It seems we’ll know sooner rather than later whether or not sports streaming platform DAZN will purchase a majority stake in Main Street Sports Group, owner of the FanDuel Sports Networks.
According to a report by Puck sports correspondent John Ourand, should a deal come together, “it’s likely to happen next month.” Initial reports of DAZN’s interest in acquiring the regional sports network group surfaced earlier this month, when the Wall Street Journal reported the two sides were in “advanced talks” about a deal. Later in December, Sports Business Journal pushed the story forward, reporting that Main Street had missed media rights payments to the St. Louis Cardinals and that leagues were preparing contingency plans for if the company shut down.
Should Main Street fail to close a deal with DAZN, the company will be forced to shut down after the current NBA and NHL seasons are complete.
The urgent timing of closing a deal makes sense, as pushing negotiations past January would leave the nine MLB clubs currently inked to agreements with the FanDuel Sports Networks in a bind as their seasons approach. Should a deal fail to close, each of those nine MLB clubs will decide whether to join the league’s broadcast arm, which already produces and distributes local games for six teams, or seek another local rights deal before Opening Day.
NBA and NHL teams would have a little bit more time in this scenario, as they’d be afforded an entire offseason to decide on new local broadcast arrangements. The NBA is preparing for a “worst-case” scenario in which Main Street shuts down before the current season concludes. If that is the case, the NBA will step in to produce games and distribute them on its League Pass platform while teams look to find linear partners for the remainder of the season.
Main Street, for its part, is currently in talks with several teams to rework rights payments.
“We have engaged with certain team partners around their rights payments and the terms of sustainable partnerships as we work to get more clarity on the future direction of the company,” CEO David Preschlack wrote in an email to employees. “These discussions are progressing in earnest, and we are working diligently to finalize the path forward as soon as we can.”
Suffice it to say, the situation over at Main Street is dire. Should DAZN decide not to purchase the company, there will be a major restructuring to local sports rights in 2026. We’ll likely know DAZN’s decision and get some clarity on the regional sports network business in the next month.