Main Street Sports, the now-defunct owner of a portfolio of regional sports networks, is taking legal action against the two largest pay TV providers in the U.S. The company filed separate lawsuits in Delaware Superior Court on Monday against Comcast and Charter Communications, alleging that both breached their contracts and underpaid licensing fees during the early part of 2026, according to court documents seen by CNBC.
At the time, Main Street’s networks were still delivering NBA and NHL games to local markets across the country, the lawsuits claim. The company had begun its winddown earlier this year, but it continued to air the entirety of the NBA regular season, as well as the NHL regular season and the first round of the playoffs, before ceasing operations.
Representatives for Comcast and Charter did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A long and complicated history
Main Street Sports traces its origins to the Fox Sports networks and has changed hands multiple times since 2019. The company emerged from bankruptcy protection in early 2025, rebranding its channels under the FanDuel Sports Network name. At its peak after exiting bankruptcy, it operated about 15 channels and aired games for roughly 30 teams across Major League Baseball, the NHL, and the NBA.
Despite touting subscriber growth as recently as the spring of this year, Main Street continued to struggle with liquidity issues, particularly when its MLB fee payments came due, CNBC previously reported. The company had long been burdened by a heavy debt load, which ultimately led to its winddown. It aired its final local MLB games in 2025.
Regional sports networks under pressure
The lawsuits come as regional sports networks face mounting challenges across the industry. Once a lucrative business model — channels paid high fees to air local games, with those fees flowing into team payrolls — the networks have been hit hard by cord cutting. As pay TV subscribers continue to decline, distributors have been reworking their agreements with these channels, often seeking lower fees or more flexible terms.
Even direct-to-consumer streaming options for regional sports networks have been in flux. Last month, two of New York’s independently owned regional sports networks left their own streaming app in favor of a distribution deal with the streaming platform DAZN.
Main Street’s legal action against Comcast and Charter adds another layer of uncertainty to an already strained ecosystem. The company alleges that the underpayments occurred during a period when it was still fulfilling its obligations to air games, raising questions about how distributors value regional sports content in a rapidly shifting media landscape.
Source: www.cnbc.com — https://www.cnbc.com/2026/08/24/main-street-sports-comcast-charter-lawsuit-payments.html
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