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The Cardinals are one of five Major League
Baseball franchises that are part owners of their regional
sports network.
Games will air on FanDuel Sports Network Midwest. FanDuel took
over naming rights for Diamond's 16 regional sports networks
last month after Diamond had an agreement with Bally since
March, 2021.
As part of the agreement, cable and satellite subscribers in the
Cardinals TV territory can stream games and other programming on
the FanDuel Sports Network app. Subscribers to FanDuel Sports
Network on a direct-to-consumer basis will also have access to
the games.
“We 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,” Cardinals
president Bill DeWitt III said in a statement.
Diamond Sports has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in
the Southern District of Texas since it filed for protection in
March 2023. The company said in a financial filing last year
that it had debt of $8.67 billion.
A final hearing on Diamond's reorganization plan is scheduled
for Nov. 14.
As part of its reorganization plan, Diamond voided the contracts
of the Detroit Tigers and Tampa Bay Rays and will attempt to
rework the deals of the other four franchises that are part
owners of their RSNs — the Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals,
Los Angeles Angels and Miami Marlins.
Diamond CEO David Preschlack said in a statement they remain in
discussions with the other franchises.
MLB will handle the production and distribution of at least six
teams going into 2025. It took over broadcasts of the San Diego
Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks during the 2023 season and the
Colorado Rockies this year.
MLB announced last month it will add the Cleveland Guardians,
Milwaukee Brewers and Minnesota Twins next season after their
deals with Diamond expired.
The Texas Rangers, whose deal also expired last month, are
assessing their options for next season after it announced it
would not be partnering with Diamond.
Diamond also has the rights to 13 NBA and eight NHL teams.
Diamond Sports Group and Sinclair Broadcast Group bought the
regional sports networks from The Walt Disney Co. for nearly $10
billion in 2019. Disney was required by the Department of
Justice to sell the networks for its acquisition of 21st Century
Fox’s film and television assets to be approved.
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