The Blues have yet to disclose any local TV broadcast plans for next season. The team, as of Monday, sits four points out of the final playoff wild card spot.<\/p>\n
Main Street Sports Group, the parent company of St. Louis Blues’ broadcaster FanDuel Sports Network Midwest, confirmed that it will wind down after the first round of the NHL playoffs, Sports Business Journal learned last week.<\/p>\n
The development is a prelude to seismic change in the local TV industry, with the National Basketball Association, for instance, telling the 13 franchises that broadcast on Main Street networks that they can begin signing new in-market deals for the 2026-27 season, which is tantamount to a free-for-all.<\/p>\n
For linear TV \u00a0\u2014 where the rights fees will likely be under $10 million annually \u2014 many of those teams could either switch to local over-the-air channels or their own in-house networks, such as the Cleveland Cavaliers\u2019 Rock Entertainment Sports Network. For streaming (and even linear, as well), the NBA is urging teams to sign one-year deals or packages with at least a one-year exit clause, in the event the league does not launch a national streaming platform until the 2027-28 season.<\/p>\n