FanDuel Sports networks teetering on the edge of insolvency
Financial woes continue to deepen as nine MLB teams pull content
The future of FanDuel Sports is in serious doubt as nine MLB teams have pulled their games from the regional sports networks.
The teams defecting are the St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Tampa Bay Rays, Miami Marlins, Cincinnati Reds, Atlanta Braves, and the Los Angeles Angels (who play in Anaheim.) This comes as owner Main Street Sports Group missed a payment to the Cardinals last month and decided to terminate its contract Thursday, with the other teams following suit.
Missed payments to teams were common under Main Street successor Diamond Sports, which owned the Bally Sports networks as a subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcasting. After Diamond filed for bankruptcy, several teams bailed out of the sinking ship, including the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks, with MLB taking over production. MLB will likely take over production for the nine affected teams as the league is looking to centralize its local rights at the end of the current decade and sell them to a streamer – something that could impact the Chicago Cubs and White Sox, which air their games on RSNs Marquee and CHSN, respectively. MLB already produces games for six teams and may produce games for a seventh, if the Washington Nationals come on board. Starting in 2027, the games of those teams and any team joining them will be available on the ESPN Unlimited app as part of the network’s new rights deal with MLB.
Main Street also reportedly missed payments to several NBA teams. The NBA has considered centralizing its local rights and stated that it is prepared to step in and produce broadcasts, which it would air for free on its League Pass platform, should FanDuel fold mid-season. FanDuel has the rights to thirteen NBA Teams, including the Milwaukee Bucks, Atlanta Hawks, and the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
The NHL has yet to announce their plans for their seven teams if FanDuel closes. Franchises affected include the Detroit Red Wings and the St. Louis Blues.
Main Street is attempting to sell the company to DAZN, a UK-based streaming service, but doubts are rising about the possibility of completing the deal. The proposed terms of a sale to DAZN aren’t favorable to the 29 MLB, NBA, and NHL teams involved in the network, as they are asked to take a massive revenue cut – one of the reasons why talks have dragged. If there isn’t a sale, FanDuel Sports could close at the end of the current NBA and NHL seasons.
The nine MLB teams could return to FanDuel if the networks are sold to a different owner and the outlook for this year improves. Opting out of FanDuel gives them more flexibility on what to do next with their games, which could include having the broadcasts produced by MLB and protects them if Main Street files for Chapter 11. One potential name being considered is Fubo, for which The Walt Disney Company now holds a 70 percent stake.
Previously known as Fox Sports Net, the RSNs were sold to the newly formed Diamond Sports Group in 2019. This sale followed the transfer of Fox properties to Disney, which occurred due to concerns from the Justice Department regarding Disney’s ownership of ESPN. Diamond, a subsidiary of Sinclair, filed for Chapter 11 in 2022 as viewers were dumping expensive cable subscriptions. Diamond emerged from bankruptcy as Main Street Sports approximately a year ago, and the RSNs were rebranded to betting company FanDuel, with those 29 teams giving them a strong vote of confidence. But now Main Street is in the same position Diamond was in by missing payments to teams, and instead of facing bankruptcy, Main Street faces going out of business.