What are NBA’s next steps after FanDuel Sports Network shuts down?
What are NBA’s next steps after FanDuel Sports Network shuts down?
Local rights for several NBA teams now need a new home, but the league is offering guidance with an eye on an in-market streamer.
Main Street Sports Group was hoping that when it emerged from bankruptcy in early 2025, it would have put itself on solid financial ground. But a year later, Main Street is in its final death throes. The company has announced the dates that it would cease operations, leaving the 13 NBA teams that are currently partnered with a FanDuel Sports Network regional sports network (RSN) left to figure out their local broadcast and streaming rights for the 2026-27 season, just six months before tipoff.
Key Details:
- Not long now: Main Street will shut down its FanDuel SN channels around the end of April.
- Short-term only: The NBA is urging teams to make in-market streaming deals they can get out of in one year.
- In the zone?: DAZN could be a major player for these local rights.
As reported by Sports Business Journal, Main Street Sports Group will wind down operations after the first round of the NHL playoffs. The 13 NBA teams that were partnered with the company will receive reimbursement for at least a portion of this year’s lost rights fee payments.
“FanDuel Sports Network has reached agreements with the NBA and NHL to broadcast games and other programming through the end of the 2026 NBA regular season and the end of the first round of the NHL playoffs,” a Main Street spokesperson told The Streamable. “We are preparing to wind down our operations upon seasons’ end unless we reach a strategic transaction. We’re pleased to finish out the NBA and NHL seasons, and we appreciate the collaborative relationships we have enjoyed with our team and league partners as well as the connections we have fostered with local fans.”
The shutdown means that the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, LA Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic, and San Antonio Spurs all have to seek out new local TV arrangements for the 2026-27 season.
Many of these teams will turn to over-the-air broadcast channels for next season or move to create in-house networks. But when it comes to streaming rights, the league is providing more specific guidance, telling teams that they should only sign one-year deals or get opt-out clauses written into agreements with streaming services.
That’s because the league wants to launch an in-market streaming platform that could distribute rights to as many as 20+ teams, as soon as this fall. Having the rights to the 13 teams formerly on FanDuel channels would be a boon for such a platform. But in case it’s not ready to roll out for the 2026-27 season, the NBA is hedging its bets by advising teams to agree to only short-term streaming deals.
The international sports streamer DAZN has been in contact with many, if not all, of these teams about purchasing their local rights. DAZN wants to deepen its relationship with the NBA now, so that when the league does launch an in-market streaming platform, DAZN can be positioned as a top candidate to distribute the service. But it will have to compete with the likes of ESPN, Prime Video, and YouTube for those distribution rights.
The fight to keep Main Street Sports Group’s head above water is finally ending. Teams will mourn the revenue reductions they suffered while partnered with the company, but must now look to the future. The NBA could be ready to launch its new, in-market streamer this year, but in case it’s not, teams whose rights are now available have been told to sell their streaming rights on short-term deals.
This article has been updated to include a statement from Main Street Sports Group.
DAZN
DAZN is an international sports streaming service dedicated to live and on-demand sports programming. Since its launch in 2016, the platform has expanded to become one of the world’s leading sports streaming destinations, offering coverage that varies by region and includes boxing, soccer, MMA, women’s sports, motorsports, and other major competitions.