The St. Louis Cardinals Will Air Games on FanDuel Sports Network This Season
The deal will allow the Cardinals to stream on Diamond’s FanDuel Sports Network direct-to-consumer service for the first time.
Diamond Sports Group isn’t content to sit back and wait for its upcoming bankruptcy reorganization plan’s confirmation vote. The company is continuing to seek new deals with sports teams for the distribution of their games to local markets and announced on Thursday that it had agreed to terms on a deal with the St. Louis Cardinals on a multi-year distribution agreement.
Key Details:
- The agreement between Diamond and the Cardinals includes linear and digital rights.
- The deal will see the St. Louis Cardinals stream on FanDuel Sports Network for the first time.
- The MLB is already planning a formal objection to the resumption of a deal between Diamond and the Atlanta Braves.
The new deal between Diamond and the Cardinals will allow the team to continue playing on FanDuel Sports Network Midwest, which was known as Bally Sports Midwest until recently. Any viewers within the former TV footprint of Bally Sports Midwest will be able to continue watching the team on FanDuel Sports Midwest.
The agreement also includes digital rights, which means that FanDuel Sports Network will be able to offer Cardinals games directly to consumers who don’t have a pay-TV subscription. Formerly, the Cardinals were not one of the five teams available to watch on the old Bally Sports+ streaming service. Customers who do get FanDuel Sports Network Midwest can log into the streamer with their TV Everywhere credentials and stream at no additional cost.
“We are pleased to enhance and expand our long-term partnership with Diamond and FanDuel Sports Network Midwest,” said Cardinals president Bill DeWitt III. “We valued the continuity for our fans of staying on the same network as the [NHL’s St. Louis 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.”
The Cardinals are now the second team to return to Diamond Sports Group after the company announced plans to drop all of its MLB contracts except that of the Atlanta Braves. The Miami Marlins also decided to return to Dimond after that announcement.
MLB has signaled its intention to formally object to the ongoing deal between Diamond and the Braves in bankruptcy court on Thursday, but since the Cardinals’ and Marlins’ deals with the company are new and feature updated language, the league may not register such objections to their agreements. Only time will answer that question, however.
FanDuel Sports Network
FanDuel Sports Network is a direct-to-consumer streaming service that offers live games for those who want access to your local FanDuel Sports Network RSN without subscribing to a cable or satellite package.