Disney had to divest the assets as part of its merger with Fox.
Disney has found a buyer for all but one of the regional sports networks it agreed to divest as a condition of its merger with Fox. The company has sold 21 of them to Sinclair Broadcasting Group in a deal valued at $10.6 billion.
In March, Disney completed its $71.3 billion purchase of Fox, but as part of the U. S. Justice Department’s approval of its bid last July, Disney agreed to divest Fox’s 22 regional sports networks, and Fox College Sports, which were initially going to be part of the merger.
Entertainment Studios’ Byron Allen has partnered with Sinclair as an equity partner in the newly formed Diamond Holding Group, the Sinclair subsidiary that will acquire the RSNs.
The networks bought by Sinclair—which broadcast local sports like baseball, basketball and hockey—have exclusive local rights to 42 professional teams, including 14 Major League Baseball teams, 16 NBA teams and 12 NHL teams. Last year, the RSN portfolio delivered $3.8 billion in combined revenue across 74 million subscribers.
