Victory+ CEO removed after string of rights losses, remaining deals appear secure

Victory+ removed CEO Neil Gruninger and replaced him with Jon Spencer of TriWest Capital Partners, according to Awful Announcing's reporting on August 2. The move follows the platform's loss of three broadcast rights deals within two weeks: the Texas Rangers shifted direct-to-consumer streaming to BZZR, the NWSL moved games to its own platform NWSL+, and the Anaheim Ducks departed without announcing a successor home.

The departures expose the tension at the core of Victory+'s business model. The platform is built on exclusive content as its revenue lever, but all three teams that left shared a trait: they had never been primarily exclusive to the streaming service. The Ducks aired the vast majority of games on local broadcast networks, the Rangers distributed through cable providers, and the NWSL maintained many other media partners. In other words, Victory+ was never the sole or primary home for their content.

The contradiction runs deeper. The Dallas Stars, who hold an equity stake in Victory+ itself, announced their agreement with the platform in March 2025 and aired four over-the-air games in the first season. They then expanded to 17 over-the-air broadcasts in the second season, per Awful Announcing's reporting. Even the company's own investor chose to dilute exclusivity rather than lean into it.

Victory+ is the only sports-focused streaming service offering truly free access to professional teams, according to the reporting. That free model is paired with advertising revenue sharing in some cases: the Minnesota Lynx and Atlanta Dream agreements are built on ad revenue splits rather than rights fees, the source states. The platform's remaining portfolio includes those two WNBA teams, the Dallas Stars in the NHL, League One Volleyball, and Texas prep football, none of which are in jeopardy, according to Awful Announcing.

But the core business problem remains unsolved. The source notes that Victory+ "will not succeed until the service can find a way to turn free sports into a reliable revenue stream." Gruninger's removal signals that the board sees the current strategy as the barrier to that solution. What Spencer's tenure brings is unclear from the reporting: no statement on strategy change, new investment, or revised team negotiations appears in the available source material.

The leadership change does not address why the three teams exited simultaneously. Awful Announcing attributes the exodus to the company "going too fast" and straying from exclusivity, but the reporting does not explain what triggered the moment or whether the teams coordinated their departures.