St. Louis Cardinals secure new TV deal: What to know and what’s next?

ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Cardinals have finalized a deal with Diamond Sports Group to broadcast local games through FanDuel Sports Network, an arrangement though which the team also intends to offer its first direct-to-consumer streaming option for fans.

The Cardinals formally announced a multi-year agreement with Diamond Sports on Thursday, replacing an existing TV rights deal through Diamond Sports as the company navigates bankruptcy proceedings.

The new TV deal marks a significant change in how fans can watch Cardinals baseball games, while team ownership hopes it will simultaneously offer a clearer view into future revenues and roster development.

Now that the TV deal is secured, what comes next?

Cardinals president Bill DeWitt III spoke in-depth on the new deal Friday with FOX 2 Sports Director Martin Kilcoyne and sports analyst Tim McKernan on 101 ESPN’s The Morning After (TMA) sports radio program. Listen here for that discussion (around the 2-hour mark).

Based on this conversation and other information currently available, here’s what we know and what to expect with the Cardinals’ new TV deal:

Timing

The direct-to-consumer streaming option will presumably be available to fans ahead of the 2025 St. Louis Cardinals season.

The team plans to offer more details on how soon direct-to-consumers subscriptions will become available at a later time.

Streaming (App and costs)

An app is in the works for fans to eventually download and subscribe to watch Cardinals broadcasts carried by regional sports network FanDuel Sports Network Midwest. The DTC service will offer broadcasts for all Cardinals games that are not televised exclusively nationally, plus pregame and postgame shows.

Under the Cardinals’ current vision, fans can stream games by paying a monthly fee. The monthly-fee costs will be determined at a later time, though some MLB teams (i.e. San Diego Padres) have found success offering a direct-to-consumer service for $20 per month.

There could possibly be a season-long subscription discount option that could help fans save money invested into a season overall compared to total costs paying for individual monthly subscriptions.

For the time being, DeWitt says the Cardinals are trying to figure out if there are capabilities to bundle app services with St. Louis Blues broadcasts.

Streaming (Any blackouts?)

In previous seasons, many Cardinals fans in primary and surrounding markets could not stream games through MLB.TV or non-cable services due to blackout restrictions around Major League Baseball broadcasts.

The Cardinals’ new direct-to-consumer subscription service aims to change that.

“You can stream the games wherever you are, and in market,” DeWitt said on TMA. “You used to only be able to get Cardinals games streaming from being outside our market, and now you can do that in market, which is great.”

“In outer markets in Cardinal territory, where we share that territory with other teams, you will be able to get the [future] app and see Cardinals games. That’s really good news for those areas that in the past were blacked out because no team had the primary market. So many teams shared, but they couldn’t get any one of those teams. This fixes that.”

Watching games (Possible elsewhere?)

If you already have FanDuel Sports Midwest as part of your existing cable or satellite television package, its Cardinals broadcasts will still be available to you.

FanDuel Sports Network Midwest is still available in St. Louis for customers with AT&T, DirecTV, FuboTV and Spectrum.

These customers can also choose to watch Cardinals games through the future direct-to-consumer service, if desired, or in the case that a cable TV provider drops the FanDuel Sports Network RSN, like DISH TV recently did.

“If you cut the cord on the cable bundle, or stay on DISH TV who dropped the RSN, both of those customers who can’t get the games can now get them directly [through the DTC service],” said DeWitt.

Cardinals’ initial reactions

DeWitt described the new deal as a “good salvage job” after years of mounting uncertainty over whether the Cardinals would lose revenue from their TV rights deal with Diamond Sports Network amid its bankruptcy proceedings.

The Cardinals’ previous TV rights deal, originally valued at $1 billion through 2032, began in 2016 when the RSN was known as FOX Sports Midwest under different ownership.

DeWitt said all parties worked together to assess the economics and secure a deal he considered to be a strong outcome.

