Main Street Sports Group announces St. Louis layoffs amid FanDuel network upheaval and MLB rights exits
Workforce reduction follows accelerating contract losses and missed payments in the regional sports network business
Main Street Sports Group, the parent company operating the FanDuel Sports Network family of regional sports channels, has announced layoffs affecting its St. Louis operation as the company’s baseball business rapidly unwinds and leagues move to protect game distribution.
The St. Louis impact centers on FanDuel Sports Network Midwest, long the primary television home for the St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Blues across much of Missouri and Illinois and parts of neighboring states. The job cuts come against a backdrop of missed rights-fee payments and a broad shift of Major League Baseball telecasts away from the regional sports network model.
The layoffs arrive as Major League Baseball expands its in-house production and distribution footprint for local games, reducing the role of traditional regional sports networks in several markets.
How the company reached this point
Main Street Sports Group is the reorganized successor to Diamond Sports Group, which emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy and rebranded in early 2025 while continuing to operate under the FanDuel Sports Network name through a naming-rights agreement. The company’s financial restructuring was designed to reduce debt and stabilize operations, but rights-fee obligations to teams remained central to its business model.
In late 2025 and early 2026, teams and leagues began signaling contingency plans as the company faced payment disruptions. For St. Louis, the Cardinals’ local rights became a focal point after a missed payment tied to the 2026 season. That dispute was followed by a wider break between FanDuel Sports Network and multiple MLB clubs.
MLB moves broadcasts in-house, including the Cardinals
For the 2026 season, MLB will produce and distribute local telecasts for at least six additional clubs, including the St. Louis Cardinals, after Main Street Sports Group failed to make scheduled rights payments. MLB’s expanded role adds to a growing list of teams whose local broadcasts are no longer produced under traditional regional sports network agreements.
In St. Louis, the Cardinals have also expanded an over-the-air component for a limited number of games through a local broadcast partnership, while MLB takes responsibility for producing and distributing games that are not exclusive national broadcasts. The move is intended to preserve access for fans while the local sports media market continues to shift.
MLB is producing and distributing Cardinals local games for 2026 that are not exclusive national telecasts.
A limited number of Cardinals games will air over-the-air locally, alongside cable and streaming distribution.
Main Street Sports Group has indicated it will continue carrying NBA and NHL programming as seasons conclude.
What it could mean for St. Louis viewers and the Blues
The immediate effect for St. Louis viewers is a reconfiguration of how Cardinals games are delivered—shifting from a long-standing regional sports network structure toward league-led production and a mix of distribution outlets. The Blues, meanwhile, remain part of the FanDuel Sports Network Midwest portfolio during the current NHL season, with select games also made available over-the-air through a simulcast arrangement designed to broaden reach within the team’s regional footprint.
Main Street Sports Group has signaled that its path beyond the conclusion of the 2025–26 NBA and NHL seasons is uncertain, as leagues and teams evaluate longer-term rights strategies and distribution partners. The layoffs in St. Louis are one of the first local indicators of how quickly those national contract decisions can translate into changes for regional operations.