The clock may be about to strike midnight for Main Street Sports and the FanDuel RSNs.
The organization that houses the local rights to dozens of professional sports teams has been over a roller coaster ride in the last several years. After having to be spun-off from Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox, the regional sports networks were held by Sinclair under the Diamond Sports umbrella.
For years, Sinclair struggled to keep the RSN business afloat, finally entering Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. But after 20 months of wrangling with the sports leagues and Sinclair in the legal system, the company completed an improbable climb out of bankruptcy, moving forward with a slimmed down version of the business. That new company was dubbed Main Street Sports Group at the beginning of 2025 as branding also transitioned from Bally’s to FanDuel.
But in spite of the changes in names, the problems did not go away.
The RSN business is once again on life support as Main Street has continually sought additional investment to no avail. After a proposed deal with DAZN has failed to materialize, the company may not even make it to the NBA All-Star Game in tact.
According to Tom Friend at Sports Business Journal, Main Street Sports Group could file Chapter 7 bankruptcy as early as next week, which would mean the liquidation of the company. Barring any last-minute cash infusion, that now looks like the most likely ending to the RSN saga.
The last domino that needs to fall is the decision of the nine MLB teams still linked with the FanDuel RSNs to permanently opt-out of their deals, potentially bringing their local rights back in-house with the league as many others have already done. Given the FanDuel RSNs are teetering on the brink of extinction, it’s hard to project any other outcome at this point.
If that were to happen, it would suddenly leave many NBA and NHL teams without a television home for the second half of their seasons. Those leagues would be left to scramble in striking distribution deals with local television networks, providing in-market streaming options, or as proactive teams have done, try to do both. However, the loss of RSN revenue in these new models has already proven to come at a cost.
The RSNs have snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with a last-second buzzer-beater once before. But to expect them to do so again with these odds stacked against them would be the most unlikely of comeback stories.
About Matt Yoder