Where Things Stand for the Future of Twins Broadcasts, and What It Means for the Team

[Peter Labuza]

The Twins will face another major financial challenge with on-field implications this offseason, as they become free agents looking for a service to broadcast and stream their games. But will they actually deliver on the promises they broke last offseason?

Image courtesy of © Reid Glenn / USA TODAY NETWORK

Last week, Twins fans tuning into their game against the Rays experienced something quite strange. Technical issues plagued the broadcast, causing it to remain fixed on the center-field camera view. The valiant technician zoomed in and out for hitter and pitcher reactions between the pitches, though he had no way to actually follow any ball hit into play. Some might call it an avant-garde performance:

Others will call it part of a long line of injustices, in the worst experience for Twins fans wanting to watch the game this season in recent memory.

To recap: After promising “the end of blackouts” via new broadcaster Cory Provus early last offseason, the Twins re-upped with Bally Sports Network, despite its continued bankruptcy issues being settled in a Texas court. Games were, instead, only available to cable subscribers in the regional area. Aggravatingly, though that choice was about maximizing revenue, no meaningful reinvestment of that money into payroll took place. The choice came to a head in May, when Diamond began its fight with Comcast over carrier fees, leaving around 80% of Minnesotans essentially without baseball months into what should have been seen as Year Two of a new dynasty.

The flare-up has been seen as part of the critical loss in revenue for the Twins, who have failed to build their audience, dropping from 19th to 23rd in average attendance with only a handful of home games to play. Minnesota has fallen behind resurgent teams like Baltimore and Arizona, who took their successful 2023 rosters and infused them with new talent. 

As September rolls along, the Twins now have two weeks left on the Bally Sports Network, and it’s about time to begin asking where things stand. As Dave St. Peter recently told Front Office Sports, they “remain undecided” and continue “reviewing and exploring different options.” But where exactly might fans watch the team next year?

While the Twins are free agents once again, they will have 29 other owners looking over their shoulder. As a mid-market team dependent on broadcast revenue—a recent filing suggested that the average MLB team gets 25% of its earnings from broadcast rights—they will be looking to Rob Manfred to assist in ensuring a big deal going forward. As St. Peter remarked, that needs to include some sort of streaming option.

“Digital rights have become a gating issue for us, meaning we have to have those on some level.”

That should be good news for Twins fans, as another year without streaming would be an unqualified failure. But what Manfred can do to help secure a package similar to previous cable deals remains the big question. Much of that depends on Diamond Sports Holdings (DSH), the Sinclair subsidiary that has been the center of the chaos with their continued bankruptcy procedures. The story has been twisting throughout the year. To recap, DSH received a large influx of cash in January from Sinclair and Amazon—who remain very interested in expanding Prime’s sports offerings beyond Thursday Night Football—that likely meant a deal that would include streaming of five MLB teams. 

Approval of the plan was delayed throughout the summer, all while the Comcast carrier fees fight soured things further between the three main leagues and DSH. Other carriers like Cox and DirecTV (which just concluded their own carrier fee dispute with Disney) found that MLB stonewalled these cable carriers from their deals with DHS.

While the NBA and NHL have a deal in principle to cement a future with Bally, Manfred and his team (who must approve any part of Diamond’s restructuring, as creditors) petitioned to see the other league deals, which the judge denied. From the atmosphere, Manfred seems wary to give approval, preferring to rip off the Regional Sports Network Band-Aid. It seems like a no-brainer for the league, which would then be able to take over half of the league into a package for a major streaming service going into 2025--though none of the teams in question would be major media market teams like the Dodgers, Yankees, or Cubs. 

In a recent court filing, MLB has argued that the bankruptcy needs a swift resolution, with major teams unable to plan for free agency (not that these teams are planning for the Soto Sweepstakes). St. Peter himself has said the Twins want to have something in place much earlier in the offseason than last year’s disaster. Such a future being ensured will be critical to any choices (though almost certainly limited) the Twins front office might make during the offseason.

