Cardinals dealt major blow as TV deal instability continues hemorrhaging money

Right as the St. Louis Cardinals saw their fortunes turn for the worse on the field, even greater instability has come to one of the largest sources of revenue as an organization: their Regional Sports Network deal.

The Cardinals were dealt yet another blow in this ongoing saga this offseason, as St. Louis is expected to receive another major dip in revenue from their television rights deal after details have emerged regarding their expected payment from their new partnership with Major League Baseball. A source confirmed to me this morning that the Cardinals are expected to receive around $20 million from this new partnership, a drop of around $40 million from what they had expected to receive from Main Street Sports Group, the parent company of FanDuel Sports Network. The Athletic and St. Louis Post-Dispatch have also shared similar reports in the last 24 hours.

Not only is this a substantial drop from what they were supposed to be paid out by FanDuel, but this is also a 73% decrease in revenue from their deal with Diamond Sports Group just a few years ago.

The Cardinals are taking another substantial blow in their projected televison revenue for 2026

Following the 2023 season, Diamond Sports Group, the parent company of Bally Sports Midwest, filed for bankruptcy, setting into motion uncertainty surrounding how fans would access games and then subsequently, how much revenue the Cardinals should expect from that deal.

The Cardinals ended up emerging with a new plan in place, a partnership with Main Street Sports Group, to have their games broadcast on FanDuel Sports Network through a subscription model, as well as maintaining the ability for fans to access the product through cable packages. When uncertainty with the future of Main Street Sports Group emerged this summer, the Cardinals began looking at alternative routes for their broadcast.

They ultimately landed with Major League Baseball, a move that could signal what the future of television partnerships will end up looking like for most of, if not all of, Major League Baseball. This is going to be one of the hot topics of this next collective bargaining agreement, as the disparity between big markets like the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees continues to widen from even flagship franchises like the Cardinals.

Cardinals fans will be able to access games this coming season through Cardinals TV, and you can find out more information about that partnership here.