ST. LOUIS — The company that operates Bally Sports Midwest said in court on Wednesday that is will not broadcast Cardinals games next year unless they negotiate a new deal, according to reports.
In a social media post, The Athletic MLB reporter Evan Drellich reported that a lawyer for Diamond Media Group said the company would not broadcast games for a number of teams, including the Cardinals. Diamond and MLB were in court Wednesday amid the company's ongoing bankruptcy case.
According to Drellich, the Cardinals and 11 other teams that were broadcast on Bally Sports networks would have to renegotiate a contract or "go elsewhere."
The Cardinals agreed to a 15-year deal with Fox Sports Midwest back in 2018. According to Forbes, that deal was worth more than $1 billion and also included a 30% equity stake in Fox Sports Midwest. Diamond Media Group bought the local Fox Sports networks from Disney in 2019 after Disney and 21st Century Fox merged.
Drellich reported that the lawyer in court for Major League Baseball said the league did not have any advance knowledge of the move.
5 On Your Side has reached out to the Cardinals for a comment. This story will be updated when a comment is provided.
In the Cardinals' end-of-season press conference, Bill DeWitt III said local media rights was a financial challenge for the team.
"There's a whole trend where there's a lot of cutting of the cord, of the cable bundle, and we've had our distribution challenges," DeWitt III said. "The good news is it appears as though, under every scenario we are looking at, the fans will have a direct-to-consumer product to get our games. It's basically an app where they can stream games for a fee."