Comcast, Diamond Sports Group Nearing Deal to Get Twins Back on Television

[Cody Christie]

Many Twins fans have been unable to watch the team in recent months. Now, a deal could be near to get the Twins back on television for the season’s most important games.

Image courtesy of Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Diamond Sports Group’s regional sports networks have been off the air since May 1 because of a dispute with Comcast Xfinity. Diamond is fighting through bankruptcy proceedings and trying to find a way to be profitable in an ever-changing television landscape. Now, a deal between Diamond and Comcast is coming to a head, which should put the Twins back in front of many fans who have been unable to watch for three months. 

Diamond Sports, the owner of Bally Sports North, could not come to a deal with Comcast before their contract expired at the end of April. Many fans have been forced to switch to other limited streaming options like DirecTV or FuboTV to watch the Twins. Both options have pros and cons, so fans must decide on the best option. There were likely many fans who canceled their cable subscriptions because Comcast was no longer carrying the Twins. All of that might be changing in the near future. 

Earlier this week, a lawyer representing Diamond Sports spoke in court and seemed like a deal was imminent. “We believe that we have made substantial progress on resolving our issues with Comcast, and we have the intention of fully documenting and executing an agreement with Comcast to broadcast our RSNs in the very near term.”

The Twins are also optimistic that the situation will be changing soon. Twins president Dave St. Peter was on WCCO earlier this week and discussed the situation with Comcast. "Yeah, there's all kinds of urgency. Certainly, the baseball team, which we're not a part of that negotiation, are urging all sides to come together and to get a deal done," St. Peter said. "I do know there's some ongoing conversations and I think that's good. I'm hopeful that you're gonna see Twins baseball back on Comcast soon."

Earlier this year, Amazon invested money in Diamond Sports to keep the company afloat amid its bankruptcy issues. Starting on Monday, there will be a confirmation hearing where the judge will evaluate Diamond Sports' plan to bring the company out of bankruptcy. There is still a possibility that the company may need to liquidate, but signing a new deal with Comcast might help avoid that negative outcome. 

The Twins also found out this week that they are among a handful of clubs eligible to receive revenue-sharing dollars due to their television situation. Eligible teams with lost TV revenue will be eligible for up to $15 million each, with the league expected to cap payouts at a total of $75 million. It is a one-year deal, meant to serve as a bridge to help teams for the 2024 season. MLB and MLBPA hope the influx will help impacted teams spend money on players in the short term, but a long-term solution remains unsolved. 

Hopefully, the resolution between Comcast and Diamond Sports will come swiftly before even more fans tune out for the season. Thankfully, the two sides seem close to a deal that should allow Twins fans to do what they’ve wanted all season… watch the Minnesota Twins play baseball. 

How are you watching the Twins this season? What’s your prediction for where the Twins will be available in 2025 and beyond? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. 

 

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[jmlease1]

What a disaster this has been. The scum who run Sinclair and generated this scheme to create Diamond/Bally in the first place need to be run out of town on a rail. I'm sure they've been able to feather their nests quite comfortably and will be untouched in the bankruptcy, of course.

Terrible results for Twins fans for most of the season, huge drain on the fans. Way too many people haven't been able to watch a fun and very likable team this year. Hope that is finally over, but I never underestimate the power of greed to screw things up again.

[bean5302]

Would be nice for the folks who have Comcast to be able to watch the games, but Diamond Sports is probably not coming out of bankruptcy or for long if they do manage to make it out, IMHO. It's clear their only major sports partner (MLB) is livid with them. I'm skeptical the Pohlads have learned their lesson so I think there's a good chance they will try to partner with Diamond yet again.

From 2 months ago, when baseball owners were already furious.

https://frontofficesports.com/mlb-weighs-media-overhaul-as-manfred-deals-with-dsg-turmoil/#:~:text=Manfred said he still anticipates,of you have missed that.”

