Major League Baseball appears to be running out of patience with bankrupt media company Diamond Sports.

MLB filed an emergency motion asking the court to compel Diamond’s Bally Sports regional sports networks to make their overdue payments to the Cleveland Guardians and Minnesota Twins, according to The Athletic.

Bally RSNs hold media rights to 14 MLB teams and Diamond has been trying to thread the needle by cherry-picking the best deals.

It’s making payments to teams with favorable contractual terms such as the loaded San Diego Padres and trying to cut ties with clubs, with which it doesn’t have favorable contractual terms.

• Three MLB clubs reportedly haven’t been paid yet: the Guardians, Twins, and Arizona Diamondbacks.
• In the meantime, there’s been no interruption in coverage, as the embattled Bally RSNs continue to show games. 
• MLB is seeking an order by April 13 that would allow it to terminate the deals and let teams take back their media rights.

The legal motion is being closely followed around MLB, and more teams could join the motion, according to the Athletic, including the Diamondbacks, Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, Tampa Rays, and Texas Rangers.

There’s big money at stake, especially for smaller-market clubs.

The Guardians are due an annual rights fee of $55 million, while the Twins are due $42 million, sources told The Athletic.

The negotiations to fund a $1.6 billion renovation of Camp Nou have possibly been settled.

Several Spanish newspapers reported on Thursday that FC Barcelona will repay its debts five years earlier than initially planned as part of a renegotiated financial plan with Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan.

Barca will make the final repayment on the stadium renovations in 2047, as opposed to its original deadline of 2052.

The new plan will carry a 5.5% interest rate, though the club insisted on being able to refinance the loan after five years, once the stadium renovations are complete, to lower the rate.

The club will officially announce the adjusted plan once it’s formalized.

Thursday’s news could signal the end of a saga that began in early March when it was reported that the club was exploring new financing options for the stadium renovation. Later that month, it paused its financial plans as a reaction to rising borrowing costs in the U.S.

With that out of the way, the hallowed Spanish club will turn its attention to more pressing matters.

Barcelona is planning to activate a “super lever” to alleviate its financial woes and give it extra capital to spend on players this summer.

However, the club is also still mired in scandal for allegedly bribing a former member of La Liga’s refereeing committee to influence matches on its behalf. Spanish prosecutors launched a formal investigation last month.

Saudi Arabia’s gaming hub is making its biggest acquisition to date.

Savvy Games Group, which is wholly owned by the country’s Public Investment Fund, has agreed to acquire game developer Scopely for $4.9 billion. 

The move is the latest in Saudi Arabia’s broad initiative to diversify its economy through sports and gaming, among other sectors. Last year, Savvy acquired esports companies ESL Turtle Entertainment and FaceIT for a respective $1 billion and $500 million. 

The PIF has significant holdings in the gaming sector, as it owns around 8.35% of Nintendo, 4.8% of Activision Blizzard, 5.8% of Electronic Arts, and 6.8% of Take-Two Interactive. 

Scopely, whose portfolio includes “Star Trek Fleet Command,” “Stumble Guys,” and “Scrabble GO,” will operate autonomously. Savvy wrote that the company “will benefit from Savvy’s long-term, patient financial backing,” including “through strategic partnerships and acquisitions.”

Savvy’s pivot from esports to game development is geared toward making Saudi Arabia a major hub for the gaming industry. 

The country is also spending lavishly on sports properties and events, including LIV Golf and the 2029 Asian Winter Games. Saudi Arabia is seeking to host the 2030 World Cup, and soccer legend Lionel Messi is considering an offer to join Cristiano Ronaldo in the country’s domestic league.

The Premier Hockey Federation is about to get bigger.

Five separate investment groups are in talks to acquire current teams or commit to building expansion franchises for the women’s hockey league, according to Sportico. The investors are based in Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Ontario.

The PHF is hoping that a franchise sale could yield between $5 million and $7 million. 

Established in 2015 as the National Women’s Hockey League, the league rebranded to the PHF in 2021. It now has seven teams total — including a new franchise in Montreal. 

But almost all of the teams are owned by the same investment groups, a conflict-of-interest problem that new investors would hopefully solve. 

• The Montreal Force, Boston Pride, Metropolitan Riveters, and Toronto Six are all owned by BTM Partners.
• The Minnesota Whitecaps and the Buffalo Beauts are owned by NLTT Ventures.

The league has garnered a $25 million investment from owners. As a result, the salary cap will go up to $1.5 million next season. 

The PHF has media rights deals with ESPN and Discovery.