks would swing through the city to play the Rangers, Islanders and Devils in succession. Tyler attended one of Quentin’s home games a couple of years ago, and they shared a couple of dinners together. “As you see them mature into adults and find their way, especially since Tyler was gone at such a young age, to see that circle back to them now as adults is pretty special,” Tonja said while fighting back tears. “Pretty special.”
A DraftKings Sportsbook bettor has been sweating out a parlay that pays $1.7 million for almost a year. The gambler placed a $100 three-team futures parlay in May 2023 on the Texas Rangers to win the World Series (22-1), the Kansas City Chiefs to win the Super Bowl (6-1) and the Oklahoma City Thunder to win the NBA championship (70-1). The Rangers won the World Series on Nov. 1, defeating the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games. The Chiefs beat the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime in the Super Bowl on Feb. 11 at Allegiant Stadium. Now the bettor needs the Thunder to win the NBA title to cash the 17,145-to-1 long shot and collect $1,714,500. The bet would normally pay 11,430-1, but the bettor used a DraftKings promotion for a 50 percent parlay boost.
Clutch Points: Mavs legend Dirk Nowitzki is in attendance for Game 4 of the Rangers vs. Astros matchup 🤩 pic.twitter.com/x7K009jJLP
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MSG Sports open to selling a minority stake in Knicks
During MSG Sports’ third quarter earnings call in February, David Hopkinson, the company’s president and chief operating officer, said it would be open to selling a minority stake in one of the franchises. “We have no plans to sell either team,” Hopkinson told investors. “No current plans there, but we certainly won’t rule out the possibility of selling a minority stake in the Knicks or Rangers.”
James Dolan close to settling allegations that he duped investors and spied on employees
James Dolan is close to settling allegations that he duped investors and spied on employees, while senior executives at his companies destroyed evidence of his scheme — all part of a scheme to pay the ballooning tab for an over-the-top construction project in the Las Vegas desert, The Post has learned. The billionaire owner of the New York Knicks and Rangers – who has riled New York politicians over his use of facial recognition technology to ban legal rivals from his venues – has been accused in legal filings of spying on and firing workers who raised alarms over a controversial business deal he was pushing two years ago.
He was also asked about reports that New York State Liquor Authority was threatening to take away the liquor license from the venue as a disciplinary action following his ban on several lawyers. His answer about how he planned to handle this was incredibly shocking. “They’re being extremely aggressive. They’re saying: ‘We’re going to take away your liquor license.’ So I have a little surprise for them because they’re basically doing this for publicity. So we’re going to give them some publicity. What we’re going to do is we’re going to pick a night, maybe a Rangers game, and we’re going to shut down all the liquor and alcohol in the building. Now this isn’t going to bother me because I’ve been sober 29 years. I don’t need the liquor."
Larry Hutcher, 71, a co-founder and co-partner of the law firm Davidoff Hutcher & Citron LLP, got his season tickets in the 1975-76 season and has long sat in the fifth row behind one of the baskets. But now, Hutcher and the other 59 lawyers at his firm are barred from all Madison Square Garden Entertainment venues. That includes the Garden and its Hulu Theater, Beacon Theatre and Radio City Music Hall in New York, and the Chicago Theatre, and covers everything from Disney on Ice to Harry Styles concerts to Knicks and Rangers games. “I had people that had tickets for Eric Clapton and concerts at the Beacon; they couldn’t use them,” Hutcher said in an interview. “They are angry at me. They go, ‘What did we do?’”
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