Main Street Sports, operator of the FanDuel‑branded regional sports networks, is facing simultaneous financial and operational breakdowns that industry sources say could push the company into Chapter 7 bankruptcy within two weeks. Reporting from Sports Business Journal, Puck, Varsity Sports, and confirmed by Sports Talk Florida shows advertisers are pulling back after missed payments and increasingly unstable production schedules. Local stations warn they may be unable to clear primetime windows if Main Street collapses before the NBA and NHL seasons conclude.
Sources tell Sports Talk Florida that the Rays are in active discussions with MLB, while Main Street continues searching for a partner capable of persuading the nine MLB clubs to return, a scenario insiders increasingly view as unrealistic. Those teams include the Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, and Tampa Bay Rays. Their departure accelerated Main Street’s collapse and stripped away critical revenue the company needed to remain viable.
Major League Baseball is preparing to produce games for the Rays and the eight other clubs that left the RSN in early January, while ESPN who now is operating MLB.TV uses its national reach to secure cable, satellite, and streaming carriage for those teams. MLB is racing to launch a full Rays broadcast operation before Opening Day. At the same time, Scripps Sports, Nexstar, Gray Television, and Tegna are coordinating with MLB on emergency plans and evaluating how they might absorb NBA and NHL teams still tied to Main Street.
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MLB.TV Races to Add Rays While Backup Plans Intensify
With Opening Day approaching, MLB is simultaneously preparing to absorb the Rays into its MLB.TV‑controlled broadcast portfolio and activate a Rays.TV network before the season begins. League officials are finalizing production crews, graphics packages, distribution agreements, and the launch of a dedicated Rays TV platform modeled after the successful systems already in place for other MLB‑controlled markets. At the same time, MLB has extended its willingness to produce and distribute Rays and Marlins games directly, ensuring no interruption in coverage in a combination of Over the air stations, cable, statellite service DirecTV and Dish.
NHL Teams Still Under Main Street Sports
Main Street Sports controls the local rights for the Detroit Red Wings, St. Louis Blues, Columbus Blue Jackets, Carolina Hurricanes, Nashville Predators, Minnesota Wild, and Los Angeles Kings. These clubs have endured missed rights‑fee payments and inconsistent production quality, and they now face the possibility of losing their RSN partner mid‑season. However, both the NBA and Major League Baseball are preparing contingency plans to take over game production if Main Street collapses before the end of the season.
NHL Teams That Already Left Are Thriving
The Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers saw the writing on the wall last year and moved quickly to establish their own networks through Scripps Sports. Several other NHL clubs including Vegas, Utah, Anaheim, and Dallas also left Main Street Sports, reclaimed their local rights, and are now thriving under a hybrid model that blends over‑the‑air broadcasts, cable and satellite carriage, and direct‑to‑consumer streaming.
These teams now control their own distribution, partnering with Scripps Sports, Gray, Nexstar, and Tegna to deliver games on free broadcast TV while maintaining traditional cable and satellite access and offering their own DTC streaming options.
The NBA Teams Still With Main Street
Joining the Magic and the Heat in waiting to see what happens are a dozen other NBA teams still tied to Main Street Sports: the Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Oklahoma City Thunder, and San Antonio Spurs. All remain in limbo as the situation unfolds.
NBA Teams That Left Main Street Are Also Succeeding
The NBA has followed the NHL’s lead, with four teams the Utah, Phoenix, Dallas, and Houston left the Main Street system at the end of last season and taking control of their local rights. These clubs have adopted the same hybrid model, partnering with Scripps, Gray, Nexstar, and Tegna for broadcast coverage while securing distribution on YouTube TV, Hulu Live, Fubo, DirecTV, and Dish. League executives say the approach expands reach and stabilizes revenue.
A Critical Two Weeks for Florida’s Pro Teams
The next two weeks may reshape regional sports broadcasting across Florida. If Main Street Sports enters Chapter 7, the Magic and Heat will be left without a local TV partner, and the NBA is prepared to replicate the Scripps‑based hybrid model already used by the Lightning and Panthers. With so many franchises in limbo, the uncertainty is mounting. Meanwhile, the Rays and Marlins must announce their broadcast plans with just a little over one month before Opening Day. The clock is ticking.
