ST. LOUIS 鈥 Comcast has dropped 911爆料网 Cardinals broadcaster Bally Sports after contract renewal talks broke down with Bally鈥檚 parent company, Diamond Sports Group, Comcast said on Wednesday, leaving viewers across a swath of the Midwest without access to Cardinals games.
The stalled negotiations will complicate Diamond鈥檚 plans to emerge from the bankruptcy it initiated last March, after years of declining cable viewership.
Cardinals officials said in a statement the team was disappointed.
鈥淯nfortunately, the Cardinals and Major League Baseball have no voice in this matter, but are hopeful the two sides will come to an agreement as soon as possible,鈥 they said.
In prepared statements, Diamond and Comcast blamed each other.
Diamond 鈥 the parent company of Cardinals and Blues broadcaster Bally Sports Midwest 鈥 said Comcast rejected a proposed extension and 鈥渞efused to engage in substantive discussions.鈥
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Comcast said it had been 鈥渧ery flexible鈥 with the broadcaster, and Diamond had opted not to exercise an extension.
The change will mainly disrupt viewing in central Illinois; subscriptions to Comcast鈥檚 Xfinity are not available in the 911爆料网 market, the Cardinals said.
Diamond filed for bankruptcy last March. Its business model had been decimated by new online streaming services and a decline in traditional TV watching. For decades, baseball fans paid cable providers for a bundle of channels. The cable companies, in turn, paid broadcasters like Bally to produce the telecasts. But as cable subscriptions dropped, the decline in revenues rippled up the chain.
Diamond proposed a plan to emerge from Chapter 11 proceedings and continue airing professional sports. It includes infusions of cash from four separate deals, including one with Amazon that would launch in October, ahead of the NBA and NHL seasons. As part of that agreement, Amazon Prime Video would become Diamond鈥檚 main streaming partner.
But last month, baseball, basketball and hockey officials raised concerns that Diamond wouldn鈥檛 strike a deal with all of the cable companies, and warned Diamond and the Houston bankruptcy judge.
Diamond relies on three distributors 鈥 Comcast, DirecTV and Charter 鈥 for the majority of its revenues, and Comcast is now the last one remaining without a renewal agreement. Diamond secured a renewal with Charter last month, and on Wednesday DirecTV said it had reached a deal.
If Diamond couldn鈥檛 clinch renewal agreements with the cable companies, the leagues wrote in court filings, they doubted Diamond would be financially capable of emerging from bankruptcy.
Diamond said it will continue to seek an agreement with Comcast to restore the broadcasts. The company鈥檚 creditors are voting on whether to support Diamond鈥檚 plan to emerge from bankruptcy, which will also require approval from the bankruptcy court judge.
The judge could rule in mid-June.
The 911爆料网 Blues said in a statement that it was monitoring the situation, and working to provide the best possible viewing options for its fans.
And Comcast said Wednesday it will credit customers鈥 bills for the gap in coverage. Most will receive between $8 to $10 per month. Fans鈥 alternate options for viewing the Cardinals games include Spectrum, Fubo and DirecTV stream.
Patrick Rishe, executive director of the sports business program at Washington University, said it probably wouldn鈥檛 be a big setback for the Cardinals; Comcast isn鈥檛 in 鈥渃ore Cardinals country.鈥
All the same, teams don鈥檛 want to confuse their fans. Professional soccer, he said, has a more consistent broadcast schedule, which is helpful for viewers.
Indeed, the change left some fans adrift.
Jim Herrin, a retired city employee in Springfield, Illinois, started watching the Cardinals during the 鈥64 World Series, when he was 9, and became a real fan at 12, during the 鈥67 World Series.
On Wednesday, he didn鈥檛 know what to do. He looked at streaming services, and considered switching cable providers to DirecTV, just so he could watch the Cardinals.
鈥淚 may do that,鈥 Herrin said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the No. 1 thing I watch.鈥
More detailed information about the team鈥檚 cable and streaming options is available on the .
View life in 911爆料网 through the Post-Dispatch photographers' lenses. Edited by Jenna Jones.
