最新杏吧原创

ST. LOUIS 鈥� The Cardinals will stay with broadcast partner Bally Sports, recently renamed FanDuel Sports Network, and launch a direct-to-consumer streaming product, the club announced Thursday.

The deal continues the team鈥檚 partnership with Diamond Sports Group, parent company of FanDuel Sports Network, in a multiyear rights agreement. It replaces a 15-year, $1.1 billion deal before the Cardinals and their broadcast partner reached that agreement鈥檚 midpoint.

New under the agreement is a direct-to-consumer model where subscribers to the FanDuel network app can stream Cardinals games without a television or satellite provider.

The games will not be blacked out in the local market. And in surrounding regional areas that have been unable to access Cardinals games due to blackouts, the club鈥檚 app will aim to allow access without those limitations.

Financial terms of the new deal were not disclosed. But a source with knowledge of the deal told the Post-Dispatch that the Cardinals took a 23% reduction from their expected payment in 2025. With the team expecting around $75 million in rights fees for the coming regular season, that cut is close to $17.3 million even with the addition of digital rights, which the Cardinals had previously possessed.

As part owner of their broadcast partner, related revenues could fluctuate.

The Cardinals, once one of the most profitable of Diamond Sports Group鈥檚 stable, are the first of the joint-venture clubs to reach an agreement after being approached by FanDuel Sports Network鈥檚 parent company to rework an existing deal at a lower rate.

鈥淭his definitely is great news for fans, particularly those who have cut the cord or have been dropped from their cable provider or those who have just experienced blackouts that keep them from Cardinals baseball,鈥� Bill DeWitt III, the Cardinals team president, said in a phone interview. 鈥淭his is going to increase access and availability, particularly in markets where fans have been unable to get the games they want.鈥�

FanDuel Sports Network Midwest will broadcast all games that are not exclusively televised nationally, plus pre- and post-game shows and original programming.

For outer markets and fans who use MLB TV to watch Cardinals games, their access will not change, and the production will appear the same.

MLB TV watched in 最新杏吧原创 may still have blackout games, as before.

More information on app pricing and subscriptions will be announced at a later date. Among the discussions the Cardinals are having is whether the app will pair them and the Blues together, or how the app subscription model will be oriented.

Other major-league teams have charged $20 a month during the regular season with a reduced rate for purchasing the entire season.

Diamond did not say how many years the agreement covers.

But it is not a decadelong deal like previous broadcast agreements, an official said, and there are options built into the new contract that give the Cardinals some direction if Diamond Sports Group continues to experience financial turbulence, does not emerge from ongoing bankruptcy hearings, or an alternative model emerges.

鈥淲e are pleased to enhance and expand our long-term partnership with Diamond and FanDuel Sports Network Midwest,鈥� DeWitt said in a statement. 鈥淲e valued the continuity for our fans of staying on the same network as the Blues, and we are excited that we will now be able to expand access to our games and other great Cardinals content across multiple platforms next year.鈥�

The Cardinals and their broadcast partner also have agreements for signage and studio space at Ballpark Village.

The alternative to a new agreement with Diamond was joining other clubs with MLB Media. Launched by the commissioner鈥檚 office, MLB Media has helped teams that have lost their broadcast deals during Diamond鈥檚 bankruptcy.

MLB Media lands the team on local cable providers while also providing a direct-to-consumer streaming option and funneling advertising revenue to the clubs. But it would have been a steeper cut into Cardinals broadcast revenues.

As recently as Thursday morning, during a presentation at MLB-related meetings in San Antonio, the Cardinals were listed as an example of a team that was going to have to cut spending due to reduced revenues from their television rights deal.

The Cardinals believe their new deal gives them 鈥渃larity鈥� that had been lacking going into this offseason.

Diamond, which operates 16 regional sports networks, has been in bankruptcy proceedings since March 2023, a result of dwindling cable viewership over the years. During a recent court appearance, the company signaled that it could drop broadcasts for the Cardinals and 10 other MLB teams, surprising stakeholders and consumers.

A final hearing in the bankruptcy case is scheduled for next week. Diamond will make a case in front of a Houston judge that it should be approved to emerge from bankruptcy and reorganize.

David Preschlack, CEO of Diamond, said they remain in discussions with the other MLB team partners on future plans.

鈥淎s we progress toward emergence from bankruptcy, we remain committed to providing fans in the Midwest region with high quality broadcasts through our linear and digital offerings and meeting fans where they are in the evolving viewership model,鈥� Preschlack said in a statement.

Already, the Milwaukee Brewers, Cleveland Guardians and Minnesota Twins have opted to distribute local games through an MLB-run operation for the 2025 season. They join the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres.