There may be relief for those who are being cut from Fox Sports Midwest

In a conference call Thursday with financial analysts, the head of FSM owner Sinclair Broadcasting said the station would eventually be offered separately to viewers. It is now only available by subscription to a service that carries it, and the station is currently not picked up by Dish Network and streaming providers including Hulu and YouTube TV.

This has angered some Cardinals, Blues fans because FSM shows the vast majority of their games. It also hosts some St. Louis University men's basketball games.

But Sinclair President and CEO Chris Ripley said Thursday that what is now known as Fox Sports Midwest, as well as other regional sports networks Sinclair owns nationally, will be available for customers to buy independently.

“We have a pretty aggressive plan,” he said. “It will happen next year.”

However, there are indications that the offer could come later than sooner, so consumers shouldn't expect that option to be in place if the Blues return to the ice in January — or possibly even at the start of the baseball season next spring.

However, Sinclair has plenty of incentive to make it available as soon as possible, as it has partnered with casino operator Bally's to integrate sports betting into its telecasts in jurisdictions where it is legal.

It will rebrand the stations with a name associated with Bally, so that the more people tune in to those channels when betting is on, the more opportunities for gambling profits to be made. This is because Bally's, through Sinclair, will book bets.

John Hadley, who heads a team close to the KFNS (590 AM) market, said Thursday that a deal has been reached with Bernie Miklasz to take over the weekday 3-6 p.m. slot. from December 7 as the station goes back to everything. – sports roots.

Miklasz, the longtime St. Louis sports media figure who retired from WXOS (101.1 FM) last spring for what he said were financial reasons due to the coronavirus pandemic, would not comment without a signed contract. Hadley said that's just a formality.

“It will happen,” he said. “We have a handshake. The I will FINISH IT.”

The announcement this week that St. Louis University basketball radio broadcasts are moving from WXOS to KMOX is the latest in a long line of local teams bouncing from station to station.

Over the past two decades, all the major professional teams in the area — the Cardinals, Blues, Rams — as well as the Missouri and Illinois football and basketball teams — have switched local broadcasts. Some more than once.

Now the Billikens are headed to their third station in the last twelve years and in sports terms they are essentially “player to be named” in a juggling act between KMOX and WXOS.

Last year, the Blues moved from KMOX (1120 AM) to WXOS (101.1 FM). Part of the team's reasoning for the jump was that it would be the focal point in the 101, which hadn't had a professional team on its airwaves since the Rams left town several years earlier. On KMOX, the Blues trailed the Cardinals in the series.

With the move, the Blues no longer have games moved to another station due to overlapping shows with the cards. They also benefit from being on an all-day sports station with a strong hockey presence, including Blues-specific programming.

WXOS has had SLU since the station adopted a sports talk format in 2009 when the Billikens moved from KFNS (590 AM). But the Bills never gained much traction on the station, with little coverage of the game broadcasts. Often it was a simple thought. Last season, SLU games were often moved to alternate stations when their games clashed with Blues contests.

He also will often be out of the spotlight on KMOX, in the form of news talk during the day and the Cardinals focus when talking sports at night. And their broadcasts will carry over to KFTK-FM (97.1) on rare occasions when they and the Cardinals play at the same time. However, KMOX still gives the bills a significant amount of exposure.