With the collapse of Main Street Sports Group, several MLB, NHL, and NBA franchises were left looking for new distribution agreements. With limited time before the start of the Major League Baseball season, nine Major League Baseball teams had to scramble to get their games to consumers earlier this year. Following the conclusion of the NBA and NHL playoff schedules this spring, the same deadlines are now approaching for each of those franchises. That’s where DAZN saw a prime opportunity to insert itself into the media rights competition across the United States.
“This was a great opportunistic point in time for us to enter in a place that made sense,” says Zander Berlinski, Senior Vice President, Strategy and Business Development at DAZN Group. “It’s a place that we feel we could bring a lot of value.”
If you’re unfamiliar with DAZN, you’re not alone.
The streaming platform was founded in 2016 and previously carried combat sports events and international soccer programming to U.S. audiences. However, outside of the U.S., DAZN has a much larger subscriber base and is considered one of the top platforms in the world. The company has done international rights deals with the NFL, NBA, and NHL, and carries college football and basketball throughout the year.
Why Now For DAZN
But one item had remained untouched for the company since its founding. Inserting itself into the media rights race for U.S. audiences with teams within the country. That plan began with reported conversations in late 2025, when DAZN discussed concepts for a merger or acquisition of Main Street Sports Group. Despite the effort, Berlinski said the biggest factor in DAZN not moving forward with either plan was purely based on timing.
“The biggest constraint was time. We originally started that conversation from a commercial view as less of an acquisition. It was more about how could we partner with them on the digital side,” explained Berlinksi. “Ultimately, they let us know they were in a tough financial spot. But by that point in the December to January timeframe, spring training was kicking off in February.”
Berlinski credited the discussions with neither side showing a lack of interest in doing business with one another. Since the decision was made to shift away from Main Street, the focus moved to the teams themselves. DAZN CEO Shay Segev told Sports Business Journal that if his company was to be the biggest sport platform in the world, it had to play big in the largest market in the world.
“We’ve matured and grown to significant scale around the world. From our ownership down, there’s been a very strong and imperative want and need to be bigger in the U.S.,” explains Berlinski. “We’ve always had interest… But there’s an opportunity now to have these regional rights with compelling content was a perfect storm leading up to now.”
Late last month, that journey began.
A First Step
DAZN came to an agreement with MSG Networks and YES Network beginning this fall. The multi-year deal grants DAZN to stream all non-national game broadcasts for MSG’s Knicks, Rangers, Islanders, Devils, and Sabres, as well as YES Network’s Yankees and Nets. The deal marked the first significant step for DAZN with U.S.-based media rights within the country. It also effectively ended the two networks’ use of the Gotham Sports App.
“It all came together over the course of this year. We started a conversation with them. Ultimately, we were able to connect with both parties along the lines of what they’ve been able to build themselves. But also the challenges of not being tech or DTC [direct-to-consumer] experts,” explained Berlinski. “Holistically, it moved faster than some of our other situations [so far]. Because there was more of a clear path for what each of those two parties wanted to do compared to some of the teams coming out of the Main Street scenario.”
The agreement with MSG and YES was simply a streaming and DTC arrangement. The next day, DAZN struck again. This time, the Minnesota Timberwolves came to an agreement that saw DAZN acquire full exclusive local broadcast rights for next season. The deal marked the first team-specific agreement DAZN arranged in its journey.
With the NBA reportedly planning to launch a centralized hub for local broadcasts ahead of the 2027-28 season, the agreements DAZN is arranging do carry some risk alongside the potential upside. Some have speculated that DAZN would only target teams ahead of the NBA’s launch. But Berlinski notes that DAZN is not solely focused on agreements just with NBA teams.
“We’re not necessarily taking an NBA only view. You’ll be seeing a smattering of agreements across the three leagues. We don’t have a distinct focus on the NBA,” says Berlinski. “We are open to talking to any and all teams. We’re selective about economics and the structure of a deal. We only want to do deals that make sense for all parties involved. We think about every deal as a true partnership, and feel we can bring a lot of stability to a space that’s been quite unstable.”
