urbanSTL

IMO, it’s really simple. MLB got greedy and burned down televised baseball. My parents, life long Cardinal fans, don’t even watch the games anymore. They can’t find it.

This and sports betting have destroyed sports.

I’m not old or a boomer and I am completely at a loss for how to watch a Cardinals game on TV. I can’t figure it out and I’m sure the older generations can’t either.

"For fans in St. Louis, options include Charter Spectrum, Comcast Xfinity, Cox, DIRECTV, DIRECTV STREAM, Fubo, U-verse TV and Xtream powered by Mediacom. Check back for regular updates if/when new providers are added.

If you watch the Cardinals on FanDuel Sports Network with your TV provider, you can also stream the games in the FanDuel Sports Network app and FanDuelSportsNetwork.com for no additional charge."

It's overwhelmingly people who got rid of cable who complain. I know people who still have cable who have no clue what people are talking about when they say they can't find the games.

The TV situation definitely exasperated it. If you didn't have Charter or Direct TV you weren't able to watch them. I don't blame the Cardinals for it, it was Sinclair/Diamond Sports that way over estimated their leverage with TV providers, watched as their audience plummeted, made no attempt to get back on those service providers and...shockingly went bankrupt. The frustrating part was that due to the antiquated media deals, even if you were willing to pay to watch the Cardinals through MLB.tv, you couldn't because of the black out rules. Finally those hurdles are gone now.

The timing of the TV issues happened to land right around the same time the front office took a bizarre, almost adversarial stance with their fans and repeatedly put a subpar product on the field with expectations that three million fans would come regardless.

All that said, if this team over performs in the first few months of the season, I don't think it will take much to get people on board again.

The "bizarre" front office decisions weren't actually bizarre at all. It was cost savings.

In 2019, the Cardinals were operating on a projection that they'd be making around $420M in revenue by 2023. Instead, they had $372M and had yet to eclipse their 2019 revenue as of 2023. Pretty sure 2024 was $373M, which is still below 2019 levels.

In 2020 they lost $79M and in 2021 lost $34M. In 2022 they gained $43M and in 2023 gained $57M. Can't seem to find their net revenue for 2024.

So, from 2020-2023, they gained a total of $47M in net profit or $11.75M per year, which is a massive decline from their pre-covid $40-50M per year in net profit, which is what they were operating when they signed Goldschmidt and traded for Arenado, committing themselves to tons of future costs.

Until they are able to get their finances sorted out, they aren't going to be committing tons of money to anything.

The idea was that they cut costs this season, save a ton of money, and hopefully be able to invest a little next season, but the early attendance numbers are suggesting that revenue will go down. Their net revenue will probably remain strong, but won't be as strong as expected.

On top of the team side, Busch is due for major renovations that will cost hundreds of millions. There's been reoccurring issues with escalators and elevators for years now and the seating bowl doesn't drain water very well at all, making the fan experience after rain very bad in some areas. Those are the three things I've heard will definitely be included in the renovation when that comes a couple years down the road.

Based on the way Auggie loves crunching numbers, I trust that he's studying to be an actuary.

than he will do very well https://resumegenius.com/blog/job-hunting/best-jobs-for-introverts

Auggie wrote: ↑

Apr 01, 2025

The "bizarre" front office decisions weren't actually bizarre at all. It was cost savings.

In 2019, the Cardinals were operating on a projection that they'd be making around $420M in revenue by 2023. Instead, they had $372M and had yet to eclipse their 2019 revenue as of 2023. Pretty sure 2024 was $373M, which is still below 2019 levels.

In 2020 they lost $79M and in 2021 lost $34M. In 2022 they gained $43M and in 2023 gained $57M. Can't seem to find their net revenue for 2024.

So, from 2020-2023, they gained a total of $47M in net profit or $11.75M per year, which is a massive decline from their pre-covid $40-50M per year in net profit, which is what they were operating when they signed Goldschmidt and traded for Arenado, committing themselves to tons of future costs.

Until they are able to get their finances sorted out, they aren't going to be committing tons of money to anything.

The idea was that they cut costs this season, save a ton of money, and hopefully be able to invest a little next season, but the early attendance numbers are suggesting that revenue will go down. Their net revenue will probably remain strong, but won't be as strong as expected.

On top of the team side, Busch is due for major renovations that will cost hundreds of millions. There's been reoccurring issues with escalators and elevators for years now and the seating bowl doesn't drain water very well at all, making the fan experience after rain very bad in some areas. Those are the three things I've heard will definitely be included in the renovation when that comes a couple years down the road.

My comment on bizarre front office moves weren't necessarily personnel decisions. Those were odd too between firing Shildt randomly, selling low on some players, etc., but it was more how they interacted with the fan base. Very much carried a pompous, "if you don't buy tickets this is your fault" vibe when the house was burning down around them. None of the backlash was hard to see coming.

The massive TV deals were always a devils bargain. They sacrificed the accessibility of watching the team for the money. Interest in baseball has been on a downward tragectory for a while now because of this. STL has been experiencing a perfect storm the past few years of simultaneous decline of both the team and cable TV.

