MSG Networks is nearing a deal with its lender JPMorgan that will allow the regional sports channel to avoid bankruptcy — and potentially pave the way for a merger with the YES Network, The Post has learned.
Under terms of the deal, MSGN — which carries the Knicks, Rangers, Islanders, Devils, Sabres and Gotham FC — will win a debt refinancing in which JPMorgan agrees to reduce it to around $600 million from a current bill of roughly $800 million, sources close to the talks said.
In exchange, Knicks owner James Dolan — whose Sphere Entertainment owns and controls MSGN — would agree to reduce the rights fees MSGN pays the Knicks and Rangers, increasing the network’s ability to make its interest payment, the sources said.
MSGN and JPMorgan declined to comment.
MSG and YES — which airs the Yankees, Nets and Liberty — now partner on the Gotham Sports App, with access to both networks costing $41.99 a month. Customers can also elect to pay $29.99 a month for MSG or $24.99 a month for YES.
MSGN had a deadline at midnight on Monday to avoid bankruptcy, and got an extension to Thursday as the network and bank feverishly tried to hammer out a truce.
The publicly-traded company has to announce the terms of any financing changes before the markets open on Friday.
After the JPMorgan restructuring, Dolan is likely to start marketing MSGN for sale, sources said. With this new lighter debt package, Dolan hopes to have an easier time finding a buyer.
The cable network is losing money partly because it paid $187 million in 2025 to broadcast Knicks and Rangers games as part of a 20-year agreement that ends in 2035, according to public filings.
On the open market, a cable network would pay considerably less for those rights due to cord-cutting, sources said.
MSGN has been in default since October but has not been put in bankruptcy.
Dolan controls the Knicks and Rangers through the separately publicly traded Madison Square Garden Sports.
