Report: Rangers' MSG Networks Going Bankrupt and Could Be Bailed Out by Jeff Bezos
Photo credit: Barrett Media
James Dolan's MSG Networks is spiraling as they're on the verge of bankruptcy. In order to stay solvent, and on the air they'll have to find funding elsewhere, and they could welcome interesting bedfellows, like Amazon.
According to Josh Kosman of the New York Post, Dolan is working on saving the network from the throes of death by negotiating with Amazon.
From Kosman's Report:
MSG Networks, the embattled cable TV station that airs New York Knicks and Rangers games, is in talks to reach a deal to avoid bankruptcy as soon as Friday - and insiders speculate that help could be coming from a deep-pocketed media player like Amazon, The Post has learned.
The sports channel controlled by billionaire Knicks owner James Dolan - currently blacked out for about 1 million New York-area subscribers because of a contract dispute with the Optimum cable network - is scrambling to restructure its debt with a group of lenders led by JPMorgan who are owed $829 million.
MSG Networks in October defaulted on its loans but lenders have extended the payment deadline multiple times, most recently from Jan. 10 to Friday at midnight. This time, the aim is to reach a deal rather than simply extend the deadline again, according to sources briefed on the discussions.
- Josh Kosman
The sports channel controlled by billionaire Knicks owner James Dolan - currently blacked out for about 1 million New York-area subscribers because of a contract dispute with the Optimum cable network - is scrambling to restructure its debt with a group of lenders led by JPMorgan who are owed $829 million.
MSG Networks in October defaulted on its loans but lenders have extended the payment deadline multiple times, most recently from Jan. 10 to Friday at midnight. This time, the aim is to reach a deal rather than simply extend the deadline again, according to sources briefed on the discussions.
- Josh Kosman
According to the New York Post, sources have told the paper that negotiations are ongoing.
An interesting context to add to the situation, Amazon is already an invest in the "Yes Network" that airs Brooklyn Nets and New York Yankees games.
With Prime airing Yankee's games in New York City, something like this couldn't be too far-fetched.
Could the New York Rangers find a new home on Amazon Prime, once Dolan and Bezos ink the deal?
Hockey Night in New York anyone?
The New York Rangers would be easily accessible for those in the local area, as the MSG and Optimum debacle could be solved by a third party such as Amazon.
The Rangers are 6th in the Metropolitan Division, with a record of 25-23-4, and could find a new home if James Dolan could seal a deal to save MSG Networks.
Would you buy a subscription to Amazon Prime to watch the Rangers?
Previously on NYRangersInsider
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