Even if Bally finds a way out of court, will it find a way to survive the streaming era? Amazon pulled out of their current cash infusion arrangement, but recently re-joined as a partner to move forward with streaming Bally RSNs on Prime. Others suggest that Manfred has entered discussions with ESPN, perhaps to develop a package for either ESPN+ or Disney’s proposed Venu joint venture with Warner Bros-Discovery and Fox Broadcast (itself now facing an antitrust lawsuit). Either deal—if it included the end of backouts across the Minnesota territory—would be the right one for St. Peter and crew. But streaming is simply not worth the value of old-fashioned cable rights, and if the Twins are only receiving half of what they once received in broadcast money, many might wonder how the team will proceed—or who might be on it. The MLB and MLBPA recently agreed to move some money to teams struggling with this transition, but whether that goes to players or owners' pockets will be a testy issue.

But what else can the Twins do? Both the Wild and Timberwolves will remain with Bally, as long as the bankruptcy is approved and the company stays afloat. For as much as the team has made its own mistakes along the way, they are also fighting with their hands behind their back. They could go their own way, of course--an idea I proposed last offseason to embrace local TV and forgo revenue to rebuild the fanbase. (St. Peter responded to the idea with very little interest.) 

Or else, Twins fans could simply hope to watch more Virtual Game Experiences, as they had the option to the other night--an experience that I would prefer never to see again: 

Where would you prefer to watch the Twins next year? Sound off in the comments.

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[Karbo]

I don't really care who carries the games, so long as they are available.

[LewFordLives]

Ditch Balley's once and for all. Have MLB produce the games. Offer the rights to local cable providers and also offer MLB.tv streaming to people who either don't have cable or live in an area where the provider doesn't have broadcast rights 

[Whitey333]

Twins need to fix this tv mess as soon as possible.  Many of us have not been able to watch the Twins for a few years now.  After switching to different streaming services to be able to get Bally Sports to watch the Twins those systems dumped Bally.  Fubo offers the Twins but is not a good system.  It's other channel selections are very poor and limited.  Bottom line is thousands of Twins fans have been left in the dark for the past 3-4 years.  This is not a new development.  The Twins have dropped the ball for a long time as they continue to show no loyalty to fans like they promised.

[thelanges5]

I’d love to be able to watch the twins in Iowa. Hopefully they work out a deal that allows that.

[Peter]

Twins will get tv deal figured out!!! Worse case just listen to them on radio 

[Guest]

If you're a part of media management trying to formulate a bid proposal for company approval what metrics form the basis for your financial calculation?  If I were reviewing management's work one question I'd ask is, how did you factor in-person attendance trends into your revenue projections?   The trend is not good.  

[Trov]

They really need to get a long term option figured out.  I know many fans were upset the team did not dump much of the money they got in the TV deal into a FA. The problem is the team knew it was a 1 year deal, and they have no clue what next year and beyond looks like.  Very few FA at the time were going to take a 1 year deal, and the team could not commit much to future years, with CC, Buck, and Lopez on books, and others going to be going into arb years soon. 

I have managed to watch this year because I have Spectrum, but most have not.  I believe it did hurt the in person attendance to because if you are only checking scores you are not engaged in the team.  They really need to find an long term option, whatever it is. 

[LambchoP]

I am one of the lucky ones. I love out of state, so I am able to watch all Twins games on the MLB package. Plus, the package is free to anyone with T Mobile cell service. But all my family in MN couldn't watch them this year, until they got cable again for 200/month. If Twins want a bigger audience and revenue, it's pretty basic that everyone needs easy access to the games. And to improve attendance, you have to field a good team. Who wants to pay 100$ a ticket to watch a AAA team like we were fielding for awhile?

[DJL44]

MLB needs to increase the number of people watching baseball on television and needs to be willing to take less revenue in the short term to make that happen.

[Johnny Ringo]

I am so sullen over the unfolding collapse of the team that this media stuff seems like small potatoes.

