Read in Browser [[link removed]]

Afternoon Edition

December 22, 2025

POWERED BY

Main Street Sports, an RSN operator that’s already gone through bankruptcy, is in advanced talks to sell itself to DAZN. If an agreement doesn’t come by January, Main Street Sports plans to shut itself down entirely, in which case the local rights of nine MLB teams, 13 NBA teams, and eight NHL teams would revert back to those respective leagues and franchises.

— Eric Fisher [[link removed]] and David Rumsey [[link removed]]

Dozens of MLB, NBA RSNs Could Collapse Without DAZN Deal [[link removed]]

Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Nearly a year after emerging from bankruptcy, [[link removed]] regional sports network operator Main Street Sports is once again teetering on the brink of financial calamity.

The company is in advanced talks on a deal to sell itself to DAZN, the London-based sports streamer. If an agreement for DAZN to take majority control does not happen by January, however, Main Street Sports is planning to shut itself down entirely, industry sources said. Such a move would revert the local rights of nine Major League Baseball teams, 13 in the NBA, and seven in the NHL back to those respective leagues and franchises.

Resolution on the future path of Main Street Sports is expected by early January.

MLB’s Cardinals did not receive a scheduled December rights payment from Main Street Sports, and there is a chance that several other teams, particularly in the NBA, could suffer the same fate in the coming weeks. St. Louis, however, has not terminated its rights agreement.

“Main Street Sports Group is in discussions with certain team partners around the timing of their rights payments as we progress discussions with strategic partners to further enhance our long-term capital position,” a company spokesman said in a statement to Front Office Sports.

The impending situation with Main Street Sports was first reported by Sports Business Journal [[link removed]].

A combination between DAZN and Main Street Sports would give DAZN a much greater presence in the U.S., building on its larger foothold in several other parts of the world, notably Europe. The existing FanDuel Sports Network, carrying a naming rights agreement with the sports betting giant, would be folded into the existing DAZN platform.

DAZN, however, has had its own financial issues, posting in October a pre-tax loss of $935.6 million for 2024, itself an improvement from a 2023 loss of more than $1.4 billion.

Larger Considerations

The entire RSN business continues to be under significant stress as cord-cutting continues to accelerate. Although Main Street Sports posted a strong viewership increase during the 2025 MLB season [[link removed]], has begun to do so again in the current NBA and NHL seasons, and retooled its production under former ESPN executive Norby Williamson [[link removed]], the aim is to provide greater long-term stability. A potential combination with DAZN would do just that.

If a deal with DAZN isn’t completed and Main Street Sports shuts down, each of the three leagues would need to develop alternate plans to show the games of the affected teams. MLB particularly has experience in having to manage the local rights of some of its teams on minimal notice. Main Street Sports, formerly Diamond Sports Group, abruptly dropped the Padres in early 2023 [[link removed]], the first team it did that with early in its bankruptcy reorganization. MLB’s local media department, developed to respond to RSN turbulence, remains in place and is prepared to take on more teams if necessary.

Most recently, the Mariners voluntarily opted into MLB’s in-house model [[link removed]] for production and distribution of local games, winding down Root Sports Northwest.

SPONSORED BY APPLE SPORTS

Football Scores, Fast & Simple

[[link removed]]

The Apple Sports app [[link removed]] delivers a quick and simple way to stay locked in on every game. Fans get real-time scores, live stats, and play-by-play in an incredibly clean, fast, and intuitive Apple-designed experience.

Follow your favorite teams, leagues, and conferences all in one place. Personalize your dashboard, track game flow through detailed box scores, and get Live Activities delivered straight to your iPhone Lock Screen or Apple Watch.

If you want the sport, not the clutter, the Apple Sports app gives you exactly what matters.

[[link removed]] 👉 [[link removed]] Download Apple Sports for free on the App Store. [[link removed]]

National Links Trust Makes Last-Ditch Effort to Stop Trump Takeover [[link removed]]

Danny Wild-Imagn Images

The National Links Trust is making a last-ditch effort to try and prevent U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration from taking control of three historic public golf courses in Washington, D.C.

Since 2020, the NLT—a nonprofit organization created in 2019—has overseen operations of the East Potomac Golf Links, Langston Golf Course, Rock Creek Park Golf, as part of a 50-year lease agreement with the National Park Service, which owns the courses. But Trump has alleged that the NLT violated terms of its lease [[link removed]], and could terminate the lease by the end of this month.

In recent days, the NLT has been publicly pleading its case on social media to retain jurisdiction over the three courses.

“The future of our stewardship over DC’s municipal golf courses is now facing a direct threat,” the NLT wrote in an Instagram post [[link removed]] highlighting various media articles about the issue. “We need your help amplifying these stories and bringing attention to the situation.”

Another Instagram post called for followers [[link removed]] to share why affordable and accessible golf is important to them. Many golfers with D.C. ties have worried that Trump taking over the courses could mean more expensive greens fees. Additionally, Trump is reportedly considering transforming [[link removed]] the 36 holes at East Potomac into one 18-hole course and renaming it Washington National Golf Course.

The NLT’s X/Twitter account [[link removed]] has been retweeting dozens of posts about the saga, too. A petition on Change.org [[link removed]] titled “Keep DC’s Public Golf Courses Out of Political Control” has nearly 2,000 signatures, and says it is awaiting a response from the NPS.

In 2024, the NLT launched the Nation’s Capital Project, which seeks to revitalize and rehabilitate the three courses at the center of this latest dispute. Last month, Ed Russo, a longtime consultant for Trump and now chairman of the White House Environmental Advisory Task Force, told Front Office Sports that Tiger Woods had agreed to help [[link removed]] with the redesign of Langston.

