The Brewers TV broadcasts could be on the way. Even Drellich of The Athletic reported this yesterday the Brewers were among nine teams to opt out of their contracts with FanDuel Sports Network and Main Street Sports Group. This leaves the Brewers without a TV channel and spring training starts in about a month and a half.
Over the course of the offseason, Main Street Sports Group – the parent company of FanDuel Sports Network – has struggled and faced another possible bankruptcy. That possibility escalated last month when they missed a payment to the Cardinals – Adam elaborated on this at the time. Main Street Sports Group was in negotiations to sell a majority stake to DAZN, but those negotiations ultimately came to nothing. Another report from yesterday notes that Main Street is also in discussions with Fuboa streaming service that is more focused on streaming sports.
The main reason the teams are terminating their contracts now is to protect against Main Street’s bankruptcy. If they go bankrupt again, those TV rights could be held until the problem is resolved, which could take months. It would be a similar situation to 2023, when they too went bankrupt (then known as Diamond Sports Group). Ending the contract now protects the teams from being left in limbo during the bankruptcy process and also gives them some flexibility to find the best option before the 2026 season.
This doesn’t necessarily mean an end to the Brewers’ partnership with FanDuel Sports. They could negotiate a new contract and return for next season. However, any new contract would likely have a lower payout compared to 2025. According to reports, Main Street Sports Group wanted to reduce costs before MLB teams terminated their contracts in an effort to avoid bankruptcy. Even if they can offer a fair rate, they also have to convince the Brewers that they will stabilize for the foreseeable future. The Brewers could also look for another partner for their broadcasts, but with traditional cable options drying up, that’s also less likely.
In the worst-case scenario, where the Brewers can’t find a fair deal with a TV partner before the season, there is a fallback option: MLB stands ready to take over the broadcasts of any teams that have opted out of their contracts. They have already stepped in to cover the broadcasts of six teams: the Diamondbacks, Guardians, Mariners, Padres, Rockies and Twins. If MLB were to take control of the nine teams that terminated their contracts with FanDuel and Main Street Sports, they would control TV broadcasts for half the teams in the league.
Any change in broadcasting wouldn’t change the Brewers’ broadcast team either. The actual team is employed by the Brewers, and they would remain the same regardless of who does the TV broadcasts.
This wouldn’t be the first time the Brewers looked to MLB to handle their broadcasts. When their TV contract expired after the 2024 season, they initially announced that MLB would produce their broadcasts starting in 2025. Later in the offseason, however, they changed course and announced a new TV deal with FanDuel Sports, keeping them on the same network for the 2025 season.
The biggest problem with an MLB takeover of broadcasting would be the revenue the Brewers would collect. While exact figures are not made public, what MLB would offer for the broadcast rights would be lower than what a more traditional broadcaster would offer. That’s why the Brewers chose to stay with FanDuel Sports last season, even though they were just emerging from bankruptcy. If the Brewers switch to MLB for broadcasting, it will impact the team’s finances. The most immediate impact would be on payroll, as the team may be more reluctant to spend money if they don’t get as much revenue from a broadcast deal.
Previously, MLB had entered into a one-year agreement with the MLBPA in 2024 to use luxury tax revenue to help teams whose TV revenues were hit. However, that agreement was only intended as a stopgap for teams experiencing disruptions to their TV revenues and was not extended beyond 2024. With MLB acquiring more teams, a more comprehensive long-term deal should be negotiated.
As for the actual impact of the broadcast, it should be minimal. MLB will offer a package through MLB.TV – which is partnering with ESPN to release games starting in 2026 – to subscribe to Brewers games for a monthly or annual rate. They will also work with TV providers to offer the games on different TV channels. As streaming continues to grow, it should be easier to buy a direct package for just the Brewers and watch all the games throughout the season. This was one of the weaknesses of the traditional TV setup. Instead of paying $60+ dollars per month for a full TV package, there will be a cheaper direct option for around $20 per month (and around $100 for the full season).
This would also help solve the blackout issue that many fans have been facing. As streaming continued to grow, blackouts were one of the biggest bottlenecks. While MLB has offered a strong streaming package through MLB.TV, it has only been good for watching broadcasts that are not available in the market. Everyone in the team market had to subscribe to a traditional cable package. This became even more frustrating for fans living in areas where they had no way to watch the team on cable, but who were still in the blackout zone. A direct-to-consumer model with a streaming package avoids that problem and provides a guaranteed way to get the games no matter where someone lives.
There shouldn’t be any concern about disruption to actual Brewers TV broadcasts. Whatever happens with the rights, games will be covered sometime in 2026. The biggest concern will be the revenue a new partner generates for the Brewers. As the old traditional TV model continues to crumble, big changes are in store in the coming years. Nevertheless, the games will go on, and a new broadcast model focused on streaming could bring generally positive changes to the distribution of baseball games.
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