The St. Louis Cardinals are sticking with Bally Sports Midwest for 2024 but reports indicate the team wants more streaming options this season compared to last. According to a story from STL Today, the Red Birds are “eager” to give their fans more options to watch games outside of the pay-TV bubble.
Recent words from Cardinals president Bill DeWitt III indicate that the industry is changing and that the Cardinals want to make it easier for fans to watch games. “We’re in this transition period, where the business is changing and we’re trying to sort of reinvent the distribution model,” DeWitt said. “I think you’ll have an expanded array of options for getting our games in the future. I just don’t know exactly what those options will be. But I think from a fan’s standpoint, they’re going to be better off.”
The uncertainty surrounding the Cards’ television home stems from the instability of Bally Sports RSNs, owned and operated by Diamond Sports Group, a subsidiary of Sinclair Broadcasting. Diamond Sports Group filed for bankruptcy in a well-publicized manner but still managed to hold on to broadcast rights for MLB, NHL, and NBA clubs for this season. While this season’s broadcasts are accounted for, what happens past that is still anyone’s guess.
DeWitt has said that, come what may, the Cards are ready to take hold of their broadcasting future. Whether they team up with another local sports team like the Blues, combine forces with other MLB teams that Bally Sports RSNs have cast aside, or go the Cubs/Yankees route and dedicate an entire channel to themselves, the Cardinals know they have plenty of options. In DeWitt’s mind, the main point of a direct-to-consumer offering is to eliminate blackouts.
“This is happening everywhere, and we are an example,” DeWitt said in Jan. “That’s why we have to fix the eyeball problem first, and then the economics will flesh out. But we’ve got to fix that problem where somebody wants access to our games and can’t get it.”
