MLB taking over broadcasts
The FanDuel Sports Network, a group of regional sports television networks (RSNs) in the US, has lost two-thirds of its Major League Baseball (MLB) teams. On Monday, the Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, and Tampa Bay Rays announced the league will produce their television broadcasts for the 2026 season.
That leaves the Atlanta Braves, Detroit Tigers, and Los Angeles Angels as FanDuel’s three remaining MLB teams, though the Sports Business Journal has reported that the Angels and Tigers may also join MLB. A separate statement from the Braves suggested they may also leave FanDuel Sports Network.
fans still have as much access to televised games as they had before
The teams making the switch are working with MLB to be sure that their fans still have as much access to televised games as they had before. The Brewers, for example, announced that fans within their designated television market, which spans all of Wisconsin and Iowa, and parts of Illinois, Minnesota, and Michigan, will have access to a Brewers television network on cable and satellite, as well as a special Brewers-only streaming package through MLB. Fans in out-of-market locations can subscribe to MLB.tv, as has been the case for years.
It appears that the other teams will be doing the same thing in their markets.
Financial roller coaster
It has been a rocky road for RSNs over the last half-decade or so. The RSNs that comprised FanDuel Sports Network were, for many years, known as Fox Sports Networks. Diamond Sports bought them from Disney in 2019, part of the US DOJ’s divestiture requirement after Disney bought 21st Century Fox.
Diamond sold the naming rights of the RSNs to Bally’s and Fox Sports Network became Bally Sports in March 2021. As more and more households canceled their cable packages and moved to streaming, Diamond hit financial trouble, filing for bankruptcy in 2023. It renegotiated contracts with some teams and lost others. In October 2024, Diamond entered into an agreement with daily fantasy sports and sports betting company FanDuel to rename Bally Sports to the FanDuel Sports Network.
Diamond Sports Group came out of bankruptcy 13 months ago and renamed itself to Main Street Sports Group. The company’s financial issues continued, however, as it missed payments to teams at the end of 2025. It tried a hail-mary sale of its streaming and entertainment service to DAZN, but that never materialized.
Main Street Sports, through FanDuel Sports Network, still holds the local broadcast rights to 13 NBA teams and seven NHL teams.
