FanDuel Sports Network could be bundled with ESPN’s new streamer
FanDuel Sports Network could be bundled with ESPN’s new streamer
The streaming service delivers non-national NBA, NHL, and MLB games from select teams around the country.
Chatter surrounding the impending launch of ESPN’s streaming service will only increase as 2025 proceeds. Flagship, as the service is called, will give fans access to the full lineup of ESPN programming without a pay-TV subscription for the first time. ESPN has continued to explore ways to add even more content to Flagship ahead of its launch, including the idea of adding local rights. While earlier efforts seem to have been stymied, the worldwide leader in sports might have found the perfect way to add regional content to the forthcoming service. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that ESPN has discussed a potential bundle with FanDuel Sports Network to help distribute the regional sports streaming service further.
Key Details:
- A partnership with FanDuel Sports Network would bundle local NBA, NHL, and MLB rights with Flagship.
- ESPN approached MLB about adding local rights to Flagship before it parted ways with the league.
- FanDuel Sports Network is also distributed through Prime Video.
A team-up between the FanDuel Sports Network streaming service and ESPN would deliver the local rights ESPN has been seeking to add to the streamer since at least last August. It would bring in-market games from almost 30 combined NBA, NHL, and MLB teams to a bundle of the two services.
Crucially, proceeding with such a bundle would allow ESPN to include MLB rights with Flagship in certain markets. The current contract between MLB and ESPN to allow the channel to air “Sunday Night Baseball” and other games is set to expire following the 2025 season, after both the league and the network opted out of their existing deal in late February.
ESPN was hopeful that it could keep MLB as a partner in some capacity, and proposed adding local rights from the league to Flagship in order to continue justifying the $550 million per season that it currently pays for live baseball. However, MLB was uninterested in granting ESPN those rights without a corresponding fee increase, something the network was unwilling to budge on.
FanDuel Sports Network already has one major distribution partner in addition to selling itself directly to consumers. The streaming service is available as an add-on subscription via Prime Video, and costs $20 per month whether you sign up through Amazon or subscribe directly.
A potential bundle of Flagship and FanDuel Sports Network would be a formidable sports product, one that offers both national and local games in select markets. It would also help ESPN keep Major League Baseball in some form, without having to pay hundreds of millions in broadcast license fees.
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.