Regional sports networks are faltering even as ratings soar
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto and actor and musician Donald Glover greet Nintendo’s Yoshi after the ceremonial first pitch before a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on March 31, 2026.
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A group of regional sports networks is preparing to shut down, marking the collapse of this once-lucrative business and leaving the fate of local baseball, basketball and hockey broadcasts uncertain even as live sports draw top TV ratings.
RSNs have arguably felt the brunt of the losses plaguing the pay-TV bundle as consumers switch to streaming. Now the model is experiencing a rapid decline.
Last week, as the 2026 MLB season got underway, the league announced it would take over media distribution for 14 teams. This was largely the result of the inevitable demise of Main Street Sports, formerly Fox Sports networks, which has been under different owners since 2019 and various name changes since 2021.
Main Street emerged from bankruptcy protection in late 2024, and despite touting subscriber growth as recently as last spring, the operator faced another liquidity crunch when MLB rights payments came due earlier this year, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Main Street had about 15 channels, but at one point aired 30 MLB, NHL and NBA teams after emerging from bankruptcy.
Although the company was in sales talks with streaming platforms like DAZN and Fubo earlier this year, the talks never led to a deal, according to the people.
There have been rumors of purges in the middle of the NBA and NHL seasons, but Main Street has managed to prevent it so far. Instead, MLB teams went their separate ways at the start of the season; some have moved to MLB distribution, and some, such as the Los Angeles Angels and Atlanta Braves, have taken over production and distribution of their own regional channels.
The NBA and NHL regular seasons are expected to be completed through networks owned by Main Street, now called FanDuel Sports networks. But after the NBA regular season and the first round of the NHL playoffs, Main Street plans to begin a serious end-of-business process, one of the sources said.
The future of the remaining NBA and NHL teams has yet to be determined, but some are likely to find homes with broadcast station owners such as Scripps who have picked up local rights, according to a person familiar with the negotiations who asked not to be identified because the matter is private.
And the RSN model doesn’t end there.
The fees networks pay to host games have long favored professional sports leagues, especially MLB, which is known for having some of the most expensive rights fees and the most localized games. The upheaval of the RSN model is sure to have a ripple effect on these teams.
Those already exiting the RSN model have sought refuge in direct-to-consumer streaming apps with steep monthly or annual costs for fans and deals with broadcast station owners who claim to offer the broadest reach of any platform for sporting events.
There’s also a growing emphasis on advertising, but while that revenue stream is useful when it comes to the NBA and NHL, it doesn’t go far enough to support MLB, according to industry insiders.
Once again, the move to affiliate networks for MLB teams has been minimal due to expense and the number of games, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
go alone
While not all channels are equal, even those broadcasting games of major market teams face the same pressures as Main Street-owned channels — just not as severe.
Last year, MSG Network, which broadcasts the matches of the NBA’s New York Knicks as well as the NHL’s New York Rangers, Buffalo Sabers and New Jersey Devils, were competing against each other. It suffered financial turmoil as it was forced to refinance an enormous debt load and was embroiled in a transportation dispute that led to a power outage for nearly two months. Bankruptcy is reportedly on the table until the company owned by James Dolan refinances its debt.
Also in the New York area, SNY, the regional headquarters for the New York Mets, was exploring its options last year, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private.
Some said the network had put itself up for sale before. Although no deal was reached, sources say Mets owner Steve Cohen was part of talks as a potential buyer at one point.
The network, which is mostly backed by the Wilpon family, former owners of the Mets, is also comcast And Charter Communications However, Comcast sold its shares to Charter for an undisclosed amount in recent months, according to sources familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the deal is confidential.
Comcast has a handful of networks but is slowly moving away from the RSN world.
Comcast has also been one of the toughest distributors for RSNs to deal with lately and has tried to move networks to a tiered model. This means that subscribers will opt for local channels instead of automatically receiving and paying for local channels.
That was a sticking point in Comcast’s carriage talks last year with YES Network, an over-the-top RSN with the highest rates and largest audience that airs New York Yankees and Brooklyn Nets games.
Comcast wanted to move YES to a tiered model; YES denied this and argued that the Mets’ SNY was immune from such a contract change.
Comcast has a long-term carriage agreement with SNY that prevents it from being phased in until at least 2030, according to people familiar with the deal who asked not to be identified because it is an internal matter.
Industry insiders speculated that Comcast’s exit from SNY’s ownership structure saved it from the deal. However, people with first-hand knowledge of the agreement, who asked not to be named because the matter is private, say nothing has changed. Some said Comcast wouldn’t be coming back to the table with YES anytime soon.
This isn’t all bad news: Independent RSNs with large market teams generally have better footing. Los Angeles Dodgers have teams As is known, high priced Media rights deal that Charter inherited from the Time Warner Cable deal.
And then there’s the New England Sports Network, or NESN, which has the advantage of broadcasting some local games to New England’s die-hard fan base as well as Pittsburgh.
The network was quick to shake things up. NESN was: first RSN will offer a streaming service with deals including Red Sox tickets. Additionally, recently appointed CEO David Wisnia sees himself as an “outsider” who “brings a fresh perspective on everything.”
NESN is changing its cost structure and looking for new revenue opportunities, Wisnia said in an interview.
“This is reallocating resources and getting out of business we don’t want to be involved in,” he said.
NESN also revamped its look and expanded programming on its channels, which were often filled with throwback matchups and dead air outside of games.
In recent weeks, NESN has taken victory laps, breaking records for streaming subscription and engagement growth. The NHL’s Boston Bruins’ late-season playoff push has been an uptick, as has the Boston Red Sox’s start to the 2026 season.
Correction: This story has been revised to reflect that the Los Angeles Angels are one of the MLB teams taking over production and distribution of their own regional channels. In a previous version, the team’s name was stated incorrectly.
