It has been nearly a decade and a half since over-the-air telecasts have been part of the Blues’ and Cardinals’ local television deals. But a return to over-the-air television for some contests eventually could be coming under terms of the bankruptcy case the parent company of those teams’ telecaster, Bally ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ Midwest, is going through. But it does not seem that will be happening soon.
A federal bankruptcy judge in Houston this week approved an agreement between BSM owner Diamond ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ Group and the National Hockey League that is intended to assure that the telecaster’s 11 regional sports networks carrying NHL teams continue to do so for the remainder of the current season, with the league taking the rights back after that. There had been concern that some clubs might be dropped before then because of Diamond’s financial troubles.
The NHL deal is similar to what Diamond recently reached with NBA clubs it televises.
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Also, an arrangement that Diamond has been working on with Major League Baseball that would keep the teams it televises (including the Cardinals) on its networks through the upcoming baseball season is set for a hearing on Wednesday. The sides appear close to an agreement on a setup that might be approved then that could lead to MLB also taking back the local broadcast rights after the coming season, with some games on over-the-air — so-called "free TV" — an eventual possibility.
As part of this week’s NHL bankruptcy arrangement, teams Diamond shows have “the right to shop a package of up to 10 games to select local broadcast entities,†according to a report by which reports on the business side of athletics.
However, league sources said the Blues are not part of the over-the-air portion of the deal because they are one of three NHL clubs in the Diamond portfolio that are excluded from that arrangement. So their Bally ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ Midwest schedule is expected to remain in place for the rest of this season. But after that, it is possible that a mix of over-the-air, cable and streaming productions could be part of the team’s broadcast alignment. The same situation seems to apply for the Cardinals after the coming season.
Amazon reported has been interested in swooping into the picture, but if it becomes involved in the Bally operation there likely would be options for viewers in addition to Amazon's huge streaming-centric video business.
A logical over-the-air option would be KPLR (Channel 11), which had at least part of the Blues’ and Cards’ local packages for many years before both went to a cable-only approach around 2010.
“We certainly have interest in any over-the-air games for home-team sports,†said Kurt Krueger, vice president and general manager of KPLR as well as KTVI (Channel 2). “We certainly have a history with the Blues and Cardinals.â€
KTVI is a Fox affiliate and KPLR is on the CW Network, but Krueger said room could be found to show local sports.
“We could accommodate the games,†he said. “It makes a lot of sense. It’s their move, but I will certainly pursue it.â€
Another potential landing spot would be KMOV (Channel 4), which has aired a Sunday night Blues-specific show since 2016 in which most content comes from the team. KMOV vice president and general manager JD Sosnoff said the station is intrigued.
“If the opportunity presents itself — and that’s a big ‘if’ — we would be interested,†he said. “If we can provide local coverage, I’m interested in figuring out how to make it happen.â€
KSDK (Channel 5), an NBC affiliate, televised a handful of Blues games in recent seasons when they were shown on that network — telecasts outside the team’s local deal. Ratings were good, as they were for the Cardinals when the station had them off and on over the years. Channel 5 general manager Alicia Elsner would like to rekindle a live-sports relationship.
“As local broadcasters, we’ve always been a home for live, local sports and lifelong sports fans for over 75 years,†she said. “We have a great relationship with the Blues and would welcome an opportunity to partner with them in any number of ways in the future.â€
Officials at KDNL (Channel 30), the other major over-the-air station in St. Louis, were not available for comment. But because KDNL — a decades-ago Blues telecaster — is owned by Sinclair, parent company of Diamond ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ Group, that could present an uneasy situation. But that is not an impossible obstacle because Sinclair has reached an over-the-air deal with a Diamond NBA club, the Utah Jazz, for local over-the-air telecasts.