St. Louis Cardinals terminate broadcast deal with FanDuel Sports Network

The St. Louis Cardinals have terminated their deal with Main Street Sports Group, parent company to FanDuel Sports Network. Main Street, which was formerly known as Diamond Sports Group, could file for bankruptcy in the near future.

FanDuel Sports Network, once known as Bally Sports Network, was the Cardinals' broadcaster for the 2025 season. With Main Street's financial situation being up in the air, the Cardinals, along with eight other teams, have opted to exit their current contracts. According to Evan Drellich of The Athletic, "By exiting their existing contracts, the MLB teams are attempting to safeguard themselves from the possibility Main Street files for bankruptcy, which would limit how clubs that hold contracts with Main Street could maneuver."

The Cardinals were the first organization to feel the pressure of a potential bankruptcy filing by Main Street last month when the company missed a payment to the Cardinals. According to a Sports Business Journal report in late December, Main Street missed their December payment to the Cardinals. This began uncertainty regarding the 2026 broadcasts of Cardinal baseball.

With St. Louis exiting their agreement with Main Street Sports Group, that uncertainty has become reality.

The St. Louis Cardinals television broadcasts for 2026 remain up in the air.

Anuk Karunaratne, the Cardinals' Senior Vice President of Business, assured fans last month that there will be direct-to-consumer options for fans in 2026. On an episode of The Gashouse Gang soon after the news of the missed payment, Karunaratne said, "We're very confident that the games will be on the air next year, that we will have both on cable and on a direct-to-consumer streaming option.

"We're working through...what our different alternatives are to achieve that. But, the most important thing for fans to know is that Cardinal baseball will remain available to them."

The Cardinals aren't the first team to experience this difficulty, nor are they alone in this venture. The Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, and Tampa Bay Rays also exited their deals with Main Street Sports Group. Prior to this, the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks were dropped by Diamond Sports Group in 2023. These two teams were the guinea pigs, so to speak, in Major League Baseball taking over broadcasts of games.

MLB is in line to adopt broadcasts for the Cleveland Guardians, Colorado Rockies, Minnesota Twins, and Seattle Mariners this year as well, per Evan Drellich. The Washington Nationals are also likely to join this group of teams.

Having Major League Baseball take over broadcasting is an option for the Cardinals in 2026. Greg Amsinger said that MLB would do an excellent job with broadcasts in 2026 should they take over the rights for the Cardinals' games.

Sports Business Journal reported that Fubo could purchase Main Street. Main Street has also been in talks with DAZN, but SBJ believes that to be a long-shot deal rather than a true contender.

What does all of this mean for the St. Louis Cardinals' finances in 2026 and beyond?

In November of 2024, the Cardinals experienced a similar situation. Diamond Sports Group, the former parent company of FanDuel Sports Network, was in the midst of a bankruptcy case at the time. The Cardinals and DSG agreed to a deal that would pay the organization approximately 75% of the original deal for the 2025 season. This decrease, something the Cardinals expected and prepared for with their books, was one of the reasons why the club has been wanting to cut costs over the past two years.

The Cardinals and Main Street could negotiate a new deal. There's a chance this deal is also cut slightly, similar to the one last year between the Cardinals and Diamond Sports Group. The Cardinals have already traded Sonny Gray and Willson Contreras, albeit while maintaining some of their salaries internally, to help decrease their 2026 payroll. With trades of Brendan Donovan, JoJo Romero, and Nolan Arenado lurking still, we could see even greater cuts to 2026 spending when it comes to the MLB roster.

What can fans expect for broadcasts in 2026?

This is the biggest question that remains unanswered. Anuk Karunaratne assured fans last month that they will get to watch games in 2026. Major League Baseball could take over broadcasts for the club, St. Louis and Main Street Sports Group could reach a new agreement, or the Cardinals could find a tertiary route for broadcasts, perhaps their own company similar to YES Network (New York Yankees), Marquee Sports Network (Chicago Cubs), and SportsNet New York (New York Mets).

The most probable route for 2026 would be MLB taking over broadcast rights for Cardinal games. This would still include a direct-to-consumer option. The Arizona Diamondbacks offered a DBACKS.TV season pass for $99.99 last year that included all or most D-Backs games without the traditional blackout rules for those in the market. Out-of-market streaming for all MLB teams cost around $199.99 for the whole year.

This is a solid baseline for fans to keep in mind when looking ahead to streaming for 2026. Diamondbacks games were still broadcast via cable with a Fubo subscription, so fans didn't have to purchase the MLB streaming package.

Fans of the St. Louis Cardinals can rest easy knowing that they'll get to watch baseball in 2026 regardless of who is broadcasting it. While the organization may take a financial hit as they sort out their regional sports network, there is still a guarantee that fans can watch the Cardinals next year.