There seems to be a reckoning coming for sports networks. Layoffs have become a common sight, even among some of the industry’s most notable, like ESPN. Unsurprisingly, this has led to many sports organizations rethinking their strategy surrounding media production. Now, some sports teams are taking it upon themselves to make their own networks.
A large number of these cases in the past few years have been around youth sports leagues and other local teams, largely due to the collapse of regional cable networks like FanDuel Sports Network. To compensate, these teams launched their own streaming services that provide live and on-demand content for regional viewers.
A recent case of this was the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Minnesota Wild team, which announced a multimedia television network in partnership with NHL Productions. However, recent events regarding major sports networks have had many people wondering whether the industry’s biggest teams will follow a similar path.
Currently, things are still up in the air. There is simply too much financial investment in organizations like the MLB and NFL in major sports news networks. The NFL in particular has been consolidating with ESPN, with the network taking over operations for the NFL Network, primarily broadcasting Monday Night Football and much more. There would have to be a massive shake-up or a monumental disaster for the NFL or any other major sports company to part ways with these networks. Until then, people can expect more regional sports teams to fragment.
