How Can I Watch the Twins Today? (And Seven Other Questions about the Twins-Bally-Comcast Clustermuck)

[John Bonnes]

If you’re a Twins fan who can’t watch your favorite team on cable in the Twin Cities starting today, you probably have some questions. Here’s our best shot at the answers.

Image courtesy of © Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Q: Why the hell can’t I watch the Twins on cable, suddenly?
A: Bally Sports, the network that owns the Twins’ 2024 TV rights, no longer has a contract with Comcast, the cable provider for most of the Twin Cities. They haven’t been able to agree on a new one for all of Bally Sports’ 15 regional networks, including locally-based Bally Sports North, so now they’re pointing fingers at each other.

Q: So, how the hell do I watch the Twins on TV?
A: Switch to a cable provider or satellite network provider that Bally Sports North is still on. These include Direct TV or Fubo.

Q: I thought all this garbage was solved in the offseason?
A: There was a different dispute in the offseason. In the offseason, the Twins didn’t have a deal with anyone for their TV rights. They came to an agreement with Diamond Sports Group, who owns the Bally channels. This is different. Now Diamond Sports (Bally) can’t come to an agreement with Comcast to have their television channel on Comcast’s cable package.

Q: Can’t the Twins do anything about this?
A: They have been quick to point out that they can’t, but that conveniently ignores that they voluntarily slapped some big golden handcuffs on themselves. They were in a position to influence this just a couple of months ago, but instead, they took a big wad of money from Bally for their TV rights, giving up control of how it would be brought to consumers. (Then, by the way, they pocketed that money and still decreased the team’s payroll by $30+ million, anyway.)

Q: That’s it! I’m cutting the cord! How can I stream the games?
A: You can’t, or at least not if you’re in the Twins’ market. Part of the Twins’ current TV rights deal with Bally includes a provision such that they can’t give streaming rights to be sold in-market. In fact, that provision is one of the reasons they were able to get the deal done with Bally. 

If you’re not in the Twins’ market or can trick MLB into thinking you’re not with a VPN (virtual private network) or similar tech wizardry, you can subscribe to MLB TV to watch all the games. 

Q: So, I’m just screwed? 
A: Either you switch providers, or you hope that two large companies resolve this pretty massive face-off. For what it’s worth, both companies should be feeling a fair amount of pain, too. 

It sounds like Bally was getting paid $8-10 per month per subscriber previously from Comcast, so they’re likely losing millions per month in revenue just from the Twin Cities market, and they’re still on the hook for paying the Twins for the TV rights. Meanwhile, Comcast, amidst a challenging environment where more and more people are cutting the cord, just dropped the one reason a big chunk of their market still has cable. Those are subscribers who may never come back. 

You can also multiply the pain in those companies by roughly 15. This dispute affects all of Bally’s Sports’ 15 regional sports networks, not just Bally Sports North. 

Q: Any other ideas?
A: No, but maybe someone will offer up good ones in the comments. We’re navigating this, just like you.

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[bighat]

Local market fans can't watch the local team's MLB games? This is a massive failure and should be the biggest story in sports media right now. Unreal. 

I think we have to get used to this new normal, where decisions are always, always, ALWAYS based on what's best for "shareholder value". Nobody cares about doing what's best for the consumer, those days are long gone. 

I'll fire up MLB.TV from Florida today and pour one out for the rest of you. Good luck.

[CRF]

Greed and stupidity are a bad combination. 

[st Paul guy]

This isn’t entirely accurate.   I subscribe to the streaming service Fubo.tv and they carry Bally FSN.  The price is same as YoutubeTv or Hulu and has similar set of channels.  It will still show  Twins games today.  I am not sure why this service is not mentioned by the Twins as a streaming option     It works

[Richie the Rally Goat]

Just now, st Paul guy said:

This isn’t entirely accurate.   I subscribe to the streaming service Fubo.tv and they carry Bally FSN.  The price is same as YoutubeTv or Hulu and has similar set of channels.  It will still show  Twins games today.  I am not sure why this service is not mentioned by the Twins as a streaming option     It works

Welcome to TD! 
John mentioned Fubu as a cable option in the article, but not as a streaming. True, it’s kinda both, as you buy a bundle of channels like cable, but unlike cable Fubu (YouTube tv, etc) doesn’t have the wire attached to the service.

[Riverbrian]

Dear Joe Pohlad,

You are failing. 

You have allowed your billion dollar organization to be taken hostage by outsiders for a rather low dollar figure. 

You better Liam Neeson your way into the room and quickly. 

Sincerely,

 

Riverbrian

[MABB1959]

It is a total shame to the money hungry companies.  I lost access with DishTV a while ago and switched to YouTube TV.  Saving money but missing the Twins,  The Twins will not gain or maybe even keep fans.  No ability to get to know the team will probably affect attendance as well.   MLB needs to step in fix the issue by providing a way to see in market games.  I would pay for a streaming service to watch but we don't even have a way to do that,  

MLB and the Twins are killing the sport!

[snellman]

I switched to a IPTV provider years ago because of this and I don't regret it at all.

 

[chpettit19]

Unreal.

[NotAboutWinning]

Don’t discount MLB.tv as a viable option. It is $20ish a month for the 7 month season. Yes, it is blacked out in real time, but you can time-shift (there a blast from the past term) and skip over the commercial breaks as you watch. Or, if you are technically inclined, you know what to do.

[Patzky]

It's easy to rip on the Twins (after their off-season rightly so) for access to the games. This problem isn't just for Twins fans.. Marlins, Braves, Tigers broadcasts are in the same sad situation with Bally v

.Comcast. 😔

[MMMordabito]

So happy my Chromecast moved to Phoenix in late March. It's taking a few days at the end of June to visit Miami and then back to Phoenix. Weirdo winters in Minnesota. Whatever works.

[dxpavelka]

I am a Midco subscriber in the SE MN and just woke up with the same message on my Bally channel

[dxpavelka]

Cautionary tale;  I grew up in SE MN as a fan of the local professional hockey team.  In those days there were about 35 games a year on Channel 9 and all games were on WCCO radio, both of which were easily accessible to most of out state Minnesota.  In the late 80s that hockey team sold their radio rights to 1500-KSTP and television rights to Channel 29, neither of which were nearly accessible to much of the out state.  But eventually it didn't matter cuz the problem was solved by having all games broadcast in the Dallas area.

[UpstateNewYorker]

26 minutes ago, NotAboutWinning said:

Don’t discount MLB.tv as a viable option. It is $20ish a month for the 7 month season. Yes, it is blacked out in real time, but you can time-shift (there a blast from the past term) and skip over the commercial breaks as you watch. Or, if you are technically inclined, you know what to do.

FWIW MLB.tv is a free perk provided over the last few years to TMobile cell phone customers. But yes, if you live in the local broadcast area you have to deal with the blackout restrictions.

[Ted Schwerzler]

12 minutes ago, UpstateNewYorker said:

FWIW MLB.tv is a free perk provided over the last few years to TMobile cell phone customers. But yes, if you live in the local broadcast area you have to deal with the blackout restrictions.

Season ticket holders also get MLB.tv for free. Of course they can't use it to watch the team they have season tickets for though...

[Thebigalguy]

I listen to radio broadcasts and watch the pitch-by-pitch graphics on Yahoo (which are out of sync with one another, but there it is). It's a shame. I have Hulu live TV, not DirectTV, and so far feel disinclined to reward bad behavior by switching. Like others, I'm disgusted with the Twins' owners for their disregard of the fans who support them. I'm just glad the players have found the Sausage and turned things around on the field, albeit against inferior teams. Still, a nine game winning streak is what it is. The boys of summer deserve better. PS: By the way, thank you UpstateNewYorker; I have T Mobile and will see if I can figure out how to manage the blackout restrictions on MLB.tv.

