The NBA has informed the 13 teams affiliated with Main Street Sports Group that they’re free to seek new in-market media rights deals ahead of the 2026/27 season, reports Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal.
Main Street, previously known as Diamond Sports Group, runs FanDuel Sports Network, which broadcasts local and regional TV games for the Thunder, Spurs, Pistons, Cavaliers, Clippers, Heat, Timberwolves, Magic, Hornets, Hawks, Pacers, Grizzlies, and Bucks. However, the company is headed for insolvency and will discontinue broadcasting for those teams when the regular season concludes on April 12.
“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 Sports Group spokesperson said in a statement to Sports Business Journal.
“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.”
While this has been an expected outcome for months, it leaves nearly half of the teams in the league without in-market broadcasting contracts for next season. According to Friend, the 13 teams could opt for over-the-air channels or streaming options (or both), but whichever route they take, the league has been urging those clubs to sign one-year agreements or to at least have an opt-out after one season, so they can join the streaming hub for local broadcasts the NBA plans to launch down the line.
While previous reporting indicated the NBA might try to launch that streaming RSN hub for 2026/27, it didn’t come up at last month’s Board of Governors meetings, Friend writes, and teams are operating as though it won’t be ready until ’27/28 at the earliest. DAZN has been aggressively reaching out to those 13 clubs to try and secure media rights with an eye on possibly running the streaming RSN platform.
As Friend details, DAZN could have competition for that national streaming project, with Amazon, YouTube TV and the ESPN app all potentially in the mix. DAZN also has competition for local rights, as multiple teams are considering streaming-only options instead of having over-the-air broadcasts. Victory+ (streaming only), ViewLift (Altitude for Denver and Monumental for Washington) and Kiswe (Jazz) are the other companies vying for regional streaming projects.
None of the 13 teams have received rights fee payments from Main Street in 2026, but multiple sources tell friend each club could receive up to 60% of its lost TV money once dissolution agreements are finalized with the NBA and Main Street.
Those lost payments impacted the latest salary cap projection for 2026/27, decreasing it by $1MM. It’s unclear whether the projection might bounce back slightly if part of that lost money is recouped or if that was already factored into the most recent estimate.
Pacers Sports and Entertainment CEO Mel Raines confirmed to Dustin Dopirak of The Indianapolis Star that Indiana is seeking a new broadcast partner for next season.
“We’re throwing a very wide net and looking to both potential over-the-air partners and direct-to-consumer partners and looking at every possible option to reach as many of our fans as we can next season over local television,” Raines said.
the Heat have been on what was once the Sunshine Network, then Sun Sports, then Fox Sports Sun, to whatever the hell they call it now for almost 40 years… my entire life I’ve watched them on the same network…… billionaire greed and selfishness is taking that away…. they already did this to the Marlins.. now the Heat and Panthers too… this is maddeningly frustrating
You should be given tickets to the NBA finals you’re one of the few fans left in America
I paid $700 a seat to see the Heat play in the 2012 finals against the Thunder.. that same seat is probably $3000 today… that’s the problem in a nutshell
Why would a gambling behemoth own tv rights to sports telecasts game. Doesn’t sound kosher to me. Not at all for Gambling in sports. Isn’t selling them air time for commercials enough. Why must they be all over the broadcast. Has be to enough money out there. Without taking their pimping for gamblers and addicts money. Why would any pro sport push for gambling in their sport. What’s the point of that. For a couple of million.
Who do you think is watching regular season games other than diehard fans?
So what does that even mean. You just proved my point. Sports leagues shouldn’t be in the business of pumping gambling on their fabs. Tgey will do it on their own. Gambling all over telecasts . Even Segments on odds a betting serves what purpose. It’s already everywhere.
So in another article people were telling me the NBA viewership is up while in this article the NBA is saying 13 teams are losing their TV deals? If their was so much money in it how is that possible? The fact is I saw an article that said NBA viewership is way down because of the tanking and the sitting of talent for no reason other than tanking basically. So somebody is freakin lying.
Fan duel is going out of the business of broadcasting. Has nothing to do with viewership.
I don’t know a whole lot but what I know about billionaires is if they have billions they only want one thing. More billions. And if they were making a ton of money they wouldn’t be bailing on 13 teams no matter what else was happening. You can take that to the bank. So you can only make 1 conclusion. They’re losing money.
Yeah but that industry has changed a lot last ten yrs.
It would take major investments to keep up with new technologies today. All cable outlets are having difficulties keeping up. Plus their other ventures are making plenty of money. And still plenty of growth there. Internet, streaming, social media are changing the game. There you are already connected to the world lol. Not just locally. Although I believe strongly in a local telecast. Nobody knows their teams and fans better right.
They didn’t. It was only a branding deal.
All this smoke for gambling but who cares that Amazon pushes products directly to your television on their broadcast and actively attempts to get you to stop watching the game as soon as the ad roll starts. But yeah gambling is bad because stupid people can’t help themselves.
