Below is our initial take on recent bankruptcy-related developments:

Dolan’s MSG Networks nears bankruptcy as cord-cutting surges | Front Office Sports

MSG Networks, the Dolan-controlled regional sports networks, face imminent bankruptcy because of $804 million in debt that is currently due on March 26, despite forbearance extensions. This looming financial crisis threatens a key component of James Dolan’s sports empire.

S&K Take: Regional sports networks continue to take a beating as the sports-viewing landscape changes underneath their feet. Diamond Sports Group, which owned the former Fox Sports RSNs when it filed for bankruptcy in 2023, just exited chapter 11 in November 2024 with a streamlined platform of 16 RSNs with Fan Duel branding and a partnership with Amazon. The main issue that the RSNs have confronted is cord-cutting, which decreased revenue they were receiving from major cable platforms in exchange for the rights to broadcast local games. Decreased revenues have been insufficient to service high debt levels. DSG, for example, carried $9 billion in debt. That amount was slashed to $200 million in the bankruptcy, with “Main Street Sports” coming out of the other side lean(er) and mean, owned by its former lenders. MSG Networks, which carries Knicks and Rangers games and is owned by James Dolan, the son of the founder of Cablevision (Charles Dolan), and front man of the (in)famous J.D. and the Straight Shot (check out this electric kazoo solo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCuQSbcrcDQ ), is facing similar pressures. $804 million in debt is slated to come due in 19 days, and MSGs decreased revenues from cable, paired with the NBA and NHL taking games away, have put J.D. in quite the pickle. Perhaps not as disastrous as hiring Isiah Thomas, but still pretty bad. We will keep an eye on this one and hope that this author doesn’t get banned from Knicks games.

J&J spars with foes of $9 billion talc cancer plan as trial ends | Insurance Journal

Healthcare company Johnson & Johnson told U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez its $9 billion plan to resolve baby powder cancer claims in bankruptcy court is the only feasible way to finalize over 15 years of litigation.

S&K Take: J&J, through its Red River subsidiary, wrapped its 9-day confirmation hearing with a 10-hour coup-de-grace. We have covered a few of the issues previously, and the final hearing was much of the same. Disputes over voting protocol and whether Red River got to the required 75% threshold for a 524(g) injunction were a focus, with the Coalition pushing for resolicitation. Judge Lopez also talked opt-outs, noting that he did not think that Robertshaw (where he approved opt-outs) applied, particularly in the context of a power of attorney. The UST raised good faith concerns, arguing that the resolution of litigation is not a valid bankruptcy purpose. Judge Lopez noted that he was struggling to reconcile dismissing the case or denying confirmation when “real life is happening every day here” and approval would likely be the most efficient way to get money into victims’ hands. The Coalition and the UST argued that those are hard issues, but it is simply not the role of the Bankruptcy Court. Most seem to expect that the practical considerations (and a debtor-friendly SD Tex) will win the day here, and we generally agree.