9 MLB Teams Opt Out of FanDuel Sports Agreement; RSN Unit At Death’s Door

By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man – Buy Me a Coffee!

Nine Major League Baseball teams have decided to opt out of their TV deals with the RSN (Regional Sports Network) company Main Street Sports Group which owns FanDuel Sports Network.

That’s according to an article by The Associated Press which quotes MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred as saying the league is prepared to broadcast the games of the nine teams during the 2026 season on MLB TV.

The teams are the Tampa Bay Rays, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Angels.

“No matter what happens, whether it’s Main Street, a third party or MLB media, fans are going to have the games,” Manfred said, according to the AP.

The nine MLB teams – the only MLB teams carried by FanDuel Sports Network – could negotiate new deals with Main Street but that possibility is clouded due to the RSN company’s ongoing financial troubles. Main Street has attempted to find a buyer but Sports Business Journal writes that a deal with sports programmer DAZN is now unlikely.

FanDuel Sports Network still has the regional TV rights to 20 NBA and NHL teams.

If the DAZN deal fails, Main Street Sports could soon be forced to shutter although Sports Business Journal (SBJ) says the RSN firm is telling teams that it may have a second bidder, possibly Fubo.

The closure of FanDuel Sports Network would potentially create a chaotic situation for the NBA and NHL which are in mid-season. SBJ writes that the leagues are already discussing alternative plans such as streaming their games on league-run services and/or securing fast agreements with other distributors.

If a team is on a league-backed network, such as MLB TV, or an individual team-owned channel, the usual TV providers such as DIRECTV, Verizon and Comcast will create TV channels to air the games, just as they have for teams now broadcast via MLB TV.

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