Berlinski believes the key is flexibility. He notes that every agreement across the world looks different rather than following a one-size-fits-all approach. With an understanding that every league and team has different priorities, Berlinski says that’s where DAZN shines brightest.
A Proving Ground w/The NBA
With reports that DAZN is nearing full rights deals with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers, San Antonio Spurs and Memphis Grizzlies, time is once again working against the company. With the Orlando Magic and Charlotte Hornets both announcing over-the-air local broadcast agreements last week, DAZN’s flexibility creates an opportunity for a DTC-only arrangement to emerge.
The DAZN viewing experience will be different from what fans are used to. With features surrounding real-time statistics, team and league news, and interactive chats and polling during broadcasts, DAZN is also currently working with the NBA on alt-casts, according to Berlinski.
“Specifically for the NBA, we’re working with the league to get a variety of alternate feeds. You’ll have the main broadcast, but also different alternate feeds. Whether that’s like a mobile view or certain alt-casts that are betting focused or otherwise,” explained Berlinski.
When asked who will be hosting the alt-casts, Berlinski revealed that the concept is it would be a “mixture” of league, team, and DAZN talent potentially.
The price point for fans still remains unknown. However, Berlinski noted there are plans to allow access to DAZN’s “Freemium” tier. That allows free access to game broadcast in front of the paywall.
“It’s going to vary slightly depending on the deal with the team and the market,” says Berlinski who referenced DAZN will be placing fifteen live games ahead of the paywall on DAZN this coming season. “It’s all catered to get people in and trying out the app. Getting to experience why we think we provide a better viewing experience. Hopefully then we can upsell them to a subscription for their favorite team or more.”
With each new arrangement comes the hard work of marketing and educating sports fans on what DAZN is. Berlinski admits that the company is well aware that its footprint and brand awareness are not as strong in the U.S. compared to other countries around the world.
Because of this, he says DAZN will take a multi-pronged approach, spending “significant marketing dollars” in each individual market across traditional, digital, social, and search advertising.
The company will also lean on its new partners to welcome their fans to the DAZN experience.
“In all our deals, we’re working closely in partnership with all the respective team partners providing them with a suite of assets to arm their own operating platforms,” said Berlinski. “We’ll work with the league as well. We’re going to be integrated into the NBA’s tap to watch initiative as well. We recognize that DAZN as a name is not as well known here. We have a job to do.”
The Future Ahead
For DAZN, the opportunity is clear. The U.S. sports media landscape is changing. The instability surrounding regional sports networks has created an opening for a company that has spent the better part of a decade building a global streaming operation.
But turning that opportunity into long-term success will require more than acquiring rights. DAZN must convince American sports fans that it belongs in their everyday viewing habits.
That challenge is not lost on Berlinski. The company knows it is entering a crowded and complicated market. Where fans have more choices than ever and patience for another new platform is limited. The difference, he believes, is what DAZN can build around the games themselves.
“The hope is this year we prove ourselves to some degree to certain teams and leagues to show what we can do,” said Berlinski about DAZN positioning itself as an option in working with the NBA on their centralized streaming hub beginning in 2027. “We’re as well positioned as anyone given the moves we’ve made. The moves that will come, and we’re active in those conversations. I think the league thinks we’re a strong partner as well. It’s up to us to execute over these next few months. To prove to their teams and the league how good of a partner we can be. That will only better position us for those conversations.”
That job begins with introducing DAZN to American sports fans. From there, the company hopes its technology, flexibility, and willingness to build partnerships can do the rest. More teams and leagues searching for answers to their local media rights futures. DAZN sees an opportunity that extends well beyond the current wave of uncertainty.
The company may have arrived in the U.S. regional sports market because of disruption. Its success, however, will ultimately depend on whether it can turn that disruption into something fans see as an improvement.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.