Bally Sports could be a thing of the past in St. Louis. The sports affiliate could stop broadcasting Cardinals and Blues games after the 2024 baseball season.
Chris Coduto/Getty ImagesThe following year, sports fans of St. Louis could watch two of the city's most storied franchises play on another channel and another network.
According to several reports, including St. Louis Business JournaThe parent company of Bally Sports Midwest — Diamond Sports Group — which broadcasts St. Louis baseball games. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis hockey games. Louis Blues, is reportedly set to close after the 2024 MLB season. Leaving baseball and hockey fans wondering where and how to watch games.
Bally Sports Midwest “posted a net loss of $13.8 million for the nine months ended Sept. 30,” the Business Journal reports. However, bankruptcy filings indicate that the network affiliate “reported a profit of $2.5 million” in 2022.
The bankruptcy filing of Texas-based Diamond Sports Group in March of last year resulted in some immediate drops of teams and games in different markets. Both San Diego Padres and Arizona The Diamondbacks were pulled from their respective Bally networks, and MLB stepped in almost immediately to make all games available on its MLB TV app without blackout restrictions. These restrictions overall have been a growing debate for baseball as many viewers move away from traditional TV services and turn to streaming.
Fans could watch the Padres and Diamondbacks for $19.99 a month (the 2023 cost) on the MLB TV app anytime, anywhere. The league also made channels available through all major cable providers — including Spectrum, Cox, DirecTV and Comcast — so fans could watch via live signals.
It is uncertain what the Cardinals and Blues will do after their time at Bally Sports.
