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For the first time in more than a decade and a half, the Blues are adding an over-the-air station to their local television package.

The team will shift one game in February and two in March from cable’s FanDuel ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ Network to KMOV (Channel 4) and sister station Matrix Midwest (Channel 32), it was announced early Tuesday. The Blues’ contest Feb. 22, at home against Winnipeg on a Saturday, will mark the first time since KPLR (Channel 11) was in the mix for the 2008-09 season that a broadcast television station will show one of the team’s locally produced telecasts. Games on March 8 and March 25 round out the KMOV/Matrix schedule.

The Blues moved exclusively to what now is cable’s FanDuel in 2009-10, which was known as Fox ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ Midwest when it last shared the package with KPLR. The team’s only over-the-air telecasts in the ensuing years have been usually infrequent appearances on national networks NBC (KSDK, Channel 5 locally) and ABC (KDNL, Channel 30), which generally have drawn strong ratings in comparison to games on cable.

The Blues’ abandonment of over-the-air TV in their local plan followed a trend of teams in multiple sports nationwide when regional sports networks were flourishing on cable. The Cardinals made the move after the 2010 season, dropping KSDK from the mix and placing all their local telecasts on FanDuel’s predecessor. But that cash cow has stopped mooing in recent years, as people have been dropping traditional cable bundles in droves and thus financially derailing that business model.

FanDuel’s parent company, which recently was rebranded from Diamond ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ Group to Main Street ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ Group, is just beginning to emerge from bankruptcy after more than a year and a half, and associated distribution problems for the company have contributed to deeply declining ratings in recent years. For example: FanDuel’s Blues ratings at the start of January were down 30% from the same number of telecasts last season, when the club went on to finish with its worst full-season figure since 2009-10. In addition, the outlet’s Cardinals ratings have plummeted 47% over the past two years. The teams haven’t helped, either, with declining play in recent seasons compared to past successes.

No rights fees

Blues Chief Revenue and Marketing Officer Steve Chapman and KMOV/Matrix Midwest general manager JD Sosnoff said their companies’ pending relationship will be an experiment to gauge fans’ interest in games returning to over-the-air, so-called free, TV.

Chapman said the Blues’ contract with FanDuel allows the club to move up to five games this season to an over-the-air station, and the team is receiving no rights fees from Gray Media for the trio of telecasts.

“It’s been a turbulent time in the world of regional sports (network) broadcasting,� he said. “We need to test things, to understand better what the impact of this potential reach is. ... Until you do it, you don’t know.�

Chapman added that media rights are key to the financial health of sports teams.

“What broadcast rights are is critical in how competitive you can be,� he said. “We need to explore all options.�

Sosnoff called the deal “a collaboration� between the parties.

“It’s not a major financial commitment, more of an opportunity to see how it goes and what the viewer response (ratings) is,� he said. “The first priority is to get Blues games on (free) TV for fans to have easy access. ... It’s good for the Blues, and it’s good for us.�

The KMOV/Matrix telecasts will be produced by FanDuel, which originally had been scheduled to show those games, and utilize that outlet’s Blues broadcasters — with John Kelly on play-by-play and Jamie Rivers providing analysis. FanDuel’s pre- and postgame shows also will air for those contests, though neither they nor the games will be simulcast on FanDuel ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ Network.

Streaming rights for those three contests have not yet been awarded. It is possible that Victory+, which streamed five Blues exhibition games this season, could carry them. Victory+ is a free, direct-to-consumer service that is the primary streaming app this season for two NHL teams — the Dallas Stars and Anaheim Ducks.

Sosnoff cited Channel 4’s dealings in recent years with the Blues, in which it has carried team-related shows, plus the availability of Gray Media in a wide regional geographical area as key factors in KMOV/Matrix landing the three contests.

“In the evolving landscape this opportunity arose, and because of our relationship, it came together,� he said.

The big picture

KMOV is the local CBS affiliate and in August rebranded its MyNetworkTV substation as Matrix Midwest in conjunction with it adding sports coverage — especially Missouri football pre- and postgame shows and college basketball — to the existing lineup of old television programs such as Law & Order,� “Chicago Fire� and “Dateline.� In addition to being available over the air on Channel 32, Matrix is carried by Spectrum (Charter) cable on Channel 6.

Gray also plans to show these Blues games in other markets in which it operates, including Kansas City, Springfield, Columbia and Cape Girardeau in Missouri; Quincy and Peoria in Illinois; Topeka in Kansas; Davenport and Cedar Rapids in Iowa; and Evansville in Indiana.

Chapman, the Blues executive, said many the club’s fans come to home games from outside the immediate St. Louis area so Gray placing the three games on stations in other markets is “a major part� of the deal.

“Reach is important,� he said, adding that it will be interesting to gauge the response in some of those places.

“It’s a metric we want to see,� he said.

Chapman also said the team retains a good relationship with FanDuel.

“They’re good friends,� he said. “We’re just trying to find the right path.