[whitsbrain]

I've had a full MLB.TV subscription in the past because I wanted to watch the Twins minor league affiliates, but I was still blacked out from watching the Twins games live on the service.  Then I found that I could only watch the minor league games live, there was no ability to watch them later (time shift).  So, I cancelled because I still had Bally's and could at least watch the local nine.

I'm technically inclined, but I don't want to tinker with a team that wants to make it hard for me to give them my money.  I could subscribe and stream Fubo and cancel cable, but Xfinity will charge me more for straight-up Internet access because I would no longer be "bundling" services.  It's not about the money for me personally, though.  I should be able to watch my favorite team without jumping through hoops.

The Twins will lose fan interest because people won't be able to follow them.  Less people will go to the games to watch a faceless squad. 

[chpettit19]

25 minutes ago, whitsbrain said:

I've had a full MLB.TV subscription in the past because I wanted to watch the Twins minor league affiliates, but I was still blacked out from watching the Twins games live on the service.  Then I found that I could only watch the minor league games live, there was no ability to watch them later (time shift).  So, I cancelled because I still had Bally's and could at least watch the local nine.

I'm technically inclined, but I don't want to tinker with a team that wants to make it hard for me to give them my money.  I could subscribe and stream Fubo and cancel cable, but Xfinity will charge me more for straight-up Internet access because I would no longer be "bundling" services.  It's not about the money for me personally, though.  I should be able to watch my favorite team without jumping through hoops.

The Twins will lose fan interest because people won't be able to follow them.  Less people will go to the games to watch a faceless squad. 

Seems so obvious, yet the team, to this point at least, seems to be very confused with this idea. We'll see what they come up with next year. Hope this disaster is worth the 40 mil or whatever pocket change the Pohlads got for re-upping with Diamond despite this very well known problem they've had reaching their fans this way.

[Hawkeye Bean Counter]

Join what the majority of Iowa fans have been dealing with for the last several years.  It sucks,  and kills the possibility of growing your fanbase.  

[StealMoreBases]

I have a not so great solution but might be ok for some. Before I got a certain tech solution to work I used the GameDay 3D version on MLB.com. When a game is on you click the GameDay tab which brings up the standard pitch by pitch GameDay that we are all used to but there is a button that says 3D on it now. If you click that button you get to "watch" a computer generated version of the game. It's better than the standard pitch by pitch because you do get a sense of the outcome of the at-bat went. For example on the standard pitch by pitch GameDay it might say something like Correa grounded out to short but on the 3D version you can see in real time if it was a little dribbler or a hot shot and the short stop made a great play or just a routine ground out. FWIW I watched Buxton's first diving grab this way and I jumped in excitement so I know it kind of sucks but it's much better than just following along pitch by pitch. 

 

Also note it is in Beta so it can be glitchy and I believe you need an MLB.com account but don't think you need to pay for any of the tiers just need an account.

[nicksaviking]

*******Moderator Note******

I know it is only fair that the Pohlad's and Bally end up penniless on the streets some day, but please refrain from posting your favorite pirating methods. No judgments if you do so (I mean, other than possibly an actual judge) but TD doesn't want to be involved with spreading back-alley solutions.

[Riverbrian]

Midco is showing the same message so it isn't just a negotiation with Comcast. 

The Twins can issue statements saying they are not involved and that there is nothing they can do until they are blue in the face.

They chose short term money over accessibility even when accessibility leads to long term money.

A baseball franchise worth 1.39 billion is issuing statements "that there is nothing they can do" because of a 47 million dollar deal made with a company in bankruptcy proceedings and a product delivery system with aging out demographics. 

The Twins put themselves in this position.

They should be issuing statements saying either... "Oops... we really ****ed up" or "We have Lawyers pouring over the contract and we will be taking a flamethrower to the problem very very soon".    

