Decline in local rights forecasts impact on national sports media deals
Yahoo Sports • 1 min read • Latest: Sep 29, 2026, 9:30 AM
Last updated Sep 29, 2026
The decrease in local media rights values for MLB, NBA, and NHL teams is indicative of challenges facing national sports rights agreements. Many teams that previously secured local deals worth millions are now getting far less, prompting fears that national rights spends could also diminish as the pay-TV model evolves. As subscribers to cable packages continue to drop significantly, sports leagues may face tighter budgets in future negotiations. Rights owners are urged to rethink their inventory packaging strategies to navigate the new. The impacts are expected to vary widely across leagues.
- •Local media rights values for many teams dropped near zero.
- •National rights deals have historically increased in value, but trends may change.
- •Cable TV subscriptions fell from ~100 million in 2016 to ~62 million in Q2 '26.
- •Teams are securing local deals worth significantly less than previous agreements.
- •Leagues are encouraged to reimagine how they package their media inventory.
- 9:30 AMYahoo Sports — Bundle Economics Came for RSNs First, National Rights Are Next
"The decline in local media rights values to nearly zero for many MLB, NBA and NHL teams —and shrinking spending on entertainment programming— seemingly offers a preview of what a highly consolidated, lower-margin video distribution business is most likely to yield for national sports rights in the years ahead. Remember, the subscriber fees that power national rights spending are the same cable bundle-related dollars once used to purchase local rights.
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