The Cardinals announced this afternoon that they’ve reached a new multi-year contract with FanDuel Sports Network to continue carrying in-market broadcasts. The deal includes a streaming partnership that’ll allow consumers in the St. Louis area to access games on the FanDuel app. Hannah Wyman and Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch write that app subscribers can view the games without a television provider, which should drastically reduce blackouts.
FanDuel Sports Network, which is a property of Diamond Sports Group, is the same TV network that had broadcasting rights to Cardinals games under the previous Bally Sports moniker. Last month, Diamond abandoned its previous deals with the Cards and 11 other teams as it continues to navigate bankruptcy. Diamond expressed openness to renegotiating at least some of those deals at reduced fees.
The Cards were willing to do so despite the associated revenue losses. Wyman and Goold report that they’ll take a 23% reduction next season compared to what they would’ve made on the prior contract. With the previous deal calling for roughly $75MM in rights fees, the Cardinals stand to drop roughly $17.25MM to the $57-58MM range. The team did not specify the length of this contract beyond calling it a multi-year partnership. Evan Drellich and Katie Woo of the Athletic report that the deal does not stretch into the 2030s and affords some measure of flexibility depending on the future state of sports media.
For fans, the streaming addition is the biggest direct news. The deal is indirectly relevant to the fanbase by providing the organization with a bit of clarity on their revenue situation. The expected revenue losses have long pointed to a dip in spending. That was reinforced by the decision to decline a few team options, most notably a $12MM call on Kyle Gibson. They’re not expected to pursue reunions with free agents Paul Goldschmidt and Andrew Kittredge.
That could account for most of the payroll reduction. St. Louis has a little less than $110MM committed. Their arbitration class is projected for something in the $19MM range. That leaves the Cards nearly $50MM south of this past season’s Opening Day spending. The Cardinals are going to get trade interest on a number of veterans as they embrace a retooling effort and evaluate younger players. Speculation about a complete teardown was quieted this week with reports that Willson Contreras and Sonny Gray, both of whom have no-trade clauses, are unlikely to move after suggesting they preferred to stay in St. Louis.
The Cardinals become the second team to negotiate a new deal with Diamond after its previous broadcasting agreement was dropped. The Marlins reportedly reached a contract to stay on FanDuel Sports Network last month, though Miami hasn’t made any official announcement. Diamond is abiding by its original contract with the Braves, so it’ll carry at least three teams next year.
ESPN’s Alden González writes that MLB will carry broadcasts for the Twins, Guardians and Brewers — all of whom were dropped by Diamond. (They join the Padres, Diamondbacks and Rockies in that regard.) The Rangers said they have no plans to renegotiate with Diamond but are still exploring other opportunities. Plans for the other five teams — the Reds, Rays, Tigers, Angels and Royals — are still undetermined.