The regional sports network industry has seen several major operators shut down in recent years, and NBC Sports Regional Networks could be next.
According to a report by Matt Gelb of The Athletic, the networks are “in peril because the network is lurching toward an uncertain financial future.”
“There are legitimate doubts, according to several industry sources briefed on the situation, about how much longer it will last as NBCUniversal divests from its RSN business,” Gelb added.
Gelb, the Phillies beat writer for The Athletic, also reported that the Phillies could explore launching their own network as a result of the situation.
The NBC Sports networks, known as Comcast SportsNet from 1997 to 2017, reached a high of nine in 2012. But they have been quietly cutting back in recent years. Comcast Sportsnet Houston went bankrupt in 2014; NBC Sports Northwest shut down after losing the Portland Trail Blazers in 2021; NBC Sports Washington was sold in 2023; and NBC Sports Chicago shut down in 2024 after the White Sox and Blackhawks left to form Chicago Sports Network.
NBC Sports currently operates just four networks: NBC Sports California and NBC Sports Bay Area on the West Coast, and NBC Sports Boston and NBC Sports Philadelphia on the East Coast. Still, following AT&T SportsNet’s shutdown in 2023 and FanDuel Sports Network’s impending shutdown later this year, NBC Sports will become the largest RSN operator in the United States with rights to a Big Four sports team.
The writing seems to be on the wall for NBC Sports to fully leave the RSN business, principally because RSNs aren’t the cash cow they once were.
At the peak of cable, the prevailing view was that people were much more likely to switch providers than stay if a high-demand channel was lost. To keep regional sports networks on their systems, cable companies agreed to pay for them. In 2012, CNN cost cable companies $0.50 per customer, while an RSN cost $2.50 per customer. As you can imagine, that adds up.
As people cut the cord, the economics of regional sports networks no longer made sense. With fewer customers, cable companies decided that paying the fees regional sports networks wanted didn’t make financial sense. That’s why you still cannot watch FanDuel Sports Network this year on YouTube TV, Sling, or Hulu.
The changing economics are especially noticeable for the Phillies, who are in the midst of a $2.5 billion television rights deal that runs through 2041, according to Gelb. When the RSN business was thriving, that was great business for both sides. But NBC appears to be seriously considering exiting that agreement.
The RSNs’ situation became more complicated Monday when Comcast announced plans to spin off NBCUniversal, separating its content arm — which includes NBC, Peacock, Universal, and Sky — into a standalone company. The move comes about a year after NBCUniversal already spun off most of its cable assets into Versant, and it will likely make NBCUniversal an acquisition target once the separation is complete.
If NBCUniversal is eventually acquired once it’s spun off as its own company, whoever buys it would be taking on the NFL, NBA, and Olympics rights that drive its sports strategy — and NBC’s four remaining regional networks would come with that deal, too. It’s hard to imagine a buyer paying a premium for those rights having much appetite for propping up a regional sports business that’s already shrinking and that NBC itself appears to be reconsidering.
Leagues have been quietly preparing for the end of regional sports networks. According to Tom Friend at Sports Business Journal, the NBA is expected to launch a streaming hub, potentially with Google or Amazon, as soon as the 2027-28 season. Major League Baseball is expected to bundle its local rights and sell them when its national TV deals end after the 2028 season.
The NBC Sports networks are driven primarily by their MLB and NBA rights, even though several also carry NHL teams. Despite operating only four networks, NBC Sports still controls local rights for several marquee franchises, including the Phillies, Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors, San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia 76ers, and Philadelphia Flyers.
Even if the economics remained favorable for NBC, the networks would likely lose most of their value when in-market MLB and NBA streaming hubs fully launch.
The shutdown of the NBC Sports networks would be the final nail in the coffin for the regional sports network and would likely lead to even greater fragmentation in how fans watch their local sports. Over-the-air networks, FAST streaming services like Victory+, and deep-pocketed streamers are all bidding to offer local games.
But no matter which model ends up winning, perhaps sometime soon, sports fans will long for the days of the regional sports network.
About Manny Soloway
Manny Soloway is a Iowa based writer focusing on TV ratings. He is also the founder of the TV Media Blog substack.