Quote

 

“It’s hard to comment on whether we’re going to object or not, because there is no [reorganization] plan at this point, if you think about it,” Manfred said. “Their whole plan is ‘we’re going to get deals with distributors.’ We know they don’t have one [major provider]. And it’s ‘we’re going to continue with the leagues.’ They don’t have a deal with the NBA. They don’t have a deal with the NHL. And they don’t have a deal with us.”

Manfred said he still anticipates DSG will pay out the rest of its outstanding rights payment obligations to MLB clubs this year. Still, he added, “There’s not much good about Diamond, actually, right now. They remain bankrupt, in case any of you have missed that.”

 

 

[Whitey333]

If they get a deal done with Comcast good for them.  But what about the rest of us thousands  who don't have Comcast and have had 3 streaming services drop Bally long before the Comcast deal fell through.  Many of us have had little or no access to Bally Sports and Twins, Wild, gophers, Timberwolves, etc for 4 or 5 years.  Fubo is a joke.  Too many other good channels they don't carry.  The Twins helped create this miss and like normal blame it on others.  This organization has really gone downhill the past few years.  They are not very fan friendly.

[BH67]

If Diamond Sports's respirator will soon be turned off, the Minnesota Twins must secure a visual media solution that reaches a market similar to that of Diamond Sports.

As streaming video services become the standard for distributing such content, finding digital partners that can reach the bulk of the viewership who access pay-TV by various means is difficult. That simplicity is lost with the phasing out of cable television.

I once managed a government finance office that collected tax revenue from people of all ages. Younger residents wanted to tap their phones. Older residents wanted to hand a tangible paper check to the cashier. All needed to be accommodated reasonably. The future Twins media solution cannot easily accommodate to a similar degree -- and what is perceived as "revenue hoarding" by team ownership can be explained as planning for revenue uncertainty in the next two years. I land there.

The $8-15M revenue influx apparently on its way needs to be spent on the 2024 playoff run, and quickly given the impending trade deadline. What follows is going to make a lot of Twins viewers adjust from what is familiar in purchasing home entertainment. I hope this transition can occur smoothly with a durable certainty to broad access and maximum revenue received.

[DJL44]

40 minutes ago, bean5302 said:

I'm skeptical the Pohlads have learned their lesson so I think there's a good chance they will try to partner with Diamond yet again.

MLB should veto another contract with Diamond Sports.

[Craig Arko]

Yay, I guess.

[mnfireman]

MLB has more than contributed to this mess with the blackout rules, I cannot make it to every home game because I live in the NW corner of the state, but cannot watch the games on MLB.TV.

RSN's are not the answer for exactly what is going on here, they (Bally's) get greedy and set their price higher than the carriers (YouTube TV, Comcast, etc...) are willing to go.

I don't know if MLB Network is the answer, they also priced themselves above what some carriers were willing to pay. 

Team owned sports networks aren't the answer for every team.

Something permanent and beneficial for the fans needs to get figured out or baseball will probably die a slow death.

[NotAboutWinning]

From what I have read (take that for what it is worth) the pending agreement with Comcast is the structure they wanted initially. That is, to move the Twins to a higher priced sports tier. I don't see that making any cable subscribing Twins fans pleased 🫤

[twinstalker]

Boy, there haven't been any problems with Fubo, other than the clunkiness of my Roku remote.  Getting rid of Comcast cable has been one of the best decisions I've made.  I'll get rid of Fubo, too, once I can start subscribing directly to Twins/Wolves games, maybe before.  

[bighat]

Keep 'em off! Ever since the Twins went off the air, they've been on a roll. No reason to mess with a good thing. Minnesota, I'm sorry but you're going to have to suffer for the greater good of the franchise. 

[Captain18s]

I think this is a lie to stop the bleeding. Comcast has lost a lot of subscribers and this message is supposed to give the others some hope. Don’t hold your breath

[Guest]

Hopefully this revenue sharing is only a reimbursement to eligible teams if they actually use it. It woul make me sick to see the owners just pocket t

[purplesoldier4u]

St. Peter is eager to sign another bad deal.