Brewers' 2026 TV deal in question amid production company's financial struggles

In recent years, the Milwaukee Brewers' TV deals have been something of a nightmare for the small-market club. For a long time, Wisconsin-based Brewers fans could watch basically every regular-season game on FOX Sports Wisconsin; the broadcasts still strike a nostalgic chord every time you go back and watch a past Brewers game on YouTube or see an old clip from the FSW era.

In 2019, Disney sold the rights to FOX Sports Wisconsin and 20 other regional networks to Sinclair Broadcast Group. The network remained "FOX Sports Wisconsin" for two more baseball seasons, with the final season of FSW being the shortened 60-game COVID-19 season in 2020. In March of 2021, Sinclair sold the naming rights of the FOX Sports Wisconsin and many other regional networks to the Bally's Corporation, which, among other things, operates 19 casinos across the United States. However, in 2023, Diamond Sports Group, who owns Bally's Sports, went bankrupt, and in late 2024, severed their deal with Bally's for a new deal with FanDuel. As a result, Brewers fans were left watching games on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin (which really rolls off the tongue) in 2025.

It initially looked like Brewers games were going to be broadcast by MLB in 2025, which is not uncommon around the league, but after Diamond Sports Group escaped bankruptcy and rebranded as Main Street Sports Group in January 2025, Milwaukee renewed their contract with the volatile media company.

Following the 2025 season, the Brewers quickly announced that they had once again renewed their contract with Main Street Sports Group, meaning games would continue to be broadcast on FanDuel Sports Network Wisconsin for the 2026 season. However, after the latest report from Evan Drelich and Katie Woo of The Athletic, Main Street Sports Group appears to be struggling financially once again, and the Brewers' 2026 TV deal could be a casualty of said struggles.

Financial struggles of FanDuel Sports Network Wisoconsin's parent company lead to uncertainty regarding Brewers' 2026 TV deal

The report from The Athletic notes the uncertainty still involved in the situation, explaining that it's possible Main Street Sports Group is dissolved, sold, or miraculously survives its debt, but regardless, MLB teams are likely to be affected.

The most obvious consequence could be a severance of the deal that the Brewers agreed to last November, which would put the team's broadcast strategy for the upcoming season in question. As the Brewers have previously explored, MLB itself could take over the broadcasting duties as they were forced to do for several teams last year. However, such a situation would lead to even more uncertainty for the Brewers as the league doesn't promise a fixed rate like the regional sports networks do, as noted by Drelich and Woo. Instead, the league offers teams a portion of the revenue that the telecasts bring in, which could spell trouble for the small-market Brewers.

In addition to Brewers fans being unsure of where they will be able to watch games next season, the team's spending this offseason could certainly be impacted as well. Without certainty regarding how much money the team will bring in via its TV deal in 2026, the Brewers ownership group is unlikely to push its payroll to an uncomfortable spot, which it is already approaching.

Much is still up in the air, and at the current moment, the deal that the Brewers signed back in November is still in place. However, The Athletic’s reporting of failed payments and losses of roughly $200 million for Main Street Sports Group in the last year doesn't bode well for the Brewers' current TV revenue. The situation is certainly worth monitoring as the offseason continues.

UPDATE (January 8): According to a new report from Evan Drelich of The Athletic, the Milwaukee Brewers have officially terminated their agreement with Main Street Sports Group for the upcoming 2026 season. The Brewers will no either renegotiate their contract with Main Street Sports Group or find a new company to produce their games in 2026. Stay tuned for more updates.