But as long as I am bumming out, in this department, they are a complete mess. They have the two worst broadcast teams in baseball. This problem is particularly acute on the radio side where they are unlistenable.  They must know how dreadful Gladden is, but they keep sending him up to the plate. Can anyone explain why he always says "Good evening everyone" when he takes over the play-by-play in the fourth inning even though he has already incessantly babbled during the first three? For amusement, my sons and I sometimes lapse into Gladden-speak. This includes disputing the significance of any number no matter its validity and also dropping all "g's" from verbs. An example of a good compound sentence in Gladden-speak is "That speed limit don't mean nothin' " 

On the television front,  Justin Morneau seems a fine fellow but he it just getting worse for talking way too much and saying very little. Provus has been shot full of BSN Kool-Aid.  The good news is that because of the Twins broadcast deals, very few people have had to watch them.  

Their global strategy at One Twins Way seems to be "we don't get rid of anybody" (Rocco is hoping that I am right) and "maybe if we close our eyes, it will get better".

But perhaps an extension of all that is the observation that when it comes to TV and streaming, DSP et al appear to be 1995 (cable) guys  solving a 2024 problem. I hate to tell you boys, but cable is dead. It left no notes.

 

[David Maro]

This team is being run poorly and needs new owners.After signing a one year deal did they think someone would come to them begging to sign a long term deal.The bigger problem now has become cable is dying everyone is changing to subscription apps.It is time to wakeup and get with the times.Also MLB and teams need to understand that fan bases live all across the country.That means they don't want to listen to the other team's broadcast.

[NYCTK]

2 hours ago, Whitey333 said:

Twins need to fix this tv mess as soon as possible.  Many of us have not been able to watch the Twins for a few years now.  After switching to different streaming services to be able to get Bally Sports to watch the Twins those systems dumped Bally.  Fubo offers the Twins but is not a good system.  It's other channel selections are very poor and limited.  Bottom line is thousands of Twins fans have been left in the dark for the past 3-4 years.  This is not a new development.  The Twins have dropped the ball for a long time as they continue to show no loyalty to fans like they promised.

Just another indicator of how poorly run the Twins organization is operated, top to bottom. The failures on the field are easy to point to, but the simple inability to get the games in homes is such an indictment on the Business Operations side of the organization.

Sell the team. Fire everyone. Hollow out Target Field and start from scratch. 

[Vanimal46]

I don’t know much, but I do know one thing… Dave St Peter should not be leading these discussions. 

[Vanimal46]

My preference for next year and beyond was to partner up with the T Wolves, Wild, Lynx, soccer and PWHL teams and create a new MN sports network available to stream and an add-on to any existing platform (Hulu, YouTubeTV, etc) 

I don’t think the demand will be there for a Twins-only streaming channel. 

[USAFChief]

25 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

My preference for next year and beyond was to partner up with the T Wolves, Wild, Lynx, soccer and PWHL teams and create a new MN sports network available to stream and an add-on to any existing platform (Hulu, YouTubeTV, etc) 

I don’t think the demand will be there for a Twins-only streaming channel. 

Both the Wild and the Timberwolves have signed contracts with BSN for the 2024-25 season. 

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.minnesotasportsfan.com/minnesota-timberwolves/minnesota-timberwolves-news/minnesota-timberwolves-news-wolves-wild-bally-sports-north-sign-new-tv-deal/amp/

 

For the record, I still believe that's where the Twins end up in 2025 as well. 

 

 

[spanman2]

1 hour ago, Vanimal46 said:

I don’t know much, but I do know one thing… Dave St Peter should not be leading these discussions. 

St. Peter is in the club...untouchable.  I agree with you!

[spanman2]

Hey Zygi...wanna buy a baseball team?  

[DJL44]

2 hours ago, David Maro said:

Also MLB and teams need to understand that fan bases live all across the country. That means they don't want to listen to the other team's broadcast.

I think one of the first costs they will cut in an MLB streaming package will be broadcast crews for each team. There is really no need to have a separate crew for each team if every game is a national broadcast on streaming. I expect each team will get one TV guy and they'll combine for the broadcast like we saw on Sunday on the Roku broadcast.

[DJL44]

1 hour ago, Vanimal46 said:

My preference for next year and beyond was to partner up with the T Wolves, Wild, Lynx, soccer and PWHL teams and create a new MN sports network available to stream and an add-on to any existing platform (Hulu, YouTubeTV, etc) 

I think this would be challenged in court for violating anti-trust laws.

