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The Braves say that despite a frenetic move this spring to form their own regional sports network, the MLB club is on pace to potentially surpass its prior broadcasting revenue from the embattled Main Street Sports Group.
Speaking to Front Office Sports, team president and CEO Derek Schiller said the club is already generating strong returns from BravesVision, the network formed in February in the wake of their departure that month from the FanDuel Sports Network parent company. Braves executives have lauded the venture as a “defining moment” for the franchise, and on-air coverage began with the start of the regular season in late March.
“The economics right now support our decision,” Schiller said. “A month into this, we can safely say we have made the right decision, not just for the Atlanta Braves and the business of the Braves, but also our fans. … We believe we’re not only economically viable, but we’re maximizing that [opportunity], which we would equate to where we were previously, maybe even beating that. We’re also reaching more fans.”
Schiller did not provide financial specifics related to BravesVision. The publicly traded club, however, detailed $188.6 million in broadcasting revenue for 2025, providing a comparative benchmark.
Moreover, the club’s confidence differs materially from many of the other clubs that have also departed Main Street Sports. Brewers owner Mark Attanasio said that the club recently took a $20 million financial hit by shifting to the MLB Media in-house model for local game production and distribution in the wake of the company’s ongoing decline.
Main Street Sports is expected to wind down operations in the coming weeks, particularly after the first round of the NHL playoffs ends. In addition to no longer having any MLB ties, the company has also ended its NBA broadcasting.
Similarly, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred has frequently described a situation in which many clubs in that league going through local media turbulence will suffer some near-term revenue impact before ultimately emerging in a stronger position.
Potent Mix
Atlanta’s situation, however, is unique in several additional aspects—including its expansive local market territory across much of the U.S. Southeast, a history of on-field success, and the team’s own deep broadcasting lineage through former owner Ted Turner, creator of the TBS superstation.
“The Braves are different in so many ways from some of our peers,” Schiller said. “We’ve always had a substantially different way in how we approach the marketplace, and we have television in our DNA. In many ways, we’re now returning to those roots.”
BravesVision is now distributed through major cable and satellite carriers such as Spectrum, Comcast, and DirecTV, streaming-based outlets Fubo and U-Verse, local entities such as Cox, and through an over-the-air deal with Gray Media. Additionally, there is a direct-to-consumer streaming option, Braves.TV, which operates similarly to other clubs working with MLB Media.
“A big piece of this hinges on your ability to secure those relationships and partnerships with the major distributors,” Schiller said. “So fundamentally, to this right, it starts with doing deals with the likes of Comcast, Spectrum, DirecTV, Cox, Fubo, I’ll just name those five to begin with. You have to have those relationships. If you don’t have those, none of this works.”
Further details surrounding BravesVision are expected when the Braves report first-quarter earnings on May 11, with a fuller picture anticipated with the second-quarter report. During the team’s last earnings call in February, Braves CFO Jill Robinson acknowledged there will be a “difference in how the cash flow comes in” with the club running BravesVision instead of licensing the local media rights.
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