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Main Street Sports has launched separate lawsuits against cable giants Comcast and Charter Communications, alleging the carriers shorted the regional sports network owner on licensing payments while its channels were still carrying NBA and NHL games. The complaints, filed in Delaware Superior Court, say the underpayments occurred in the early part of 2026.
Legal claims and immediate response
The suits, filed on Monday and reviewed by CNBC, accuse the two largest U.S. pay-TV providers of breaching contracts and failing to pay agreed fees to Main Street during the period when its networks were delivering local professional basketball and hockey. Company filings seen by reporters form the basis of the allegations.
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Representatives for Comcast and Charter did not immediately respond to requests for comment, according to the filings.
Main Street’s recent history
Main Street Sports traces its roots to the former Fox Sports regional networks and has changed hands several times since 2019. After emerging from bankruptcy protection in early 2025, the networks were rebranded as the FanDuel Sports Network.
At its height, the group operated about 15 channels and, after its bankruptcy exit, carried games for roughly 30 teams across Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League and the National Basketball Association. But persistent debt and cash-flow problems became a recurring challenge.
CNBC previously reported that Main Street faced liquidity strains when payments for MLB rights came due. Those financial pressures set in motion a winddown that began earlier this year: the company aired its final local MLB games in 2025, while continuing to broadcast the full NBA regular season and the NHL regular season plus the first round of playoffs in 2026.
Broader strain on regional sports networks
Regional sports networks once generated significant revenue by charging high carriage fees to reach local audiences. Those fees in turn supported team payrolls and local broadcast economics.
But the steady decline in traditional pay-TV subscriptions has upended that model. Many distributors have renegotiated terms with RSNs or scaled back carriage as viewers cut the cord.
Shifts in streaming distribution
Direct-to-consumer offerings from RSNs have also been in flux. As an example of that shift, two independently owned New York regional sports channels recently moved away from their own streaming app in favor of distribution through the streaming platform DAZN.
