MEDIA INDUSTRY ANALYSIS
The Death of the RSN, The Dawn of a New MLB Era
The Collapse of America's Regional Sports Networks and the Rise of MLB's Direct-to-Consumer Streaming Age
In February 2026, an era in American sports broadcasting came to an end. FanDuel Sports Network, which once carried local game broadcasts for 29 professional sports teams and served as a cornerstone of the U.S. sports media ecosystem, ceased operations. Its parent company, Main Street Sports Group, failed to secure a buyer or additional financing, plunging back into a liquidation crisis barely a year after emerging from bankruptcy protection in early 2025. All nine of its MLB-affiliated teams have already terminated their contracts, and NBA and NHL teams are set to depart following the conclusion of their regular seasons in mid-April 2026.
Jung Han
This is not merely the demise of a single network. It is a signal flare marking the end of the Regional Sports Network (RSN) business model itself — a financial pillar that sustained the American professional sports industry for decades. And on the ruins of that model, Major League Baseball is launching an entirely new experiment: league-controlled direct media operations.