Consumers wanted more choice about what channels they paid for, so they pushed for the end of the cable bundle. Cord-cutting, the process of people dropping the traditional cable bundle in favor of a la carte streaming services, has had an unintended consequence, however.

As more customers drop cable, your favorite cable channels get less money from what subscribers used to pay for a traditional cable subscription.

Under the old system, people paid a small amount for every channel in the bundle. That meant I subsidized channels you like, and you paid for ones that you may never watch, but that I like. It was, in many ways, a mutually beneficial system, but those days are over.

“The traditional pay-TV sector saw a decline in subscriptions for the ninth consecutive year, according to a new report from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The decline was largely due to cord-cutting, with penetration dropping from over 80% in 2011 to 34.4% by the end of 2024. This shift reflects a broader consumer preference for streaming services over traditional cable, S&P said,” TV Tech reported.

Fewer subscribers also means less advertising revenue. Take those two money hits together and you can see how the current model does not work.

CNN’s new boss, Mark Thompson, has made it clear that the traditional model will soon no longer be viable.

He said that the network faces an “existential crisis” because of cord-cutting and that he plans to eventually pivot away from cable TV toward a subscription-based streaming model similar to YouTube and TikTok, The New York Post reported.

Cord-cutting has also been very bad for the regional sports network (RSN) business model, and the biggest player in that space, Main Street Sports Group, which operates the FanDuel Sports Network, faces a fight to avoid bankruptcy and liquidation.

Main Street Sports Group and FanDuel Sports Network

• Ownership and background: Main Street Sports Group is a U.S. media and entertainment company owning FanDuel Sports Network, formed after the bankruptcy and restructuring of Diamond Sports Group (formerly Bally Sports).
• Broadcast Rights Portfolio: The group controls regional broadcast rights for dozens of professional teams across the NBA, NHL, and MLB and produces over 3,000 live local sports events per year, according to Main Street Sports Group.
• Financial Restructuring: Main Street Sports Group emerged from Chapter 11 with a significantly reduced debt load and a rebranded operational focus, positioning itself for growth in live sports media, according to a Business Wire press release.
• Subscriber Growth: FanDuel Sports Network’s direct‑to‑consumer subscriber base nearly doubled in recent months, nearing 650,000 paid subscribers and targeting growth toward 1 million, the company shared in a Business Wire press release.
• Local Media Rights Extensions: The network continues to extend and renew media rights agreements with teams like the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild, reinforcing its role in local sports broadcasting, according to a press release.
• Carriage and accessibility: Main Street Sports Group has extended carriage agreements with major distributors, such as Comcast’s Xfinity, to maintain wide availability of FanDuel Sports Network content, it shared in a Business Wire press release.

The way local sports are broadcast would change if Main Street Sports Group collapses.

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Main Street Sports Group hits a financial crisis

Cord-cutting changed the economics for RSNs. Under the old model, most subscribers had to pay for these channels whether they watched sports or not.

Now, in most situations, these channels have become add-ons that cost extra.

My mother, for example, watches Boston Red Sox games on NESN, one of the more stable RSNs. That used to be part of her cable bundle, and now she pays $20 a month for the channel.

That’s worth it to her, but many more casual fans have opted out, and that has put the largest operator of RSNs at a financial crossroads.

“Main Street Sports Group has missed a December payment to the St. Louis Cardinals as it continues to pursue a last-ditch sale to DAZN, and sources told SBJ late Saturday that if the DAZN purchase does not close by January, Main Street will wind down and dissolve its business at the end of this year’s NBA and NHL regular seasons,” Sports Business Journal reported.

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The situation, however, is still a work in progress.

“However, sources said Main Street remains in active discussions with all 30 organizations — including the Cardinals, who have not terminated their Main Street right agreement — and is working to finalize a complex strategic investment that would turn DAZN into the majority owner of what is now known as the FanDuel Sports Network,” SBJ added.

What happens next for Main Street Sports Group and FanDuel Sports Network?

The news, however, is clear if a deal is not made with DAZN.

Should that deal fall through, Main Street Sports Network will “wind down and dissolve,” according to Sports Business Journal.

If that happens, broadcast rights will revert to the teams.

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And while Main Street Sports Group has said it will complete the NBA and NHL seasons, the NBA is preparing for a mid-season closure, Awful Announcing reported.

“Should that occur, the league will step in and utilize its League Pass platform for the 13 teams currently airing on FanDuel Sports Networks. In this scenario, teams would need to scramble to ink linear distribution deals with local over-the-air affiliates in order to remain on traditional television platforms,” the sports broadcasting website shared.

A look at FanDuel Sports Network

• Network Identity: FanDuel Sports Network is the regional sports network group operated by Main Street Sports Group, replacing the former Bally Sports channels and serving local teams across multiple U.S. regions.
• Multi‑Platform Distribution: FDSN content is available via cable, satellite, vMVPD platforms, direct streaming through its own app, and even Prime Video add‑on subscriptions, according to a Business Wire press release.
• Expansion Initiatives: The network has launched a first‑to‑market digital distribution strategy to stream select NBA and NHL games on major platforms and over‑the‑air services, broadening reach beyond traditional pay TV.
• Smart TV Availability: The FanDuel Sports Network app is now available on VIZIO smart TVs, expanding direct‑to‑consumer access.
• Betting Integration: The strategic partnership with FanDuel enhances live sports broadcasts with features such as real‑time Bet Tracking integrated into select NBA and NHL game coverage. Source: PR Newswire

Analysts say the core economics of the RSN model have deteriorated sharply; industry data shows the equity value of the former Bally Sports networks plunged roughly 97% over six years, underscoring the decline in traditional broadcast revenue and subscriber fees,” noted CNBC’s Mike Ozanian, as reported by Awful Announcing.

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