Diamond Sports Group has decided not to pay the Padres their latest rights fee, a monumental development that will revert the team s broadcasting rights to Major League Baseball and establish precedent for an uncertain, rapidly evolving landscape.
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Diamond Sports, which owns 19 networks under the Bally Sports banner, said in a statement Tuesday that it decided "not to provide additional funding to the San Diego RSN that would enable it to make the rights payment to the San Diego Padres during the grace period and will no longer be broadcasting Padres games after Tuesday." The Padres become the first team that MLB will take over production of its broadcasts. MLB set up a local media department during the offseason to prepare for a bankruptcy filing by Sinclair Broadcast Group's Diamond Sports, which took place in March.