Fubo has become an 11th-hour suitor of the 13 NBA teams that have just exited Main Street Sports Group, multiple sources told SBJ, with a hybrid direct-to-distributer and direct-to-consumer model that would include rights fees likely in the vicinity of $10M or slightly below.
Sources said over the past week that Disney-owned Fubo has pursued the Hawks, Hornets, Cavaliers, Pistons, Pacers, Clippers, Grizzlies, Heat, Bucks, T’Wolves, Thunder, Magic and Spurs with the idea that if enough teams opt in, it would create a short-term RSN not too dissimilar from Main Street. Fubo would then campaign to be the NBA’s centralized streaming hub in perhaps 2027-28 or whenever the league launches its long-awaited aggregated platform.
Until now, most of those 13 NBA teams have been weighing offers from DAZN and Victory + or deciding whether to go to an over-the-air local channel through Gray, Scripps or Nexstar (which recently acquired Tegna) while launching a simultaneous direct-to-consumer product through ViewLift or Kiswe. But a source familiar with the bidding said Fubo “sort of came out of nowhere” and is being strongly considered by “a lot of NBA teams.”
Those decisions could crystallize as soon as Friday. According to industry sources, the NBA hopes to know by the end of this week whether their preferred choices Amazon and YouTube TV are ready to bid for and house the league’s national streaming RSN in time for the 2026-27 season. Those sources said if Amazon and YouTube TV waffle — entirely possible if the league can’t guarantee 20 teams will opt into the platform by next fall — then the NBA will almost certainly delay an aggregated streaming platform another year until the 2027-28 season to provide more time to launch the venture.
An NBA spokesperson denied Wednesday that there is any sort of Friday deadline. Multiple teams, though, are under the impression that they can begin signing new linear and streaming deals next week.
That creates an opening for Fubo, which — in the interim — can jump in and create its own aggregated RSN for the 13 Main Street franchises next season. Fubo’s pitch to those teams, sources said, has been three-fold. First, Fubo would want some majority of the 13 teams (the exact number unclear) to aggregate their rights and allow Fubo to negotiate direct-to-distributer linear deals with cable companies such as Comcast, Charter, etc. Or, though sources said Fubo is discouraging it, there could be deals with local linear OTA channels in each market. If not enough of the 13 teams opt in, Fubo has led teams to believe it will drop the endeavor altogether.
Secondly, Fubo would stream those teams’ games through its own digital platform, hoping it would impress the league enough to become a candidate for the national RSN in 2027-28. Third, Fubo would allow the teams a one-time opt out after next season or beyond if the NBA does, in fact, launch its national platform — at which point those teams would have to pay back a portion of their rights fees. That point is crucial because sources said the NBA has instructed teams to include an opt-out in any pending local streaming deal, with the league’s national platform in mind. The NBA denies making that request to teams.
Fubo declined comment Wednesday. But, according to multiple sources, its proposed rights fees have ranged above and below the $10M figure. The Fubo blueprint, according to those familiar with its pitch, is to arrange as broad a distribution plan as possible, then augment it with a DTC package and advertising.
Fubo’s other advantage is its name recognition through Disney, which owns roughly a 70% share of the streaming service. Both DAZN and Victory+ have made some headway in recent months — with sources, for instance, saying as many as three NBA teams are provisionally ready to sign with Victory+ depending on financing. But industry sources say the majority of the country is still somewhat unfamiliar with DAZN and Victory, which has created skepticism within various NBA teams.
