Main Street Sports Crisis Pushes RSN Rights Closer to League Control

An already-difficult situation ensnaring much of regional sports broadcasting is only growing thornier as Main Street Sports Group has missed another set of scheduled rights payments—raising further questions about its future viability. 

Main Street Sports, the parent of the FanDuel Sports Network, missed the scheduled January rights payments for most, if not all, of the 13 NBA teams it shows, according to industry sources. That follows a similar lapse in a rights payment due last month to MLB’s Cardinals. 

The company is still in the midst of attempting to complete a potential sale to DAZN. There are still numerous questions around that pending deal, though, including the London-based streamer’s own health as it posted a pretax loss of $935.6 million in 2024, and more than $1.4 billion the year before that. 

RSNs Under Stress

That sets up a rather tough scenario, at least in the short term, for those 13 NBA teams, 9 MLB clubs, and 7 NHL teams that Main Street Sports shows. If the DAZN deal happens, that company is likely to pursue lower rights fees for teams, as well as additional digital rights, as a condition of continued regional broadcasting. 

If that doesn’t happen, Main Street Sports is expected to cease operations at the end of the current NBA and NHL seasons. The local media rights for the involved teams would revert to those franchises and their respective leagues, and that path, too, almost certainly means a short-term revenue loss. 

Main Street Sports, through a spokesperson, told Front Office Sports that it is “in dialogue with its team and league partners around the timing of rights payments as we progress discussions with strategic partners to further enhance our long-term capital position.”

Some type of further clarity is expected by the end of the month. The games of the involved NBA and NHL teams are continuing to be shown on FanDuel Sports Network outlets while negotiations continue. 

Main Street Sports emerged a year ago from a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, as a variety of issues—including industry-wide cord-cutting and mounting debt—have particularly battered this part of the sports media business. The company posted a strong viewership increase during the 2025 MLB season, and it has begun to do so again in the current NBA and NHL seasons. It also retooled its production under former ESPN executive Norby Williamson, but the structural issues have only deepened. The aim is to provide greater long-term stability—though that might not be possible.