Diamond Sports Group is making another cut to its portfolio of pro teams, just weeks before a crucial court hearing, as the bankrupt Bally Sports parent continues its efforts to tailor its operations to a fast-changing market reality. 

The regional sports network operator has petitioned the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to drop the final year of its contract with the NHL’s Stars. DSG had been tied to the Stars in this current deal since 2014, when Bally Sports Southwest was still Fox Sports Southwest, but concluded that continued coverage of the team would be unprofitable.

“The debtors have determined that the costs associated with performing under the Stars agreement for its remaining term, including payment of substantial rights fees, outweigh the revenues the debtors are able to obtain through broadcasting Stars games,” DSG said in a court filing. “The associated costs are an unnecessary and unproductive use of estate assets.”

Unlike some of DSG’s initial, more chaotic rejections last year of teams such as MLB’s Padres and Diamondbacks, this situation does include mutual consent as the Stars have agreed to the move.

Following the Champs

The split between DSG and the Stars closely follows the Stanley Cup champion Panthers, which have departed DSG for a new deal with Scripps Sports to air games on over-the-air broadcast television. Like that team, the Golden Knights, and Utah Hockey Club, the Stars could ultimately make an embrace of over-the-air TV. 

The long-term future of Bally Sports Southwest, meanwhile, is perhaps now more uncertain with the departure of the Stars. The network is 90% owned by DSG and 10% by MLB’s Rangers, whose rights deal with the company expires after the current season. The NBA’s Mavericks, meanwhile, have been openly considering alternate options for its rights as well.

DSG now has rights to nine NHL teams, down from a prior set of 12. 

Rising Drama

The Stars decision also arrives as DSG intends to bring its reorganization plan up for formal approval at a confirmation hearing starting July 29. But MLB, the NHL, and the NBA have each expressed doubt about DSG’s ability to emerge as a viable company, and formal objections to the plan remain possible. 

While that hearing approaches, DSG also remains locked in bitter carriage disputes with both Comcast and Altice USA’s Optimum, and is not airing on either system. 

Monday marks the first of two rest days for professional cyclists competing in the Tour de France, which has completed nine of its 21 stages. 

As the 173 remaining riders transition from Troyes to Orléans, where the action will pick back up Tuesday, the Tour de France is about 75 miles outside of Paris. That’s the closest it will get to the French capital in an unprecedented departure from tradition this year. For the first time in the history of the race, it won’t finish in Paris.

Due to the Paris Olympics, which begin on July 26, five days after the Tour de France ends on July 21, race organizers had to drastically alter the 2,173-mile route this year. Since 1975, the photo finish has come along the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, where city tourists routinely gather around the Arc de Triomphe and shop at luxury boutiques.

But right now, the famous street is at the heart of Olympic operations: Five competition venues, including 3×3 basketball and beach volleyball, are within walking distance of the Champs-Élysées. Additionally, the official fan store of the Paris Olympics, which has more than 3,000 square feet of retail space, was constructed on the street. It opened to the public at the end of June.

So, this month, the final stage of the Tour de France will be a nearly 21-mile sprint from Monaco to Nice. That’s 50 miles fewer than last year’s final stage from Saint Quentin into Paris. While the change could make fans in France and viewers at home less excited about the finish, it will provide NBC Sports a nice opportunity to drum up interest in the soon-to-start Olympics, as it has the U.S. media rights for both events.

Year of Change

The conclusion of the Tour de France wasn’t the only big change made this year, though. Also for the first time, the race began in Italy. The city of Florence paid roughly $3.25 million for the coveted Grand Depart, which kickstarted three stages in France’s neighbor to begin the event.

Riders, which are split among 22 teams, are competing for almost $2.5 million in prize money. The individual winner will take home nearly $540,000 alone.