Minnesota Lynx seek new streaming partner after Victory+ folds

The GIST: Things have gone from bad to worse for Victory+ after its parent company announced the dissolution of the Dallas-based streaming service yesterday. Surprisingly, the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx and Atlanta Dream kept their contracts until the end despite previous partners like the NWSL terminating its agreement earlier this summer.

• So why stay on the sinking ship so long and what does this mean for an already-complicated media rights landscape? Let’s get into it.

The context: Victory+ launched in 2024 as a free, local streaming service that relied solely on ad deals. Founded in part by the NHL’s Dallas Stars, it inked deals with teams and leagues from coast to coast with a business model that prioritized accessibility for fans who didn’t have cable. It seemed great…on paper.

• Things started unraveling in July after the MLB’s Texas Rangers and NHL’s Anaheim Ducks ended their contracts within a day of each other citing missed payments, and the NWSL following quickly on their heels. In response, Victory+ fired its CEO, but still thought it was in a good enough place to deliver on its remaining contracts.

The WNBA deals: Where the previous deals relied on guaranteed payments, the WNBA teams opted for revenue sharing, meaning no breach of contract when cash flow was light. Victory+ successfully streamed the majority of the Lynx’s games, perfect for the league’s younger, digital-first fanbase. There’s just two games left that were slated for the streamer and with the international break, both W squads have time to find a broadcast partner.

• Speaking of partners, Amazon Prime keeps showing up at the right time, absorbing several of these broken contracts and transitioning into a sports programming cornerstone, especially after integrating WNBA League Pass into its ecosystem.

Zooming out: Teams desperately want local streaming partners, but young companies like Victory+ don’t have deep enough pockets to support today’s lucrative media deals. Enter Amazon — according to Sportico, it now has localized deals for 34 teams across all the leagues mentioned above and the NBA. Bad news for the little guys.