There is still a chance that DAZN could buy Main Street Sports Group, operator of the FanDuel Sports Network RSNs, with a potential meeting between the streamer and MLB likely determining just how realistic that is.
DAZN, the London-based streaming service that has been reportedly considering an acquisition of the Main Street Sports Group RSNs, is tentatively scheduled to meet with Major League Baseball next week to discuss both that potential sale and its chances of bidding for a broader package when the league’s media rights become available in 2028, according to Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal.
According to Friend, DAZN could give up its pursuit of the Main Street networks if it does not feel that it has a real shot in the 2028 bidding. Friend previously reported that the nine MLB teams with Main Street Sports Group deals — each of whom opted out of said deals earlier this month — will leave the RSN operator for good if it does not have a buyer lined up by the end of this month.
DAZN’s apparent interest in a longer-term agreement with MLB would seem to be a new — if obvious — development. It makes little sense to acquire a struggling RSN business for just two or three years, and both MLB and the NBA are widely believed to be planning to pool most of their local media rights into consolidated packages as soon as they are able. If DAZN were able to parlay its ownership of the Main Street RSNs into a legitimate shot at acquiring those local packages, it would make acquiring the RSNs worth the risk.
But teams are skeptical that DAZN will ultimately acquire the RSNs, per Friend — and even in the event a sale occurs, several of them could leave Main Street anyway. That includes the Cardinals, who are “almost 99% certain” to shift production and distribution of their games in-house to Major League Baseball. Main Street itself is said to believe it can strike new deals with just six of its current nine MLB partners. And as Friend noted, there are three NBA teams whose Main Street deals are expiring at the end of this season.
