Atlanta Braves media revenue takes 41% nosedive in Q1 following RSN collapse

“The economics right now support our decision,” Schiller told Front Office Sports. “A month into this, we can safely say we have made the right decision, not just for the Atlanta Braves and the business of the Braves, but also our fans… We believe we’re not only economically viable, but we’re maximizing that [opportunity], which we would equate to where we were previously, maybe even beating that. We’re also reaching more fans.”

So far, that’s not being borne out in the data. The club’s explanation chalked the decrease up to timing. “Broadcasting and other media revenue decreased due to the timing of the commencement of the BravesVision media contracts as we transitioned away from our previous long-term local broadcasting arrangement,” the Monday release read.

But the Braves’ media revenue pitfall is consistent with the declines seen by other teams that have left traditional regional sports networks. Even teams that have remained on such networks have been forced to take haircuts on their rights fees.

If the Braves can truly create a distribution model that is equally lucrative to the old regional sports network model, the team would be bucking a pretty serious trend. It’s difficult to draw any firm conclusions based on one quarter of data, but it’s clear the team needs a pretty sizable turnaround if it wants to meet its CEO’s lofty expectations.

The post Atlanta Braves media revenue takes 41% nosedive in Q1 following RSN collapse appeared first on Awful Announcing.