 

 

[Riverbrian]

52 minutes ago, whitsbrain said:

I've had a full MLB.TV subscription in the past because I wanted to watch the Twins minor league affiliates, but I was still blacked out from watching the Twins games live on the service.  Then I found that I could only watch the minor league games live, there was no ability to watch them later (time shift).  So, I cancelled because I still had Bally's and could at least watch the local nine.

I'm technically inclined, but I don't want to tinker with a team that wants to make it hard for me to give them my money.  I could subscribe and stream Fubo and cancel cable, but Xfinity will charge me more for straight-up Internet access because I would no longer be "bundling" services.  It's not about the money for me personally, though.  I should be able to watch my favorite team without jumping through hoops.

The Twins will lose fan interest because people won't be able to follow them.  Less people will go to the games to watch a faceless squad. 

You have almost perfectly describe the boat I am in. So I think we are in the same one. 

[Linus]

I have offered my opinion on this subject before so I will spare everyone a repeat other than to say the Twins deserve any bad stuff that comes their way. Most irritating to me is the sanctimonious press release saying how sorry they are and that they had nothing to do with it. They might have the worst PR skills of any major corporation I’ve ever seen. 

[USAFChief]

I'd imagine Ballys will most likely declare bankruptcy again. That's a lot of dough they're not getting. 

So in a sad twist, the Twins might end up not even getting the ~$47M from Ballys they settled for.

I'm not really sure, but "TV contract" falls under Dave St Peter, no?

 

[Jocko87]

2 hours ago, Riverbrian said:

Dear Joe Pohlad,

You are failing. 

You have allowed your billion dollar organization to be taken hostage by outsiders for a rather low dollar figure. 

You better Liam Neeson your way into the room and quickly. 

Sincerely,

 

Riverbrian

While I like the idea of a David and Goliath type movie script ending with Liam saving the day many seem to have somehow miscast the Twins as the Goliath in their fantasy. They have always needed one lucky rock. Their one billion dollars organization is a literal Dr Evil joke in this game.

And at the risk of being that guy, "I told you so." Many, many times.

It was always going to get worse before it got better and it still might get worse yet.

And golden handcuffs? WTAF? This is the editorial bent we are discussing in that other forum.

This ain't a baseball discussion, never has been. It would do a lot of you well to start listening to the people on this forum who have been in rooms like these.

[nicksaviking]

3 minutes ago, Riverbrian said:

Midco is showing the same message so it isn't just a negotiation with Comcast. 

The Twins can issue statements saying they are not involved and that there is nothing they can do until they are blue in the face.

They chose short term money over accessibility even when accessibility leads to long term money.

A baseball franchise worth 1.39 billion is issuing statements "that there is nothing they can do" because of a 47 million dollar deal made with a company in bankruptcy proceedings and a product delivery system with aging out demographics. 

The Twins put themselves in this position.

They should be issuing statements saying either... "Oops... we really ****ed up" or "We have Lawyers pouring over the contract and we will be taking a flamethrower to the problem very very soon".    

 

 

For billionaires, short term money is better than long term money. Money on hand now can make so much more money for a billionaire. It's why the Bobby Bonilla contract has been laughed at for the last three decades.

If Joe Pohlad were offered 5B now but it would guarantee the game would be extinct in 15 years, or offered 15B stretched out over 15 years, he'd take the first option every time.

Jim might not have. He was by far my favorite Pohlad owner thus far. But that's probably why he's no longer in charge. They voted him off the island.

[USAFChief]

In the meantime, for those of you in the Twins blackout area, Fubotv is an option.

[Jocko87]

Just now, USAFChief said:

I'd imagine Ballys will most likely declare bankruptcy again. That's a lot of dough they're not getting. 

So in a sad twist, the Twins might end up not even getting the ~$47M from Ballys they settled for.

I'm not really sure, but "TV contract" falls under Dave St Peter, no?

 

I think it would almost have to be a St Peter / Owner board of directors level thing.

What do we know about $47m? I hadn't heard that number.