“All [stakeholders] just tried to figure out what the economics of this thing looked like and put us in a good position to negotiate something I think was a good salvage,” said DeWitt. “I think [it’s] really good to be able to stay on FanDuel Sports Network on the Diamond RSN and keep the RSN model alive. To be there with the Blues is also a plus. Also, I think it helps them. From that standpoint, I think it’s a positive.”

Cardinals’ financial planning

While revenue from the DTC streaming brings some financial clarity to the Cardinals organization, DeWitt notes the team still faces some challenges.

The new deal helps offset some losses anticipated had the Cardinals moved forward with their previous TV contract, but it still leaves some ambiguity around future revenue stability.

“There’s still a range of possible revenue outcomes here, but having a revenue stream for a month gives us clarity and allows you to be more definitive on what you’re trying to do,” said DeWitt. “To be honest, we don’t have a very specific-to-the-million dollar payroll number. We know it needs to come down, but depending on a lot of factors, like if players under contract are committed to what we’re doing or not, what does market look like, these are all the things that factor in.”

After those remarks, McKernan asked DeWitt what he meant by “come down” in terms of the payroll.

“We have two giant revenue streams that are going the wrong way, and we’re also committed to investing more in player development and frankly other areas of player improvement.”

DeWitt added the Cardinals are making financial investments to the front office staff and business-related initiatives with a focus on player development this offseason while noting payroll will likely be adjusted accordingly in future seasons.

DeWitt’s reflections

In wake of many unknowns tied to their past and future TV deals, the Cardinals’ recent decline in performance has been magnified. The team has missed postseason by considerable margins the past two seasons and won just one playoff series over the past decade.

As the baseball industry evolves, with teams investing in new ways to maximize player performance, DeWitt acknowledged on TMA that some organizations have surpassed the Cardinals in technology and innovation in recent years.

“It’s a hypercompetitive industry,” said DeWitt. “We thought we had a pretty darn good model going. When you have 20 straight years of success for most part, you start thinking you’re doing things the right way.”

Recognizing recent struggles, DeWitt emphasized the team’s commitment to staying competitive and delivering results.

“One of the things you have to do is take the perspective and the longview,” said DeWitt. “I think what’s relevant to fans is where you are today and what does tomorrow look like. It’s not fun hearing that. … But it’s still a great thing to be a part of.”

“I think we know what we need to do, and we understand fan sentiment, and we try to do our best to put that in perspective,” he added. “We have to take a step back and lay the groundwork for another run of sustained success. And that’s what we’re doing.”

Amendment 2 (Did it help the deal?)

Although this coincidence wasn’t explored in DeWitt’s conversation with Kilcoyne and McKernan, the Cardinals announcing the agreement to finalize their TV deal just two days after Missouri voters narrowly passed Amendment 2 – legalizing sports betting in Missouri – is intriguing.

FanDuel Sports Network is a regional sports network provider that rebranded from the Bally Sports branding last month, both through the parent company of Diamond Sports Group.

Cardinals broadcasts had aired under the Bally Sports umbrella for their last four seasons. Their newest TV deal puts broadcasts under the FanDuel umbrella.

FanDuel was founded in 2009 as a fantasy sports company and has since grown into a major sports betting operator. Since a 2018 merger, FanDuel has expanded into sportsbooks and online betting, while FanDuel Sports Network has emerged as a media extension of the FanDuel brand with efforts to integrate sports betting into the broadcast experience.

Amendment 2’s approval in the November general election paved the way to legalize sports betting into Missouri’s constitution and opens the door for legalized sports betting in the state to begin between December 2024 and December 2025.

How much did legalizing sports betting play into the Cardinals’ new TV deal. It appears time will tell, though the Cardinals and other Missouri professional sports teams strongly supported Amendment 2 ahead of the November election.

DeWitt offered these remarks to FOX 2’s news partners at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on the impact of Amendment 2 passing and the Cardinals’ new TV deal:

“This all does start to clarify where our budget can be,” said DeWitt. “We have an answer what our broadcasts will look like and how fans will watch games, and we can focus on what it looks like as sports betting becomes legal and project what possible sources of revenues that creates. I think [from a player standpoint] we’re still sorting through additions and subtractions and what is available out there.”