It was a big day in the courts for the Cincinnati Reds and Diamond Sports Group. The Reds have not been a direct part of the ongoing bankruptcy proceedings with DSG, who own the FanDuel Sports Networks (former Bally Sports, and prior to that Fox Sports). Cincinnati was not a part of that because they owned a stake of what is now FanDuel Sports Ohio. But today the two sides presented to the court an agreement that would have DSG buy the Reds share in the network.
Evan Drelich of The Athletic reports that the two sides also couldn’t come to an agreement on a new broadcast rights deal for the 2025 season. That means the Reds will – unless something changes – not be available to customers on FanDuel Sports Network.
For now, where the Reds games will be in 2025 is unknown. There are options, though. Cincinnati could look for another broadcast partner in the area to put their games on television. They could become one of the teams that would allow MLB to broadcast their games directly to fans (for a price, of course).
What this almost assuredly means, though, is that you will not be blacked out of games and you likely won’t need to subscribe to a cable/satellite provider in order to get the games. All of the other teams who have lost their deals with DSG have been able to follow those lines and make it much easier for fans to watch games.
Now, let’s get back to the Reds being bought out by DSG for a second. Cincinnati took less money every year for the last decade from them to broadcast Reds games in order to acquire a stake in what was then Fox Sports Ohio. That relationship and business transaction only happened because of Reds baseball.
Update
Drelich reported shortly after this was initially published that the Reds sold their stake for $1.00. No, that is not a typo. They got one dollar. They took millions and millions of dollars less per year for a decade so they could sell for one dollar. Have to wonder what the profits looked like early on and what the likely losses looked like later as the traditional cable packaging market fell apart.
Back to the original story
What this may also help with is to solidify the budget/payroll for 2025. As recently as last week the team said they weren’t sure on what it would be yet. Their limbo in this area likely had a lot to do with that. While they may be able to get a broadcast partner on board, knowing that they won’t have FanDuel Sports broadcasting their games they know that money isn’t coming in, and that they can at least project what they would get from a direct to consumer through MLBtv model that teams like the San Diego Padres have gone to.
2025 promotions and changes
If you are a fan of the City Connect uniforms then I have some bad news for you: The Cincinnati Reds are going to wear them less often in 2025. If you are not a fan of the City Connect uniforms, then this is great news for you!
The Reds put out information for 2025 and after the City Connect uniforms were worn every Friday home game since they were debuted, they will now be worn on “select Friday home games”. That wasn’t the only thing that will be changing for your Friday home games, either. The firework shows that followed every Friday home game are also now going to be “select Friday home games”.
While the club didn’t announce the seven bobbleheads that they will be giving away, they did announce the dates for them:
- Saturday, April 12
- Saturday, May 3
- Saturday, May 17
- Saturday, June 7
- Wednesday, June 18
- Saturday, August 30
- Saturday, September 6
If you purchase a Pick-6 plan you get an “exclusive” oversized Elly De La Cruz bobblehead. So if you’re into that kind of thing, start marking things down on your calendar and clear some room on your shelves (or put up new shelves).
This story was updated with new information about the sale price and speculation on the deal was deleted now that we know the amount.
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