[Mike Sixel]

2 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

I think this would be challenged in court for violating anti-trust laws.

based on what? There is no way that would happen.

[Mike Sixel]

Regardless, I expect the payroll to go DOWN again next year.....

[CRF]

If there's a way to screw up whatever the next tv deal will be, they'll find it. 

[DJL44]

16 minutes ago, Mike Sixel said:

based on what? There is no way that would happen.

Fubo just sued over Venu sports. If the major sports created their own network and forced everyone to subscribe at $60/month to watch sports there would be legal action. It may not be successful but it could effectively delay the launch.

[Vanimal46]

23 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

I think this would be challenged in court for violating anti-trust laws.

Could be. I don’t know all of the legalities. I think the RSN model is the way to go, especially in our region, but it needs to be widely available. I don’t think there are enough people willing to pay for a separate T-Wolves, separate Wild, and separate Twins subscription. 

[Fire Dan Gladden]

3 hours ago, Johnny Ringo said:

They must know how dreadful Gladden is, but they keep sending him up to the plate. Can anyone explain why he always says "Good evening everyone" when he takes over the play-by-play in the fourth inning even though he has already incessantly babbled during the first three? For amusement, my sons and I sometimes lapse into Gladden-speak. This includes disputing the significance of any number no matter its validity and also dropping all "g's" from verbs. An example of a good compound sentence in Gladden-speak is "That speed limit don't mean nothin' " 

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

So many people like Gadden (for the life of me I have no clue why) that I was feeling lonely.  My biggest issue is that I have no clue what is happening when he is announcing.  He does not know how to describe action in any context.  

[Fire Dan Gladden]

4 hours ago, Whitey333 said:

Twins need to fix this tv mess as soon as possible.  Many of us have not been able to watch the Twins for a few years now.  After switching to different streaming services to be able to get Bally Sports to watch the Twins those systems dumped Bally.  Fubo offers the Twins but is not a good system.  It's other channel selections are very poor and limited.  Bottom line is thousands of Twins fans have been left in the dark for the past 3-4 years.  This is not a new development.  The Twins have dropped the ball for a long time as they continue to show no loyalty to fans like they promised.

With many options to watch games online in a not-quite-legal manner, I would think the Twins would be looking for ways to make it easier, not harder.  The teams with low regional tv revenue should really stop being so short sighted and work together with MLB on a national agreement.  The tv revenue can't be much lower than it is now, and it would only work to increase their fanbase.

[DJL44]

31 minutes ago, Vanimal46 said:

Could be. I don’t know all of the legalities. I think the RSN model is the way to go, especially in our region, but it needs to be widely available. I don’t think there are enough people willing to pay for a separate T-Wolves, separate Wild, and separate Twins subscription. 

I am only interested in a Twins subscription and would love to just pay MLB.tv for one.

Cable networks and subscriptions are just middle men who offer very little added value in the YouTube era. People want to be able to watch the game without hassle. I've been loving the Roku broadcasts because I can just turn a game on and watch it. Most of my baseball TV viewing is the MLB.tv free game of the day or Fox/Roku national broadcasts.

[bean5302]

28 minutes ago, DJL44 said:

I am only interested in a Twins subscription and would love to just pay MLB.tv for one...

Have you gotten the surveys asking you if you'd pay for that? It's an example of how poorly run the Twins' front office really is. The surveys are not particularly valuable because they're asking people if they'd pay a specific amount for a non-existent service. You never put much stock in asking the general public to speculate on a product. It's product development 101.

You want the president and CEO to have a vision, to understand the value of their product, to lead a company, not to let the general public lead product development. Dave St. Peter is not the guy.

[bean5302]

Honestly, there's probably not much the Twins front office can do to improve attendance in the short term without canning St. Peter or changing his role. A new VP of marketing needs to be installed. Somebody who understands how to lead.

The TV deal is a major issue, but even bigger is the lack of season ticket holders. The Twins desperately need some... and to actually provide a value for them.