Meanwhile the NFL has been very easy to access to it's home markets, and look how well they are doing. The deal this year allowing to watch all the games for $99 is pretty solid, glad they are copying the MLS way of doing things. They should offer the package at discounted rates (or free) to public school children. Or maybe kids playing baseball/softball. Lot's of creative opportunities out there to organically grow interest in the sport

GoHarvOrGoHome wrote: ↑

Apr 02, 2025

The massive TV deals were always a devils bargain. They sacrificed the accessibility of watching the team for the money. Interest in baseball has been on a downward tragectory for a while now because of this. STL has been experiencing a perfect storm the past few years of simultaneous decline of both the team and cable TV.

Meanwhile the NFL has been very easy to access to it's home markets, and look how well they are doing. The deal this year allowing to watch all the games for $99 is pretty solid, glad they are copying the MLS way of doing things. They should offer the package at discounted rates (or free) to public school children. Or maybe kids playing baseball/softball. Lot's of creative opportunities out there to organically grow interest in the sport

Yes agree with you on a couple points there. I think MLB will figure out something with this next era of streaming and TV. Keep in mind, the NBA and NHL are facing the same regional tv deal issue right now. The Blues and Cardinals both have to figure this out. If I were the MLB, I would consider going to Netflix and figuring something out maybe, esp for nationally televised games, just bc of how good the traffic is. There are lots of options

All forms of entertainment are always changing. Baseball has been a constant for 140 years in St. Louis through it all, and I think they will find a good way to make the game more available.

And as I type this, we get a three home run game and the Cardinals go off in the 8th. Nothing better than a day baseball game on while working.

Choosing to side with Mo/Jeff Albert while Shildt continued to rack up 90-win seasons elsewhere doesn't look like it was a particularly savvy move but that aside, if you think that the way the front office has operated over the last 5+ years - whether in terms of their relationship with the fan base or their roster moves - warrants unwavering fan support, then cool. The strikingly empty stands can confirm that you are in the minority. 

I invite you to take a look at the first page of this St. Louis Cardinals discussion, shows that agreeing with the majority doesn't always make you right. If nothing else it's a cool look back in time. You'd have a tough time finding someone who thinks the Cardinals organization has killed it these last 5 years, and they certainly dropped the ball on development via the farm system. But abandoning the team completely isn't going to produce the desired effect, if anything it will make them want to spend less.

Agree 100%. I'm hoping the mass fan exodus is very temporary because everything about this city is better when they are competitive and the fan base is fully engaged. I think if the team keeps hitting like they have, interest will come back quickly.  

My point in this thread is that I get why the backlash has been so sudden and not the gradual apathy that most teams see as they cycle through numerous rebuilding phases.  And, as I said before, a large part of it is mostly out of the team's hands in the form of the TV situation the past few years.

Since starting the season 3-0, the Cardinals have been a woeful 1-5. 

I would not suggest holding your breath for huge baseball crowds this summer. 

Cardinals have a pretty balanced schedule in April and May, so they could stay in this. Nobody in the NL central is running away with this. Reds have been disappointing, and Cubs have shown lots of weaknesses.

If they could just stay in it through mid June, there will at least be division contention play through July because the Cardinals have lots of winnable games in that period.

The next 2 weeks will tell a lot. PIT, PHI, HOU, NYM and ATL provide a mix of a bad team, 2 good teams, and 2 struggling teams that people thought would be better. Are the Cardinals the ones that bring HOU and ATL back to life? That wouldn’t be a good sign

Also, I think I feel bad for Mikolas at this point. I know he has loved playing for the Cardinals and has been a good ambassador for the city and team, and he’s now looking like he may put a second year up of being one of the worst pitchers in the league. That was a barrage yesterday

He's getting paid $18 million do lose games. Don't feel bad for him.

Well, you can get the FanDuel app as addon on your Amazon. I did the free trial and they charged me $19.99 so I guess I have it for a month. I think the last couple of years I never tried too hard or could never really figure out how to watch a Cardinal game (should the desire arise). To this day, I don't know what or where "Bally's Sports Network" is or where it existed. It's easier this year for sure with FanDuel on Amazon. I definitely know where the cancel button is, if needed.

I will admit to having the entire game on TV last night because my dude Andre Pallante was out there on the bump twirling a gem with his funky delivery which I enjoy watching.

Actually considering dropping by the game today with a $10 get me in the door ticket (and then immediately paying $16 for a beer). With Mikolas pitching there should be a ton of action....

Saw today a video where Darryl Strawberry mentioned he lived in St. Louis now and he gave a little excitement about it. Anyone know the whereabouts? Peaked my curiosity, made me perk up a bit

delmar2debaliviere2downtown wrote:Saw today a video where Darryl Strawberry mentioned he lived in St. Louis now and he gave a little excitement about it. Anyone know the whereabouts? Peaked my curiosity, made me perk up a bit

St Peter’s, unfortunately. Kind of a strange road that led him here.

StlToday - Hochman: Darryl Strawberry was ‘saved’ in St. Louis. He’s now sober, with inspiring words.

https://www.stltoday.com/sports/profess ... 65855.html

Stl PR - Former Major Leaguer adds voice to push for insurance coverage for autism

https://www.stlpr.org/other/2009-08-18/ ... for-autism

There's actually quite a few former major leaguers who live in St. Louis. I think it's known as the kind of place where you can blend in and live a normal life. 

Hoping the Cardinals can give us a winner. And Redbirds too. Why do I have this nagging fear that the Cardinals will elect The Mets Pope in a walk-off.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk