SBJ Power Up: NBA considering a national broadcast hub

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In today’s edition of Power Up:

• Sources: NBA exploring national broadcast hub as soon as next season
• Angels buy Main Street out of FanDuel Sports Network West, will launch own station
• StubHub roll out first women’s sports ticketing hub

The NBA has informed teams that it may launch a streaming hub for local broadcasts as soon as next season -- a year earlier than expected -- as a result of Main Street Sports Group’s impending demise in April, multiple sources told SBJ.

While the exact format is still being ideated, those sources said the league is in talks with YouTube TV, DAZN, Amazon and ESPN and potentially others about housing local games for an aggregate of teams -- perhaps similar to an NFL Sunday Ticket -- depending on how many franchises opt in. Sources believe those streaming platforms would need the NBA to guarantee a certain threshold of teams before agreeing to any substantive deal, which industry insiders believe could be worth billions.

As of now, indications are the NBA’s 13 Main Street teams -- the Hawks, Hornets, Cavaliers, Pistons, Pacers, Clippers, Grizzlies, Heat, Bucks, Timberwolves, Thunder, Magic and Spurs -- are likely candidates for the streaming hub. Sources also are convinced that NBC Sports still wants out of the RSN business and that its four teams -- the Celtics, Warriors, 76ers and Kings -- could become available, as well. Add in the five teams that have already abandoned RSNs (Suns, Jazz, Blazers, Mavericks and Pelicans), and as many 22 teams could join what would essentially be a national streaming RSN.

The NBA could also entice teams with their own networks -- such as the Wizards with Monumental+, the Nuggets with Altitude+ the Bulls with Chicago Sports Network and the Rockets with Space City Home Network -- to join them, as well, although those deals could be more complex because all those networks stream teams from other leagues.

Either way, the more teams that opt in, the more lucrative the deal would be for the NBA, with franchises hoping the accompanying rights fees could soften the blow of the lost rights-fee payments from Main Street this season. For instance, Main Street did not pay their teams again on March 1 -- after missing payments on Jan. 1 and Feb. 1, as well -- and the teams are not certain of getting paid by creditors down the road, either.

The NBA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, sources said YouTube TV and DAZN have particularly escalated talks with the league in recent weeks, with DAZN also asking individual teams to consider them as a streaming option in the event the NBA waits until the 2027-28 season, as originally planned, to launch its aggregated hub. If the league does wait until 2027-28, DAZN has told teams it could do one-year local bridge deals in the interim, if for no other reason than it gets them a superior place at the table to bid for the national hub.

For that reason, dozens of NBA teams are in limbo, with the league telling them it is attempting to line up a deal in time for next season while also urging them to find potential local broadcast options if it cannot.

Most Main Street teams, as a result, are exploring all possibilities, for both linear and streaming. For linear, most are lining up over-the-air deals with local stations or creating direct-to-distributor packages. Or a franchise like the Cavaliers, for instance, that already has the infrastructure of Rock Entertainment Group in place and could seamlessly shift their games there.

For streaming, it is an all-out competition in the near term, with ViewLift, Victory + and Kiswe all vying to acquire rights to the Main Street teams. But the fact that it could be only a one-year deal (if the national streaming RSN launches in 2027-28) is the biggest obstacle to teams figuring out a plan. That, and the extended market fees.

Either way, the blueprint of that national streaming RSN is complex. Because Amazon is the current distribution home for League Pass, as part of its national media rights deal, the conundrum is what happens if YouTube TV lands the streaming RSN package. As of now, League Pass gives customers access to every out-of- market game and blacks out the games in market. But a national streaming RSN would be designed specifically for in-market games and, if it’s anything like League Pass, potentially out-of-market games, as well.

That would be virtually a duplicate of League Pass. But industry sources believe the NBA could eliminate League Pass or negotiate a solution. Or, if Amazon acquires the streaming RSN instead of YouTube TV, it is a moot point.

The Angels have purchased Main Street Sports Group’s 50% share of FanDuel Sports Network West, sources told SBJ, and will soon announce their own L.A.-based RSN that will likely house the NHL’s Kings but not the NBA’s Clippers.

Because FanDuel Sports Network West was a joint venture between the Angels and Main Street -- and because it is possible Main Street could file for Chapter 7 and liquidate at any time -- sources said the Angels had wanted assurances that creditors wouldn’t attempt to pursue Main Street’s portion of the network during a 90-day claw-back period. But those same sources said the Angels have since received clarity and finalized the transaction.

Terms of the deal are unknown, but sources said the Angels have already hired FanDuel Sports Network West staffers as part of the transition. The sense is that the Angels’ network will be available on the same cable and satellite outlets as before, with streaming details still to come. The Angels on Friday said they have nothing formally to share.

The Kings’ place in the network is still to be determined. Because Kings games were also previously broadcast at FanDuel Sports Network West, sources believe the Angels will pay them an undisclosed rights fee to remain in tow, beginning in the 2026-27 season. As of now, Main Street has told its NHL and NBA teams it will continue to broadcast games through this season, although their creditors could force a liquidation before then.

The Clippers are also a Main Street team, though their games are broadcast on a different network than the Angels and Kings -- FanDuel Sports Network SoCal. But Main Street’s NBA teams are following a different path, with most lining up over-the-air channels to go with a streaming option. In the Clippers’ case, they have televised a limited amount of games OTA on L.A.-based KTLA-CW and could go that route for the 2026-27 seasons. For streaming, they could be part of a possible leaguewide streaming RSN that may launch as soon as next season.

Either way, NBA and NHL teams are now moving forward as if Main Street will not return even in a limited capacity next season. As it stands, Main Street is still seeking strategic investors and any movement toward an official winddown has not been secured, sources said. But the NBA and NHL teams remain skeptical and have been told by their respective leagues to make independent plans for 2026-27.

StubHub has launched HerSportsHub, “the first dedicated women’s sports ticket destination in the resale industry.” According to StubHub data, “women’s sports buyers grew 64% during Olympic periods,” including massive jumps for the PWHL (+225%), the WNBA (+360%) and the NWSL (+150%). HerSportsHub will give fans “access to WNBA, NWSL, PWHL, NCAA Women’s Basketball, and more in one place” for a “one-stop shop to search for a variety of women’s sports experiences” (StubHub).

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