ST. LOUIS – Amazon will partner with Diamond Sports as part of a restructuring agreement involving 18 regional sports networks under the Bally Sports banner.
Entering the year, Diamond Sports held the rights to 37 professional sports teams under the Bally umbrella, including the St. Louis Cardinals and Blues. Diamond Sports filed for bankruptcy last year and has been exploring future options for dozens of RSNs.
While the agreement remains subject to approval by the bankruptcy court, it appears Amazon will “make a minority investment in the [Diamond Sports] company” and “become its streaming partner.”
Several reports from Wednesday indicate that Amazon could have the streaming rights for five MLB teams during the 2024 season as part of its first wave. Per several reports, those include:
Detroit Tigers
Kansas City Royals
Miami Marlins
Milwaukee Brewers
Tampa Bay Rays
At this time, the St. Louis Cardinals are not part of that arrangement and therefore would not have games streamed through Amazon services this year, aside from ones played against the aforementioned teams for their game broadcasts.
For now, Bally Sports Midwest is still expected to air all Cardinals games through the 2024 season. Bill DeWitt Jr. of the St. Louis Cardinals ownership group told reporters Monday that Diamond Sports would fulfill its financial obligations this season and pay the team in full, possibly factoring into the current arrangement.
Beyond that, Diamond Sports could be off the hook for Cardinals broadcasts after the 2024 season. DeWitt says the Cardinals are preparing to become a “free agent” with their streaming rights and want to address an “eyeball problem” upon the rights presumably returning to the Cardinals after this year.
In that case, the Cardinals could decide on a direct-to-consumer product through Amazon, Other options include a partnership with the Blues to stream St. Louis sports games or handing rights to Major League Baseball to control streams.
Not immediately joining Amazon’s slate of streams could have some advantages for the Cardinals too. It will allow the team to assess how successful those streams are for five teams previously under the Bally banner, including a NL Central rival (Brewers) and an in-state foe (Royals).
At the moment, the Cardinals are nearly halfway through a TV-partner contract with Bally Sports Midwest that, currently standing, pays the team $1 billion through 2032. The contract took effect when the RSN was known as FOX Sports Midwest under different ownership.