Why do you care if next door Johnny loses the house because he felt the need to bet on South African Women’s Badminton at 2 am on a Wednesday? Are you under the impression that if sports gambling weren’t a thing you just wouldn’t receive ads anymore?
I doubt you can ever understand what I care about.
Pro sports shouldn’t be in the business of pimping addiction or trouble for their sport. There is a reason why organized crime is heavily involved in gambling. And not in Amazon. I care about the game of basketball. Not about your sorry self. Gambling has no place on the telecast. They can buy commercials.
Why would that bother a pessimist like you. Complaining is not action. Its just a release for sick individuals. Most of us here care about the human race.
Riiiiiight. But pump out all the Henny ads you want right?? Watch an NFL game and tell me how many times you see an ad for beer or vodka. How many MLB teams started offering 9-9-9 challenges this season.
The f’ing mob. Give me a break man.
All legal companies can buy commercial time. Its another thing having segments in the game telecast.
Or having it all over studio. Even espn betting. WTF is that. Its like taking your mistress putting her on social media or tv telecasts. Doesn’t belong there. In life some of us still try and live with honor. Not everything is for sale. Pro sports should be more concerned about their game. Than to have gambling all over it like a contagious disease. Plenty of clean money out there. What’s next the Sopranos own a team. Or the Cartels buy a team. Sports is suppose to be the kast honorable game around. We all understand it cause its simple . Its a kids game. It happens honestly in front of our eyes. God forbid we all become like you. It’s for the love of the game. It should be kept that way.
No shot that your argument against having betting site sponsored content on an NBA broadcast is that “some people like me still have honor” lmaooooo.
“Sports is supposed to be the last honorable game around” HAHAHAHAH you’re stuck in some Bushido movie that’s never existed where hara-kiri is Adam Silvers only path to redemption.
Btw I hope you understand how funny it is to call me a pessimist while clutching your pearls about the f’ing cartel buying the SuperSonics. Turn off the tv old man.
Honor in the game. I don’t care about individual adults. There will always be lost people. The game shouldn’t be pimped out. You want to keep the game honest. Then you don’t take dollars from the worst of society. Plenty of honest dollars out there. Certainly no need for it to have segments on its telecasts. Nobody is banning them. Just show there is a real line. For you we can do Scotch segments. Of go back to cigarette sponsorship. I like my buds now and then. I wouldn’t want them buying segments on telecasts. There is so much money out there. Why would you go to bed with gambling. Have some self respect.
If there were more money to be made elsewhere why wouldn’t they take it Al? What are you missing boss? Please list some examples of honest dollars they could take instead.
Because they don’t have my morals. They are greedy Fs. Who place money ahead of everything. Doesn’t mean it can’t get done. Only they choose not to. Just like they sold their souls to PEDs. They are doing it now to gambling. Gambling is what will ruin sports. It already has started. It’s why i gave up on MLB. Bunch of sellouts and liars. They all learn in the end.
You sound like you’re whining. Liquor has nothing to do with the sport and nothing wrong with drinking responsibly. You’re advertising gambling on your own product. Basically having people bet on your product on who will win or score points affecting the game. If you want to gamble more power to you. I’d never bet on a NBA game, however I’m with AL pushing gambling is basically insider trading.
I’m talking-to wash_ bon r. He doesn’t care about anything. Gambling doesn’t belong all over sports. Buying commercial time is all they should get. Period. Organized Crime biggest money
Ake after drugs is gambling. Why would you want that in your sport.
Al I know you were. I was saying you’re wasting you breath. I am agree with you. Washington_bon just likes to go back and forth. Go look at our lakers debate. He is still not willing to admit his was wrong.
Me and you have gone back and forth. I’ve been right I’ve been wrong. If I’m wrong I’ll admit it. You are correct I believe gambling is almost worse then drugs. With drugs after time you can see the affects pushing some people away. Gambling is like Cancer it needs a family and a person from the inside all the way to the out with greed. People have taken loans, loss there house marriages over gambling. Still people have the right to do what they want. But from a business standpoint your putting you product at risk with players able to manipulate stats. You want to do point spreads or over unders okay but to be able to bet on player props puts the game in a bad position
Ok I get it. Your right.
bro I gotta say we feel the same way. Capitalism is fine until you bring in the degenerates and entitled greedy mf rs. I just love the game. Don’t want to see it go down. You have to keep gambling in its place. NBA can do business. But doesn’t have to go to bed with it. This game can go global like Football (Soccer)
In order to maintain the market these games have to be made available to their respective local audience. Keeping fans of all generations is what will guarantee future revenue for the league. Now that NBC has a share isn’t there some fluidity that they could take these contracts on too? I don’t watch television outside of sports but I’m assuming this would be a higher grossing program.
I think there are problems for both NBC and Amazon in trying to do regional stuff with teams because of their national broadcasting deals. Not really sure how doing business with a specific team thats part of a league that your already doing business with works in terms of how it would effect the other league wide partners and their contracts.