FanDuel Sports Network may try out lower prices, CEO says
FanDuel Sports Network may try out lower prices, CEO says
Main Street Sports Group CEO David Preschlak sat down with CNBC’s Alex Sherman to discuss the future of his company after leaving bankruptcy.
If there’s a new spring in David Preschlack’s step, there’s a pretty darn good reason for it. Preschlack is the CEO of Main Street Sports Group — the company formerly known as Diamond Sports Group — and has guided his company through a long and arduous bankruptcy process that stretched from March 2023 all the way through November 2024. The company has a new name, and a new branding partner for its 16 regional sports networks (RSNs), and Preschlack recently sat down with CNBC reporter Alex Sherman to talk about the price of the FanDuel Sports Network streaming service and other facets of the company’s future.
Key Details:
- Preschlack said that FanDuel Sports Network will stay at $20 per month for now, but lower price points could be tested.
- The CEO also said Main Street could look to expand to more partner teams going forward.
- The Cincinnati Reds recently announced they would be teaming with Main Street again in 2025.
Preschlack’s interview with Sherman appears on CNBC Sport. In the discussion, Sherman had the chance to ask the chief executive about the price of the FanDuel Sports Network streaming service, which allows viewers to stream games found on FanDuel Sports Network linear channels without the need for a cable subscription.
When FanDuel took over the naming rights of the RSNs and the streaming service, there was some doubt as to whether the price of the direct-to-consumer platform would stay the same at $20 per month. Preschlack seemed to confirm that price point would remain in place for the time being, though he also said that perhaps the company would experiment with lower subscription rates in the future.
“We sell our direct to consumer product for $19.99 a month,” he sad. “And there are different promotions out there. You know, for instance, we have a promotion with FanDuel. If you make a bet, you get three months free, right? So it all kind of averages out. We have the ability to go lower, and we’re going to test different price points, absolutely. And like, geography matters too, Alex. Like, if you live in the city that’s different than if you live in the outer edges of the service area of the network. We have the ability, based on the capability we’ve built, that we own, to test all those price points, and we will.”
There may also be opportunities for Main Street to expand the number of partner teams it has. The company is clearly on the hunt for new deals, as a recent agreement to offer in-market games from the Cincinnati Reds makes clear, and the more teams it partners with across the MLB, NBA, and NHL, the more revenue the company can generate — at least in theory.
“Scale matters in terms of how many markets you’re in. It matters in a couple of different ways,” Preschlack told Sherman. “It matters from an advertising standpoint. It matters in terms of value you bring to distributors. It matters in terms of driving direct-to-consumer. And so one way for us to scale the business is obviously, to get into other markets.”
It remains to be seen if other teams will be as eager to jump back into the RSN ecosystem once they’ve exited. The model still pays more revenue than clubs have found available when they have shifted to broadcast TV channels, though the audience reach on RSNs is considerably less thanks to the continued trend of cord-cutting.
Still, it sounds as if Preschlack is optimistic about the future of his company. There’s certainly no reason for doom and gloom, considering Main Street is out of bankruptcy and has a new distribution deal with Amazon’s streamer Prime Video to look forward to.
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.