How The Rollout Of Nine MLB Regional Sports Networks Came Down To The Wire

Fans of Major League Baseball were left to scramble on where to find nine teams on television on Opening Day. getty It wasn’t until the morning of Opening Day that fans of nine teams in Major League Baseball found out where they could watch them play on regional television, creating a frantic scramble and giving the league a black eye. How it all happened shows just how far providers and the league were willing to go to fight for their positions.

None of this is new. Anyone who has had cable or satellite television at one point or another has been held hostage in a carriage dispute, with channels blacked out as the sides battle over the cost of access to content. As the subscriber base has cratered, leaving for streaming options, providers are seeking the lowest possible price for media rights, while the content providers seek the most they can get.

This week, Major League Baseball was in the crosshairs. Whether it was once named Diamond Sports Group and labeled Bally Sports Networks, or then Main Street Sports and labeled FanDuel Networks, nearly half of MLB was carried at the regional level through them. Over several seasons, the bankruptcy of DSG and Main Street has created a shockwave through not just MLB but also the NBA and NHL.

For Major League Baseball, they’ve had to set up their own media company to deal with the fallout. Whether it was Diamond dropping the Padres midseason, and MLB having to get something in place in less than 24 hours , or the Diamondbacks, Guardians, and Twins before the 2026 season, the fallout has had the league take over media rights and negotiate distribution. That’s led to fans finding out at the last second where to find their team on channel guides.