Out of the nine MLB clubs that recently departed Main Street Sports Group, the collapsing owner of the FanDuel Sports Networks, six have opted to join the league’s media arm.
Now, it appears two other clubs are exploring a different route. According to a report by Tom Friend in Sports Business Journal, the Los Angeles Angels and Atlanta Braves are both exploring launching their own networks to broadcast games in their local markets. The Angels’ potential network could also loop in the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, while the Braves’ potential network could include the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks.
Friend reports talks are still in the “exploratory stage,” particularly for the Angels, which will need to buyout Main Street’s stake of FanDuel Sports Network West before creating a wholly-owned network. Should this happen, the Angels would offer the Kings “an undisclosed rights fee” to join the network, though the team would not have an ownership stake.
With there being a certain level of uncertainty regarding purchasing Main Street’s stake in FDSN West, the Angels have asked MLB for more time before deciding if it would like to join the league’s media arm.
The Braves have their sights set on expansion should they opt to create their own network. “It would not be out of the realm for multiple teams to join the Braves’ prospective network,” Friend writes. The team could potentially create a conglomerate of about 12 Gray television stations throughout the region, reaching as far as Nashville, which could pave the way for the Predators to join up if they desired.
The Braves have also reportedly mulled deals with Amazon or Apple to house local broadcasts, though Friend says that possibility is “unconfirmed.”
If either of these networks come to fruition, they wouldn’t be the first of their kind. The Houston Rockets and Astros have teamed up to create Space City Home Network, where both teams’ games air. Similarly, the Bulls, White Sox, and Blackhawks all came together to form Chicago Sports Network.
Should either the Angels or Braves pursue this route, they’ll have to do it on an expedited timeline. The MLB season begins in seven weeks. That’s not much time to get an entire television network off the ground. The hope, of course, is that doing so would provide either team with a more lucrative local broadcast situation than joining the league’s media umbrella.