St. Louis Cardinals television broadcasts could need to find a new home for the 2025 season.
The Athletic reports that Diamond Sports Group said during a bankruptcy hearing Wednesday that it plans to carry only Atlanta Braves broadcasts next season. The Cardinals are one of seven other Major League Baseball teams that were under contract with Diamond under the Bally brand for 2025.
The contracts of two of those teams, the Detroit Tigers and Tampa Bay Rays, are part of the bankruptcy process, which means Diamond can reject those contracts.
The other five, including the Cardinals, are not technically part of the bankruptcy proceedings, which means Diamond cannot just drop them. However, Diamond could decide to walk away from the agreements, as it did with the San Diego Padres in 2023. The other teams in a similar situation are the Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels and Miami Marlins.
MLB representatives at the hearing said they were “sandbagged” by the news.
"We have no information about what is being done," MLB attorney Jim Bromley said at the court hearing, according to the Athletic. "We've had no opportunity to review, and now we're in front of the court and being asked to make our comments."
In addition to the seven MLB teams under contract with Diamond Sports for 2025, four other teams just finished one-year contracts with the broadcaster in 2024: the Milwaukee Brewers, Cleveland Guardians, Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers.
The Cardinals declined to comment on the development, directing reporters to MLB public relations, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This story has been updated to add context to the Cardinals' contract situation with Diamond Sports.
