Regional sports networks are faltering even as ratings soar

A group of regional sports networks is set to wind down, marking the demise of a once lucrative business and leaving the fate of local baseball, basketball and hockey broadcasts in the balance — even as live sports command the highest TV ratings.

RSNs have felt arguably the greatest pressure from the losses that plague the pay TV bundle as consumers switch to streaming. Now, the model is in rapid decline.

Last week, as the 2026 MLB season got underway, the league announced it was taking over media distribution for 14 teams. In large part, this was the result of the inevitable wind down of Main Street Sports – formerly Fox Sports networks, which have been through different owners since 2019 and several 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 earlier this year when MLB rights payments were due, according to people familiar with the matter.

Main Street owned roughly 15 channels, but at one point aired 30 MLB, NHL and NBA teams after exiting bankruptcy.

Though the company was in sale talks earlier this year with the likes of DAZN and Fubo, the discussions never amounted to a deal, according to the people. 

Rumors of liquidation circulated — in the middle of the NBA and NHL seasons — but Main Street has so far been able to stave that off. Instead, MLB teams went their separate ways at the beginning of the season – some shifting to MLB distribution, and some like the Anaheim Angels and Atlanta Braves are taking over the production and distribution of their own regional channels.

The NBA and NHL regular seasons are expected to be completed through their current Main Street-owned networks – now branded as FanDuel Sports networks. But after the NBA regular season and the first round of the NHL playoffs, Main Street plans to begin an earnest end-of-business process, one of the people said. 

The future for the remaining NBA and NHL teams are yet to be determined, although some are likely to find homes with broadcast station owners that have been acquiring local rights, such as Scripps, according to a person close to the negotiations. 

And the end of the RSN model doesn’t stop there.  

The fees long paid by the networks to host games have propped up professional sports leagues for a long time – especially MLB, known to have some of the most expensive rights fees and the most tonnage of local games. The upending of the RSN model is sure to send ripple effects throughout these teams. 

Those that have already exited the RSN model have sought refuge in direct-to-consumer streaming apps, which are pretty expensive monthly or annual costs for fans, and through agreements with broadcast station owners, which argue they offer the widest reach of any platform for sports games. 

There’s also been an increased emphasis on advertising, but that revenue stream is helpful when it comes to the NBA and NHL, it doesn’t go as far to support MLB, according to industry insiders.

There’s also been little, if any, crossover for MLB teams to the affiliate networks, once again because of the expense and number of games, according to people familiar with the matter. 

While not every channel is made equal, even those airing games for big market teams are facing the same pressures as the Main Street-owned channels — just not as severely. 

Last year MSG Networks, which airs games for the NBA’s New York Knicks as well as the NHL’s New York Rangers, Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils, was facing financial turmoil as it needed to refinance a whopping debt load and dealt with a carriage dispute that resulted in a blackout for nearly two months. Bankruptcy was reportedly on the table until the James Dolan-owned company refinanced its debt. 

Also in the New York-area, SNY, the regional home of the New York Mets, had been exploring its options in the last year, according to people familiar with the matter. The network had earlier put itself up for sale, some of the people said. While no deal was ever reached, sources say Mets owner Steve Cohen was part of the discussions at one point as a potential acquirer. 

The network, which is majority backed by former Mets owners, the Wilpon family, has also counted Comcast and Charter Communications as investors for some time. But in recent months, Comcast sold its stake to Charter for an undisclosed amount, according to people familiar with the matter. 

Comcast owns a handful of networks but has been slowly inching away from the RSN world.

Comcast has also been one of the toughest distributors for RSNs to deal with recently, pushing to move the networks into the tiered model. That would mean subscribers would opt in for the local channels rather than automatically receiving them – and automatically paying for them. 

This had been a sticking point in Comcast’s carriage negotiations last year with the YES Network – a top-tier RSN with some of the highest fees and biggest audiences, as it airs New York Yankees and Brooklyn Nets games. 

Comcast wanted to shift YES to a tiered model; YES refused and argued that the Mets’ SNY is spared from such a contract change. 

Comcast has a long-term carriage deal with SNY that protects it from being tiered through at least 2030, according to people familiar with the deal. Industry insiders surmised that Comcast’s exodus from SNY’s ownership structure freed it from this deal, although sources say nothing has changed on that front. Comcast won’t be returning to the table with YES anytime soon, some of the people said. 

It’s not all bad news: Independent RSNs with big market teams are usually on firmer footing. There’s the Los Angeles Dodgers with their notoriously high priced media rights deal that Charter inherited from its Time Warner Cable deal. 

And then there’s NESN, the network that has the benefit of airing some local games to New England’s rabid fan base, as well as Pittsburgh.

The network has been quick to shake things up. NESN was the first RSN to offer a streaming service, which has offered deals that include Red Sox tickets. Plus, its recently installed CEO, David Wisnia, credits himself as an “outsider” who is “taking a fresh perspective on everything.” 

NESN has changed its cost structure and has sought new revenue opportunities, Wisnia said in an interview.

“It’s reallocating resources and getting out of business that we don’t want to be in,” he said. 

NESN has also revamped its look and expanded programming on its channels, which are usually filled with throwback matchups and essentially dead air outside of games. 

In recent weeks, NESN has been running victory laps that it has broken records for growth on streaming subscription and engagement. The Bruins’ late-season playoff push was a boost, as well as the beginning of the Red Sox 2026 season.