All nine MLB teams whose games are broadcast on FanDuel Sports Network are officially departing the parent company Main Street Sports Group, with eight of the nine expected to migrate to MLB Media or alternative platforms, SBJ has learned.
The ninth team, the Braves, are expected to launch their own network, perhaps to air on a national streaming platform such as Amazon or Apple or with a template similar to the Rangers Sports Network — which has direct-to-distributor deals with cable and satellite providers, a local over-the-air partner and a streaming outlet in Victory+.
The other eight teams — the Reds, Tigers, Royals, Angels, Marlins, Brewers, Cardinals and Rays — will purportedly strike deals with local distributors in their respective home markets, while having their games streamed on either the MLB app or other outlets. With just 52 days before Opening Day, it is also possible they could strike independent deals with Victory+, ViewLift, Kiswe or Endeavor’s Streaming Unit.
Meanwhile, sources said NBA and NHL teams are in a business-as-usual holding pattern, with the sense that Main Street still plans to air their games the rest of the regular season and simultaneously attempt to negotiate deals beyond this year. A resolution with those leagues is expected to play out over the next two weeks.
At the same time, sources said those NBA and NHL teams were not expected to receive their recent February rights fee payment on Sunday, and it is unclear whether future payments will be reduced by 20% or more — or even arrive at all.
Without MLB broadcasts, industry insiders still question the viability of Main Street following April’s NBA and NHL regular seasons –and still expect a wind down of their business by spring, unless there is 11th hour financing.
A Main Street spokesperson issued the following statement Monday: “FanDuel Sports Network is continuing to broadcast NBA and NHL games, and we appreciate the leagues’ engagement in ongoing discussions on our go-forward plans. We appreciate the relationships we have had with our MLB partners and fans over many years, and we wish them the best.”
One other outlier development involves the Red Wings, who are governed by the same Tigers ownership group, the Illitch family. Sources told SBJ the Illitch group is expected to take the Red Wings along with the Tigers to MLB Media, which would provide some production and distribution services for the Red Wings’ linear broadcasts in Detroit. The Red Wings would also likely move to the NHL Game Center app for their digital broadcasts, sources said.
Puck’s John Ourand was first to report on plans by six of the nine MLB teams.