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If 2024 is the last year that Bally ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ Midwest televises Cardinals games, it is going out with a thud. Perhaps a whimper is a better word.

For the second season in a row, BSM drew a record-low rating for the Cards’ local television package — figures that stretch back 3½ decades.

How low did it go? According to viewership-tracking firm Nielsen, just 3.9% of the market watched, on average, Bally ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ Midwest’s Cardinals telecasts this year. That’s a 25% drop from last year’s figure, 5.2, which was the previous low.

So in the past two seasons, Cards local telecasts have lost a whopping 47% of their audience — the season-long figure for 2022 was 7.3.

There are two key contributing factors: the Cardinals’ on-field woes and BSM’s major distribution problems.

Last year, the club had its first last-place finish since 1990. It was significantly better this season, with its 83 victories a 12-game improvement. But the result was the same — no postseason appearance. The Cardinals again were out of realistic playoff contention for most of the last two months of the season and finished 10 games behind National League Central Division champion Milwaukee and six games out of the NL’s final wild-card slot.

Their TV ratings mirrored a big attendance drop as evidenced by the wide swaths of empty seats at Busch Stadium for many of the team’s late-season contests. The team finished seventh in announced attendance, its worst ranking since 2004.

Bally ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ Midwest’s distribution problems in recent years also remain a major factor in the decline amid the industrywide trend of consumers dropping the traditional cable bundle en masse, gutting the business. Another contributor is fan unhappiness with the team’s ownership and front office that constructed a roster that has produced just one playoff matchup victory in the past decade, a group that said this week it is shifting its focus to player development.

The bankruptcy saga of BSM parent company Diamond ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ Group that has been dragging on for more than a year and a half also has been highly problematic, and its latest saga came this week with Diamond’s surprise announcement that it could drop its Cardinals telecasts next season as it seeks to restructure the contract.

Because of financial disputes, Bally ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ Midwest now is not carried on YouTube TV, Hulu with Live TV, Dish Network and Altice — and was off another major programming distributor, Comcast (Xfinity) for a considerable portion of this baseball season.

The big picture

The distribution turmoil not only is bad business for Diamond but also for the MLB, NHL (including the Blues) and NBA teams it shows. Television and associated streaming options are big marketing tools for clubs, and the absence of the games on either platform for a considerable number of fans interested in watching becomes dangerous for the teams and telecasters. That factor, coupled with the Cardinals' on-field struggles and fan unrest about management, pours the foundation for big-picture, long-term distress that could lead to ...

Apathy.

This could ring the “out of sight, out of mind� alarm bell that can lead fans to do other things with their time that previously had been reserved for watching the Cardinals, especially troublesome for the team if those folks discover they don’t miss the games as much as they thought they would.

Those who used to be glued to every game, or at least would follow on a regular basis, could discover there are other things to do when the Cardinals are playing — endeavors they might enjoy just as much if not more — thus decreasing the fan base. All one had to do was to look at the wide expanses of empty seats at home games in the last few weeks of the season to have evidence this already is underway.

Disinterest also translated to TV ratings, as the number at the All-Star break was 4.2 before slipping to the 3.9 final figure. And for the first time in 15 years, the club’s local TV rating was not in the top four among U.S.-based MLB teams, finishing seventh.

Can all this mess be resolved? Diamond is keeping the Blues for the soon-to-start hockey season and wants to renegotiate its contract with the Cards and other MLB teams. How the distribution struggles would be addressed remains to be seen, as does a separate problem with MLB’s blackout policy that prohibits fans in some outlying areas from buying their favorite team’s telecasts because they are in what is designated as another club’s territory.

It’s a model that last offseason Cardinals President Bill DeWitt III called “antiquated� and “really problematic ... and everybody knows it.�

The situation has continued, and at a news conference this week to discuss the team’s new emphasis on player development, he touched again on the subject.

“I think the real challenge for us revenue-wise is on the local media situation,� he said while referencing the decline of cable TV subscriptions and the “distribution challenges.�

But he was more upbeat about the chances of soon making games available to a wider audience.

“It appears as though under almost every scenario we’re looking at, the fans will hopeful have a direct-to-consumer product to get our games, basically an app where they can stream games for a fee,� DeWitt added. “You’re seeing that elsewhere throughout the league. I’m really optimistic. ... We’re going to uncover every stone on the revenue side.�

That also could include income the club would receive from sports betting if that activity is approved by Missouri voters next month.

“We’re working very hard how to figure out to enter this new phase of local media challenges and come out better on the other side,� he said.

Mizzou finally in spotlight

It has taken until the fifth game, but Mizzou wide receiver Luther Burden III finally gets his wish granted Saturday when the Tigers play in a game to be shown on a prominent national television network.

“To me, it’s disrespectful to not have us on the big stage with the big TV cameras and stuff,� Burden said after the Tigers, now 4-0, beat Boston College on Sept. 14 — the day’s only matchup of ranked teams — for their third win.

That contest, as well as two more MU games, were on the lower-profile SEC Network. The Tigers’ other one was available only via streaming.

“I took that personal, and I’m pretty sure everybody else in that locker room took it personal,� he said of the major-networks snub. “We ain’t going nowhere. We’re here to stay.

“I just wanted to let everyone know that Missouri needs to be showcased a little bit more instead of just (on the) SEC Network,� Burden added. “I feel like we’ve worked so hard to get to the point we’re at. And I feel like we should be recognized at the highest level.�

The Tigers are receiving that recognition Saturday for their 11 a.m. kickoff at Texas A&M (4-1). The contest will be show on ABC (KDNL, Channel 30 locally) — the over-the-air component of the Southeastern Conference’s TV/streaming deal that’s in its first year. Joe Tessitore (play-by-play), Jordan Rodgers (analysis) and Stormy Buonantony (reporter) have the broadcast assignments.

Mizzou will be back on a prominent network the following Saturday, too. ESPN2 has their game at Massachusetts, which also is set for 11 a.m. (St. Louis time). The TV schedule for MU’s subsequent matchups has not yet been announced.