Reds, Fox Sports Ohio extend partnership through 2

That could still represent a significant increase over their previous fortunes. Sports broadcasting deals have ballooned in recent years, with live sports representing one of the few DVR-proof types of programming. It’s also seen as one of the few things keeping viewers from dumping their cable packages for streaming services.

 

The St. Louis Cardinals, who play in the 21st-ranked U.S. television market, have a TV deal with Fox Sports Midwest beginning in 2018 that will pay them more than $1 billion over 15 years. The San Diego Padres, in the 28th-ranked U.S. market, signed a deal in 2012 with Fox Sports San Diego worth $1 billion over 20 years.

 

The Reds play in the 34th-ranked television market, according to StationIndex.com, ahead of only Milwaukee. Some observers have suggested that the TV-rights bubble is poised to pop, with more a la carte services being offered to compete with more expensive and unwieldy bundled cable packages, but Castellini is confident the Reds didn’t miss that train.

“We had a dip in attendance, and as such a dip in revenue,” Castellini said. “So it’s not quite the windfall we hoped it would be, but as we progress back up the competitive ladder, as you all know we budget this team to break even. We don’t pull any money out of the franchise.