Main Street has until end of January to win back MLB
Main Street has until end of January to win back MLB
The MLB teams formerly partnered with Main Street Sports Group have told the company it has until the end of the month to line up financing for 2026.
Ultimatums can be tricky things, whether in a personal relationship or a business one. Certainly, they communicate urgency, but they can also backfire if the issuer of that ultimatum isn’t in earnest. The MLB clubs formerly partnered with a FanDuel Sports Network channel don’t have that problem, however. As of this week, these teams have given Main Street Sports Group an ultimatum to line up the financing necessary to pay their rights fees for the upcoming 2026 season, or risk losing them permanently.
Key Details:
- Now or never: Main Street has until the end of the month to secure financing for MLB clubs.
- Outside looking in: The nine teams behind the ultimatum have already canceled pre-existing contracts with Main Street.
- Waiting in the wings: ESPN has already acquired in-market streaming rights to a number of MLB clubs.
As reported by Sports Business Journal, the nine teams that were partnered with Main Street to distribute their games on FanDuel Sports Network channels in 2025 have given the company until the end of January to arrange the financing necessary to pay their rights fees for the 2026 season.
If Main Street cannot make that happen, the teams say their relationship with the RSN company will almost certainly end for good. A source told SBJ that Main Street has heard similar language from its NBA and NHL partner teams as well, after Main Street sent amended contract terms to all of the teams it currently broadcasts. All three leagues are uncertain as to whether Main Street has sufficient funds on hand to fulfill its 2026 obligations.
Last week, all nine of the teams that were broadcast on FanDuel channels in 2025 canceled their contracts with Main Street. They did not immediately close the door on a return to FanDuel channels in 2026, but we now know the conditions under which such a reunion would have to take place.
SBJ cites sources close to the FanDuel channels who told it that if it couldn’t close a deal with DAZN to acquire Main Street, the company would likely shut down at the end of this year’s NBA and NHL seasons. No deal with DAZN is in the offing, and even though Main Street has reportedly been in contact with Fubo about a merger, nothing appears imminent on that front either.
It may simply be that the time of the regional sports network is over, and that this is Main Street’s last gasp. But it does have a chance at continuing to partner with the NBA, NHL, and MLB to continue distributing in-market games in 2026, if it can right its financial ship by the end of January.
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.