It looked all but over for Main Street Sports Group, owner of the FanDuel Sports Networks, and it still might be. But DAZN is still reportedly engaging in a potential purchase of the struggling company as talks reach “critical stages,” according to a new report by Tom Friend in Sports Business Journal.
Per the report, DAZN has a “tentatively scheduled” meeting with MLB next week to determine whether it would have a chance of becoming the league’s in-house streaming platform come 2028, when MLB plans to take a nationalized package of local rights to market. Should DAZN believe it has a chance to become the home of that future package, it could see a purchase of Main Street as a risk worth taking in order to get a “leg up” on other potential bidders two years from now.
“That meeting could ultimately seal the fate of Main Street’s teetering business, particularly if DAZN senses a longer-term partnership with MLB is unrealistic and ends its bid,” SBJ reports.
Should DAZN fail to become Main Street’s guarantor by Feb. 1, all nine MLB clubs currently under contract with the company would reportedly be “out.”
The 13 NBA teams and seven NHL teams actively under contract with Main Street are still preparing for a worst-case scenario in which the company shutters mid-season and they need to scramble to find a new home for local broadcasts. The NBA has directed its teams to find local over-the-air deals are go directly to distributors with game inventory for linear broadcasts, with NBA League Pass prepared to stream games in local markets. The NHL has told teams to prioritize an over-the-air model, potentially supplementing that with free ad-supported streaming platforms.
To be sure, sources cited in the report are still “skeptical” that DAZN will get a deal done with Main Street prior to the Feb. 1 deadline. Without assurances from MLB or the NBA, both of which plan to launch their own nationalized local broadcast packages in the coming years, DAZN could find itself in a bind, with the vast majority of teams’ contracts expiring in that period. In other words, there’s no guarantee DAZN would even have a regional sports network business in two years, even if it purchased Main Street.
The report also mentions that, if DAZN backs out, Main Street has implied the existence of a “potential second buyer.” That company is not Fubo, which was originally speculated to be in the mix.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.