In a stunning development amid the ongoing upheaval in sports broadcasting, the St. Louis Cardinals have reached a new linear-rights and digital-rights agreement with the bankrupt Diamond Sports Group, operator of the former Bally Sports networks. The bombshell announcement came Thursday, marking a significant win for Diamond as it fights to emerge from Chapter 11 restructuring.
The Cardinals now join the Atlanta Braves as the only confirmed MLB teams set to stick with Diamond should the embattled company successfully navigate its ongoing bankruptcy proceedings. Sources close to the matter indicate a similar deal with the Miami Marlins is imminent, though the fates of Diamond’s other baseball broadcast partnerships remain shrouded in uncertainty.
The clock is ticking for Diamond, with its confirmation hearing in Houston bankruptcy court looming just days away on November 14-15. MLB’s deadline to object to Diamond’s restructuring plan was pushed to Friday afternoon, underscoring the fluid nature of the negotiations that will reshape the sports media landscape for years to come.
FanDuel Enters the Fray
Under the new agreement, Cardinals broadcasts will air on FanDuel Sports Network Midwest, reflecting Diamond’s recently announced naming rights deal with the sports betting giant. But the real game-changer lies in the direct-to-consumer streaming option that will be made available to fans in-market via FanDuel’s website – an MLB first for Diamond’s portfolio.
We valued the continuity for our fans of staying on the same network as the Blues, and we are excited to expand access to our games and other great Cardinals content across multiple platforms next year.
– Bill DeWitt III, Cardinals President
Though specifics remain scarce, DeWitt’s comments suggest the Cardinals prioritized maintaining a shared network with the NHL’s St. Louis Blues while embracing the potential of expanded digital reach. The length of the new deal was not disclosed.
High Stakes Negotiations Continue
Entering the final stretch of the 2024 season, Diamond’s MLB portfolio included a dozen teams. That number is expected to dwindle significantly as the dust settles post-bankruptcy.
Early last month, Diamond put forth a reorganization plan that initially called for shedding broadcast rights to all its baseball teams save for the Braves. The gambit was widely seen as a negotiating tactic to extract concessions in the form of reduced rights fees and digital rights from its other partners.
The strong-arm approach yielded mixed results. The Cleveland Guardians, Milwaukee Brewers, and Minnesota Twins – all lacking long-term commitments – opted to link up with MLB’s in-house broadcasting arm, which is set to air at least six team’s games in 2025. The Texas Rangers, also with an expiring deal, are said to be exploring alternate local media options.
An Uncertain Future
Five teams find themselves in sports media purgatory as Diamond’s fate hangs in the balance:
- Tampa Bay Rays
- Detroit Tigers
- Los Angeles Angels
- Cincinnati Reds
- Kansas City Royals
Insiders report active negotiations between Diamond and at least some of those clubs, with the Amazon’s Prime Video surfacing as a potential white knight should a deal be struck to grant Diamond access to the tech titan’s direct-to-consumer infrastructure.
As the sands shift, Diamond’s partnerships with 13 NBA teams and 8 NHL franchises appear to be on relatively stable ground – for now. But if the Cardinals deal proves anything, it’s that in the high-stakes world of sports broadcasting rights, the only constant is change. The coming weeks will be pivotal in determining if Diamond can emerge from bankruptcy intact and what America’s sports media landscape will look like on the other side.
For Cardinals fans, they can take solace in knowing come Opening Day 2025, they’ll have more ways than ever to catch their beloved Redbirds in action. But for fans in other markets, the channel they’ll be tuning into next spring remains to be seen.
