Deadline for 5 NBA teams to decide about FanDuel RSNs pushed
Deadline for 5 NBA teams to decide about FanDuel RSNs pushed
These teams will have a little more time to think about whether or not they want to head back to a FanDuel Sports Network channel next year.
There are five NBA teams facing a big decision about where the majority of their games will play next season. Luckily, they’ll have a little more time to think about it. That’s according to Sports Business Journal, which says that a soft deadline for these teams to decide whether or not they’ll partner with a FanDuel Sports Network regional sports network (RSN) has been pushed.
Key Details:
- Previously, these teams faced a deadline of April 1 to say whether or not they’d renew with FanDuel Sports Network.
- The teams in question are the Hawks, Cavaliers, Heat, Timberwolves, and Bucks.
- The NBA is trying to negotiate a national RSN platform with in-market games from all teams.
The five teams in question were to have decided their future broadcast arrangement by April 1, at the latest. This soft deadline has already been pushed more than once — originally, the teams were supposed to have an answer to their FanDuel Sports Network partner by Dec. 2024.
The teams in question are the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Milwaukee Bucks. The reason they have been unable to give FanDuel RSNs an answer regarding their 2025-26 broadcast arrangements is that they are still waiting on the league for guidance on a much more ambitious plan.
The NBA is reportedly negotiating what would amount to a national RSN package that could be distributed by Prime Video, ESPN’s new streamer Flagship, or other platforms. This package would allow viewers in all markets to sign up for a subscription and stream their local team’s in-market games without a pay-TV subscription, which would expand access markedly.
However, the league has told team officials that a national RSN platform isn’t coming down the pipe immediately. That leaves these five teams in something of a pickle when it comes to local broadcasts; do they stay with FanDuel Sports Networks while they wait for the NBA to put together a new streamer, or do they go over-the-air as teams like the Utah Jazz have done, while also potentially creating a direct-to-consumer (DTC) app of their own?
The teams reportedly prefer to extend deals with FanDuel channels for just one year instead of multiple years, but it’s unclear if the channels’ parent company, Main Street Sports Group, will allow that. SBJ says that the Hawks, Heat, and Timberwolves are almost certain to extend their deals with FanDuel, and the Bucks are likely to as well. The Cavaliers launched Rock Entertainment Sports Network last year, but the considerably higher revenue offered by FanDuel Sports Network might also convince them to head back to that outlet.
The league is still hard at work on a national streaming RSN platform, however. NBA commissioner Adam Silver intimated after a Board of Governors meeting in March that expansion to cities like Seattle or Las Vegas might be paused until such a service is formalized, so those teams could benefit from its economics upon entering the league.
So, for FanDuel Sports Networks and the five teams in question, it seems there’s nothing to do but wait. There’s a good chance all five end up on a FanDuel Sports Network channel for the 2026-27 season, but their days on these RSNs could be numbered if the NBA’s national streaming RSN comes to fruition.
FanDuel Sports Network
FanDuel Sports Network is a direct-to-consumer streaming service that offers live games for those who want access to your local FanDuel Sports Network RSN without subscribing to a cable or satellite package. It was most recently known as Bally Sports, and prior to that, Fox Sports Network.