FanDuel Sports Network will be keeping its full complement of NBA teams next season.
According to a report by Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal, the five NBA teams that could have exited their current broadcast partnership with FanDuel Sports Network have opted to stay on for another season. In total, all 13 teams that FanDuel Sports Network aired this season will be back for more next season.
The five teams that had expiring contracts with FanDuel Sports Network were the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, and Minnesota Timberwolves. All five decided it was in their best interest to stay on the regional sports network, albeit for reduced rights fees after Diamond Sports Group’s (now Main Street Sports Group’s) bankruptcy proceedings forced renegotiations last year. The other option, moving games to a combination of over-the-air television and streaming, can increase reach but is far less lucrative than staying on cable television.
Per Friend, it is unclear if the five teams were forced to take further rights fee reductions for next season. Reductions to this year’s fee ranged from about $1 million to over $8 million for the five teams involved, with the Hawks’ payments dropping the most and the Heat’s payments being the least impacted.
It’s also unclear if the teams inked one or two-year extensions. Most teams would prefer the one-year option to maintain flexibility should the NBA go forward with its plan to launch a nationalized streaming service for local rights. As it stands, the league plans to launch such a platform “no later than 2027,” per SBJ, and is considering Amazon, Apple, YouTube, Roku, and ESPN as possible destinations for the service.
Right now, in-market fans whose teams air on FanDuel Sports Network also have the option to purchase a direct-to-consumer package through Amazon’s Prime Video to watch games.
Financially, the decision to stay on the regional sports networks makes sense for the five teams involved. Even if the franchises had to eat a small reduction, the fees paid by FanDuel Sports Network, funded by the still-lucrative (albeit shrinking) carriage fees earned from distributors like Comcast or DirecTV, still far exceed the rights fees afforded by local over-the-air affiliates.
At the moment, teams are making the best of a generally bad situation. Until there’s a robust national offering from the NBA via an established streaming platform, it makes sense that teams will stick with what they know, especially if it’s the most cost-efficient option in the first place.
