Marlins move games from FanDuel, Heat prepares for that. How to watch games now
In a move widely expected for weeks, the Marlins are leaving financially-strapped FanDuel Sports Network and moving their games to a new multi-pronged platform that’s operated by Major League Baseball, sources said Monday.
The regional networks owned by Main Street Sports, including the two FanDuel networks in Florida, are facing the likelihood of shuttering in the months ahead because of financial problems. Their last-effort bids to find a buyer have so far proven unsuccessful.
Over the weekend, six MLB teams (including the Marlins) informed baseball that they will move their games to the MLB local media package, which was created earlier this decade to assist teams whose deals with regional sports networks seem likely to be dissolved.
The Marlins and five other teams are making this move to make sure their games have a home amid FanDuel’s uncertainty. The Marlins terminated their deal with FanDuel after Main Street missed a payment to the team on Jan. 1, The Miami Herald reported last month.
Under the new MLB Media package, fans will be able to stream Marlins games on Marlins.tv for an undetermined cost. The cost will be determined in the coming days, because subscriptions are expected to go on sale on Feb. 10.
Comcast, which is South Florida’s largest cable provider, will air Marlins games on a channel with no content otherwise. That channel number has not yet been determined.
DirecTV is expected to add a stand-alone MLB-operated channel to carry Marlins games that will be unrelated to its Extra Innings package. DirecTV markets that product as MyHome Team and has charged $19.99 per month in other markets where MLB teams previously began televising their games through MLB Media’s arm.
MLB media also has a deal to stream Marlins games on Charter, Cox and Fubo.
Also, fans with a Marlins.TV subscription can watch Marlins games through the MLB app, but they will need to order Marlins games through Marlins.TV for access to those games on the MLB app.
Fans with an MLB TV subscription will need to replace that with a Marlins.TV subscription to watch Marlins games. Simply having an MLB.TV subscription won’t provide access to Marlins games in South Florida.
Still to be resolved is whether Marlins games will air in homes with YouTube TV, Dish Network or Breezeline, which is another South Florida cable operator with significant penetration. The Marlins hope to have clarity on those three providers in the weeks ahead.
Subscribers of those providers can stream Marlins games on Marlins.tv even if those three providers ultimately don’t carry the games. The Marlins hope to have clarity on those providers in the weeks ahead.
The Marlins’ MLB media package available on Comcast, Marlintv.com and the other aforementioned providers will include 157 or so games. Five Marlins games will air exclusively on Peacock this season.
Amazon has a deal to stream games on FanDuel networks, but Marlins games will no longer be streamed on Amazon because the Marlins terminated their relationship with FanDuel.
In addition to the 157 or so games offered through the MLB local media package, the Marlins likely will continue simulcasting some games on an over-the-air network. Last season, CBS 4 and WBFS 33 combined to carry 15 games and they’re contenders to retain a modest over-the-air simulcast package this season.
The Marlins considered moving most their games to Scripps (Channel 39 in South Florida) but opted for the MLB local media package instead, according to a source. But Scripps, which carries most Panthers games, is in the running for a limited package of Marlins games that are simulcast.
Meanwhile, Main Street Sports has told Sports Business Journal that it likely will have enough money to continue operating through the end of the NBA and NHL regular seasons.
That means the Heat is expected to finish out the season with its games on FanDuel Sports Sun, with a few games simulcast on WPLG-10.
Amazon has exclusive rights to the play-in round, and unlikely past years, NBC/Peacock, Amazon and ABC/ESPN have exclusive rights to all first-round playoff games.
The Heat almost assuredly will need to find a new rights-holder for its games next season, but the Heat declined to discuss that issue, citing an NBA order prohibiting teams from commenting on the matter.
Possibilities for the Heat TV package in 2026-27 include WPLG-10, Scripps or a league-run media package similar to the one that MLB has created.
The Marlins would like to retain their game announcers, but they will need to work out new contracts with them in the coming days because they had been FanDuel employees, making their Marlins contracts null and void.
The ancillary program offered by the Marlins and the other teams that are moving to MLB’s local media package will be impacted. The MLB-run package typically does not carry pre-game shows and carries a shortened version of post-game shows for road games.
FanDuel has been unable to pay its MLB or NBA teams their rights fee payments since Jan. 1, according to league sources and Sports Business Journal.
The Marlins’ revenue will be impacted by their new TV model, but it’s too soon to know to what extent.
Instead of receiving an up-front and regular rights fees payments from FanDuel, the Marlins now will receive a modest base payment from MLB and will supplement that by retaining revenue from ad and subscription sales.
The Marlins have never said how much FanDuel paid them for games, but Sports Business Journal has reported that annual fee to be in the $50 million range in recent years -- one of the lowest rights fees in baseball.
This story was originally published February 2, 2026 at 12:32 PM.
