Wolves could be left scrambling if FanDuel Sports Networks fold mid-season

There's a scenario to be aware of that could cause some issues for the Minnesota Timberwolves in regards to the television distribution of their games as soon as this season — and perhaps change where the games are available for fans to watch.

According to a report from Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal, Main Street Sports Group missed a payment to the St. Louis Cardinals in December and could wind up dissolving its business by next summer (if not earlier) unless a last-ditch sale to DAZN takes place by January. Why that matters is that Main Street is the successor to Diamond Sports Group as owner of the FanDuel Sports Network regional channels that hold the broadcast rights to 30 franchises across the NBA, NHL, and MLB, including the Timberwolves and Minnesota Wild.

If the DAZN sale doesn't go through, Main Street apparently will shutter at the end of this year's NBA and NHL seasons. That wouldn't be a major logistical issue, as teams in those leagues would have a full offseason to figure out their next steps.

What would be an issue is if Main Street starts missing rights fee payments to other franchises than the Cardinals and perhaps goes out of business more abruptly than anticipated. The NBA reportedly held a call with its 13 teams who have FanDuel Sports Network deals last week, preparing them for that worst-case scenario.

From Friend's article:

“The message to [the NBA] teams was, for now, no big change, but refine your contingency plans, continue discussions with everybody, things will happen over the next few weeks, couple months and let the league know if you [don’t receive a payment],” said one source.

If the teams were to not receive payments from Main Street following a cure period, they'd have to quickly move to an alternative in the middle of the season. In that event, the NBA has assured teams that it would step in and "produce and distribute local streams for all 13 teams, to be unlocked in each market likely on League Pass and the NBA app." The teams would also presumably look to quickly sign over-the-air contracts with local channels.

That wouldn't be great for teams from a revenue standpoint. The Timberwolves are reportedly getting close to $25 million in rights fee payments from Main Street this season.

The likely outcome, perhaps for next season, is the NBA forming a national streaming RSN of its own, which would allow it to sell streaming rights to major broadcasting companies.

There doesn't seem to be much risk of Timberwolves games being unable to watch in some capacity, with Michael Grady/Alan Horton and Jim Petersen on the call. But if Main Street folds soon, the logistics of how to watch the games may change.

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