An ongoing contract dispute will see Disney-owned Hulu drop all Sinclair Broadcast Group regional sports networks on Friday, spanning more than 20 channels. Sinclair’s RSNs, which were previously available through Hulu’s premium subscription, span Fox Sports channels around the U.S., including FS Arizona, Detroit, Florida, Midwest, North, Ohio, Prime Ticket, San Diego, Southeast, Southwest, Sun, and West.
Hulu subscribers will also be losing the Marquee Sports Network and YES Network, which broadcast the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees, respectively. Both channels are partially owned by Sinclair. Hulu has been bullish on marketing itself as a platform that has live sports. To be sure, Hulu Live TV members will continue to have access to sports on ESPN, TBS, TNT, FS1, FS2, Fox, CBS, NBC and ABC.
There’s a history between the two companies. Disney acquired Hulu in March 2019 in its purchase of 21st Century Fox, a deal that also included the Fox RSNs. The federal government, however, forced Disney (the parent company of ESPN) to divest from the RSNs, which were then purchased by Sinclair. In September, YouTube TV dropped all Fox regional sports networks after YouTube and Sinclair failed to extend its partnership in negotiations.
Sports Business Journal media reporter John Ourand painted Hulu’s withdrawal of Sinclair RSNs as “opportunistic” against the backdrop of the pandemic. “RSNs are not carrying any sports—no MLB, no NBA, no NHL—for at least the next three months, maybe longer. My bet is that deals will be made as live games start up again,” he said.
