Main Street Sports Group, the company which owns FanDuel Sports Network, has missed a December rights payment to the St. Louis Cardinals as it works to finalize a potential sale to DAZN, sources told The Sports Business Journal. If the deal does not close by January, Main Street could dissolve its business following the 2025-26 NBA and NHL regular seasons, potentially upending local sports broadcasts.
The scenario would return broadcast rights for 30 professional teams across the NBA, NHL and MLB to the individual franchises, a move that could accelerate national streaming regional sports networks for both basketball and baseball.
Despite the missed payment, Main Street remains in active talks with all 30 teams, including the Cardinals, who have not terminated their rights agreement. A Main Street spokesperson said Saturday to SBJ, “Main Street Sports Group is in discussions with certain team partners around the timing of their rights payments as we progress discussions with strategic partners to further enhance our long-term capital position.”
Sources familiar with the situation said if the DAZN deal collapses, Main Street plans to wind down operations while minimizing disruptions to local game broadcasts, including making final rights fee payments. The company does not intend to file for bankruptcy again, after emerging from Chapter 11 just a year ago.
NBA franchises account for nearly half of Main Street’s sports portfolio, with 13 teams affected, including the Hawks, Hornets, Cavaliers, Pistons, Pacers, Clippers, Grizzlies, Heat, Bucks, Timberwolves, Thunder, Magic and Spurs. Executives from those teams participated in a leaguewide call last week with attorneys from Proskauer, the NBA’s lead law firm.
Sources said NBA executives were alerted that the Cardinals had not received their December payment and were warned that future payments, totaling roughly $180 million this season, could be at risk. “For now, no big change, but refine your contingency plans,” one source said.
If Main Street fails to make payments, the NBA has told teams the league would step in. The NextGen platform would provide local streams, likely via League Pass and the NBA app, while teams would need to negotiate short-term over-the-air or direct-to-distributor deals.
The situation is intensifying interest in a national streaming RSN that could combine Main Street teams with others whose games are currently over-the-air, potentially offering a single package to platforms like Amazon, YouTube, Apple or ESPN.
MLB faces a slightly different timeline, with the season starting in March. Teams including the Cardinals, Brewers, Reds, Royals, Tigers, Angels, Marlins and Rays will need to decide whether to have their games produced by MLB or explore independent distribution.
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