Hulu And Fox Sports Alum Randy Freer To Chair New Board Of Managers Tasked With Turning Around Sinclair’s Regional Sports Subsidiary

deadline.com:

Diamond Sports Group has made a call to the bullpen.The troubled subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcast Group, which runs 19 regional sports networks formerly owned by Fox and now branded Bally Sports, has recruited former Fox Sports and Hulu boss Randy Freer to serve on a new board of managers.

Freer will serve as chair and Sinclair CEO Chris Ripley will be one of the five managers. The other three are all pedigreed sports figures: David Preschlack, the former president of NBC’s RSNs who was also an exec at Disney and ESPN; Maryann Turcke, a senior adviser to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and the league’s former COO; and former senior NBA and NFL exec Bob Whitsitt.The new board, which replaces three prior directors, is being put in place after the company closed a $635 million financing arrangement, which it plans to use in large part to fund its streaming ambitions.Sinclair clarified that it owns “nearly 100%” of the sports entity, with Byron Allen retaining a small stake.

Private equity firms and other investors were involved in the $10.6 billion acquisition of the RSNs, which closed in 2019 and was set in motion by Disney’s purchase of most of 21st Century Fox.Along with the 19 RSNs in Diamond, Sinclair also has positions in New York’s YES and Chicago’s Marquee, two other RSNs.

During an earnings call this morning, Sinclair announced it has separated the financials and commentary around Diamond and its core operations, which include the No.