The CEO of Victory+ has been removed by the streaming service’s board, but the platform does not appear to be in immediate danger of losing additional rights partners.
Over the past two weeks, Victory+ has lost three rights deals. The Texas Rangers moved their direct-to-consumer streaming from Victory+ to BZZR, the NWSL moved games to NWSL+, and the Anaheim Ducks also left the streamer, though they have not yet announced a new platform.
According to a report by Sports Business Journal, as a result of these losses, the Victory+ board decided to replace CEO Neil Gruninger with board member Jon Spencer of TriWest Capital Partners.
According to SBJ, the problem for Victory+ is that it went too fast. The three deals it lost did not follow the company’s core business model of exclusivity. The Ducks aired the vast majority of their games on local broadcast networks, the Rangers distributed Rangers Sports Network through cable providers, and the NWSL had many other media partners.
That’s an interesting explanation, but it might not be the full reason for the company’s recent struggles. The Dallas Stars, which own an equity stake in Victory+, also air a handful of games over-the-air. In the first season of the deal, the Stars aired just four games over-the-air after announcing the agreement in March 2025. The following season, that expanded to 17 over-the-air games. For better or worse, Victory+ and the Stars made a concerted effort after the first season to make fewer games exclusive to Victory+.
For the moment, though, SBJ reports that Victory+’s remaining deals are not in jeopardy. The streaming platform has agreements with the Minnesota Lynx and Atlanta Dream of the WNBA, the Dallas Stars of the NHL, League One Volleyball, and Texas prep football.
The WNBA deals could be especially valuable for the platform, as SBJ reports that Victory+ does not pay the teams a rights fee. Instead, the agreements are based on advertising revenue sharing. If the streaming service does pay rights fees in the future, expect it to pursue more exclusive deals.
Victory+ is unique in that it is the only sports-focused streaming service offering truly free access to professional teams. That has always been a great thing for fans, but it won’t succeed until the service can find a way to turn free sports into a reliable revenue stream.
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.