Cardinals broadcast plans for 2025 could be best of both worlds for fans

One of the biggest storylines surrounding the St. Louis Cardinals this offseason is the future of their broadcast rights, including what their expected revenue would look like and how fans could access games for next season and beyond.

According to a new report from Dan Caesar of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (subscription required), the Cardinals are planning to have their games continue to be available through cable television in 2025 while also adding the ability for fans to purchase a direct-to-consumer streaming product no matter where they live, ending the frustrating in-market blackouts.

If the Cardinals are able to pull this off, this is big news for fans and the organization alike. Fans who still have a cable package will not have to worry about adding another streaming platform to their list of subscriptions unless they want that as an option as well. But for the growing number of fans who have gotten rid of their cable subscriptions, this gives them an easy way to access Cardinals baseball moving forward.

This is not a done deal yet, as the Cardinals still need to work with Diamond Sports Group to see if they can come to an agreement to have their games continue to be available on the newly rebranded FanDuel Sports Network Midwest (formerly Bally Sports Midwest). The Cardinals currently stand to lose at least 20% of the $78 million they were owed by Diamond if they do remain with them, but they will lose all of that reveune should they go a completely different direction.

Part of their payroll uncertainty this offseason has revolved around not knowing how much of that check they will be getting, and how much revenue they can expect to raise if they go fully the direct-to-consumer route. Perhaps having both options available will help the Cardinals retain most of their expected TV revenue while they start building up that subscriber base for a long-term strategy.