Despite the fact that talk regarding the Atlanta Braves’ potential sale continues to surface, John Malone has no intention of selling the team.
In a phone interview with Sportico, Liberty Media’s chairman denied that the business had explored selling the franchise. “The Braves aren’t for sale, and the corporation that owns the Braves is not for sale,” Malone stated on Thursday. “I would only consider supporting a transaction that involves the Braves if it had the full enthusiastic support of the management team that runs the Braves.”
Neither Braves Holdings president and CEO Terry McGuirk, nor anyone else in upper management, has expressed an interest in selling the team. “They have not come to me with any kind of a proposal to do anything involving ownership of the Braves,” Malone stated. “Terry and the guys have done a fabulous job with the Braves, we’re extremely proud of the team, the performance and particularly the real estate project.”
In addition to building a new 41,000-seat ballpark in 2017, the Braves have created almost 2 million square feet of mixed-use space, which includes a 4,000-seat concert facility, two hotels, and a cluster of multifamily residential developments.
Malone, who has been linked with the Braves since 1987, when he headed a consortium of cable firms that invested $568 million (equivalent to $1.57 billion today) in Turner Broadcasting, oversaw the team’s divorce from Liberty, which was completed in July 2023. While speculation of a sale is baseless, Malone contacted Sportico after recent comments made by Liberty Media president and CEO Greg Maffei were misconstrued in the press.
A examination of Maffei’s remarks at the MoffettNathanson Media, Internet, and Communications Conference on Tuesday supports the argument that the significance of the executive’s statement—a fully noncommittal “we’ll see”—was overblown.
According to Malone, the legalese that underpins the Braves spinoff forbids him from selling the team. “When we spun the Braves off, I personally had to sign a representation to the lawyers that I had no plan or intent to sell my interest in the Braves,” he stated.
Malone also stated that if the RSN model fails completely, the club will most likely have to “invest more money relative to the television side of the business”.
The Braves are one of five MLB teams who have supported the league’s efforts to transition away from the bankrupt Diamond Sports RSNs. After talks between Comcast and DSG broke down two weeks ago, Xfinity users in Atlanta’s 2.74 million TV homes can no longer watch Braves games on Bally Sports South.
Malone is already the most connected figure in the media industry, and he is especially knowledgeable about the quickly developing RSN area. This is due, in part, to McGuirk’s role as chairman of the MLB Media Committee, in addition to his obligations with the Braves.
While it’s unclear how things will play out with Diamond—a confirmation hearing in their ongoing bankruptcy case is set for June 18—Malone isn’t about to end his nearly 40-year relationship with the club anytime soon.
“The reality is, the team is not for sale,” he stated. “And it’s prudent on my part to basically not even engage in those kinds of discussions until the spinoff transaction is very old and very cold.”
The Braves made $37.1 million in revenue in the first quarter of 2024, a 20% increase over the previous year. Baseball revenue rose 25% to little under $22 million, while mixed-use development revenue increased 13% to $15.1 million. As of Thursday evening, the club was 26-14, three games behind the Phillies in the National League East.
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