Work at Rock Creek is underway and likely won’t be finished until 2027. That project’s estimated cost, paid for by funds raised by the NLT, is between $25 million and $35 million. Once the Rock Creek renovation finishes, Langston would be up next.

Amazon Averaging Nearly 15M Viewers for ‘Thursday Night Football’ [[link removed]]

Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

A candidate for the unofficial National Football League game of the season delivered another major audience for Amazon.

The streaming giant said Monday that it averaged 15.36 million viewers for its Thursday Night Football coverage of the Dec. 18 game between the Rams and Seahawks. The clash, won by Seattle 38–37 in overtime, more than lived up to the extensive pregame hype [[link removed]], and positioned the Seahawks as the current top seed in the NFC playoff race. The viewership beat the comparable game from the 2024 season by 39%.

The audience figure, however, did not match the 19.4 million that Amazon averaged for a Dec. 4 TNF game between the Cowboys and Lions, setting a regular-season record [[link removed]] for the four years that the Thursday NFL games have exclusively been on Prime Video.

For the season, though, Amazon is averaging 14.96 million viewers for TNF, up 13% from last year, and up 26% from 2023. The hefty viewership for the Rams-Seahawks game also extended a banner season for the company that included a significant audience bump on Black Friday [[link removed]]. That full-season average is also greater than any other provider or combination of providers in the two-decade history of TNF.

In addition to the on-field drama, the Rams-Seahawks game also included Los Angeles receiver Puka Nacua continuing his criticism of the referees. He received a $25,000 fine [[link removed]] for those comments.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS TODAY College Sports 2025 Roundup and 2026 Look-Ahead

FOS illustration

2025 was the year of coaches on the move, as buyouts reached almost $200 million thanks to big-name firings like Brian Kelly and James Franklin. Not to mention Lane Kiffin’s big jump to LSU and Bill Belichick’s dramatic struggles in his first year with North Carolina.

Meanwhile, major legislative questions loom about the employment status for college athletes, as that congressional decision now pushes into 2026. FOS reporter Amanda Christovich and newsletter writer David Rumsey join Baker Machado to explain why this year was so important for the NCAA and what questions will be answered in 2026.

Watch the full episode here [[link removed]].

SPONSORED BY APPLE SPORTS

Stay Locked In on the NFL Playoff Push

[[link removed]]

As the battle for NFL playoff spots heats up, Apple Sports keeps you locked in on division races and Wild Card pushes with real-time scores, stats, and standings. Fans can also track College Football, the NBA, and more in a fast, clean, Apple-designed experience.

Personalize your dashboard, follow your favorite teams and leagues, dive into box scores, and get Live Activities delivered right to your iPhone Lock Screen or Apple Watch.

If you want scores and stats without the clutter, Apple Sports delivers exactly what matters. Download Apple Sports for free on the App Store. [[link removed]]

STATUS REPORT Three Up, One Push

REUTERS/Mike Blake

David Ellison ⬆⬇ The Paramount chair and CEO has sought to up his hostile takeover bid [[link removed]] for TNT Sports parent company Warner Bros. Discover. Ellison’s father, billionaire tech mogul Larry Ellison, has agreed to provide a personal guarantee of more than $40 billion toward the potential WBD deal. WBD last week rejected the Paramount proposal [[link removed]], opting to stick with its pending deal with Netflix [[link removed]], and in so doing, the company previously called the Ellison family financing insufficient. “Our $30 per share, fully financed all-cash offer was on December 4th, and continues to be, the superior option to maximize value for WBD shareholders,” David Ellison said in a statement Monday.

White Sox ⬆ The rebuilding club landed Japanese slugger Munetaka Murakami, one of the more notable available talents [[link removed]] in Major League Baseball’s offseason player market, in a two-year, $34 million deal. Munetaka is the single-season home run leader in Nippon Professional Baseball history, hitting 56 in 2022, and Chicago prevailed in landing him over several other teams that offered longer-term deals but lower average annual salaries.

Steelers ⬆ Sunday’s victory over the Lions improved Pittsburgh to 9-6 this season and secured the team’s 22nd consecutive season with a .500-or-better record, surpassing the Cowboys (21 consecutive seasons from 1965-85) for the longest such streak in NFL history. The Steelers, who signed Aaron Rodgers [[link removed]] in the offseason, haven’t yet clinched a playoff berth, but are two games ahead of the Ravens in the AFC North with two games left this season.

Masters invitees ⬆ There are 13 professional golfers set to qualify for the first major championship of 2026 by finishing the year inside the top 50 [[link removed]] of the Official World Golf Rankings. The highest-ranked player not otherwise qualified is No. 11 Alex Norén. There are 86 players now eligible for Masters invites, and more can still earn invitations by winning a full-field PGA Tour event before the Masters or getting into the top 50 a week before the tournament.

Editors’ Picks Biggest Sports Media Stories of 2025 [[link removed]]by Michael McCarthy [[link removed]] and Ryan Glasspiegel [[link removed]]A rollercoaster year saw huge deals for major networks and streamers alike. [[link removed]] FanDuel Joins Prediction-Market Fray As New App Goes Live [[link removed]]by Ben Horney [[link removed]]FanDuel Predicts is live in five states. DAILY TRIVIA Factle Sports

List the top 5 countries with the most NHL players.

PLAY NOW [[link removed]]

Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Show [[link removed]] Written by Eric Fisher [[link removed]], David Rumsey [[link removed]] Edited by Lisa Scherzer [[link removed]], Katie Krzaczek [[link removed]]

If this email was forwarded to you, you can subscribe here [[link removed]].

Update your preferences [link removed] / Unsubscribe [link removed]

Copyright © 2025 Front Office Sports. All rights reserved.

460 Park Avenue South, 7th Floor, New York NY, 10016