Six more teams are turning to Major League Baseball to handle their broadcasts for the 2026 season in the wake of Main Street Sports Group’s financial woes, according to reports Monday.
The Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals and Tampa Bay Rays are joining the steadily growing group of teams relying on MLB to deliver broadcasts to fans via cable and streaming.
These six teams give MLB 13 franchises under its production umbrella. The Arizona Diamondbacks, Cleveland Guardians, Colorado Rockies, Minnesota Twins and San Diego Padres turned to MLB last season after their regional sports network deals defaulted. The Seattle Mariners and Washington Nationals were more recently added to the portfolio.
The Atlanta Braves, Detroit Tigers and Los Angeles Angels also broke away from Main Street (branded as FanDuel Sports) in January, but they have yet to firm up their plans for this season.
According to reports, MLB’s productions are similar in quality to their predecessors, but the teams do not collect as much broadcast revenue as with their prior deals. MLB reportedly sends teams variable payments based on their streaming numbers. RSNs typically pay a guaranteed fee.
–Field Level Media
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